The Real Cost of Ignoring Unstructured Data
Most companies talk about data like it’s their most valuable asset.
But the truth?
Most of that data is unstructured, unused, and completely ignored.
This Gold Mine Is Never Used
70–90% of a company’s data is unstructured data.
This is a goldmine you ignore. It just sits there.
Unstructured data = missed opportunities.
Unstructured data = business inefficiency.
Unstructured data = risk.
Contracts.
Emails.
Offers.
Images.
Excel files.
Addendums.
This data is structured, but not in the way you need.
Suppose you’re not extracting this data and putting it in a structured format.
In that case, someone on your team wastes time reading, interpreting, and manually extracting the information. And…it gets lost again.
Let me give you an example:
You’ve got a contract and need to know the cancellation clause, notification period and penalties.
If that’s not already extracted, someone needs to read it. Again.
Then, they forget it.
And someone needs to read it. Again.
And this process repeats again…and again…and again…
But imagine having legal clauses that nobody sees, and you’re exposed to risk without even knowing it.
And let’s not even discuss the financial teams buried under incoming invoices that lack the necessary details.
So what happens? Extra annexes and emails fly in. And someone sits there, manually comparing files just to fill in the cost centers.
You can automate all of these processes.
Because the problem isn’t the volume.
The problem is the chaos.
And chaos can’t scale.
You don’t need more data.
You need to stop ignoring the data you already have.
And this isn’t just a theory, it’s something CFOs are starting to realize too.
70% to 90% of Data Is Never Used
A CFO told me: “We build forecasts on structured data..”
Then paused…
“…but I’m starting to realize that the real financial risks lie in the data we never see.”
Let’s take invoice processing.
Usually, you’re not dealing with incomplete invoices.
Most invoice portals don’t capture everything.
So what happens?
Vendors send annexes, reports, and extra details. All by email.
And your finance team manually monitors those emails.
They compare attachments. Match invoice lines. Allocate cost centers.
One by one.
All of these processes can be automated.
But in most companies, they are not.
So the data sits in someone’s brain.
Then it’s gone.
Lost.
Forgotten.
Never reused.
70–90% of your company’s data is like this.
Unstructured. Untapped. Ignored.
And this is just one example.
But this goes way beyond finance.
You are a terrible leader…if you ignore this goldmine:
– CVs.
– Service contracts
– Emails from customers
– Emails from prospects
– WhatsApp messages inside your company
– Intellectual property contracts
– Legal-binding contracts
– Employee contracts
What do all of these have in common?
Unstructured data.
This is a data goldmine that just sits there.
You’re not using it properly.
But you can and you should:
– Extract what matters
– Structure it
– Put it to work
Set up smart flows tailored by:
– Document type
– Department
– Use case
Then you:
– Automate
– Classify
– Trigger actions
That’s how you reduce risk.
That’s how you stop relying on what people remember.
And that’s how you unlock new business opportunities that are often hidden in plain sight.
Unstructured data is NOT noise.
Unstructured data is a goldmine.
Use it!
Still, most companies handle this the wrong way.
The Wrong Way To Use Data
Most companies treat document processing like it’s 2022.
Dump a file into ChatGPT. Ask some questions. Get a few answers.
Sounds smart. But it’s not.
That’s the wrong way to handle documents at scale.
Sure, it helps you as an individual.
But it doesn’t help your organization.
Why?
Because everyone extracts different things.
Everyone uses their own method.
And worst of all – no one puts the data anywhere.
Another wrong move is assuming that all documents are the same.
They’re not.
A service contract used by HR ≠ a service contract used by Procurement.
A report from Sales ≠ a report from Operations.
Context matters.
Department matters.
Business line matters.
If you don’t treat documents differently, you extract the wrong data…or nothing at all.
So what’s the right way?
You define flows for each document type based on:
– Department
– Business unit
– Use case
You decide what information matters.
You extract it sharply.
And most importantly – you put data to work.
Because just extracting data isn’t enough.
That data needs to reduce risk.
Trigger actions.
Remove context switching.
Make your operations run better.
That’s how automation actually helps your business.
Everything else is noise.
So what does it look like when you actually get it right?
Automation Removes Risk
Everyone talks about removing manual work.
But the real power of automation is reducing risk.
I’ll show you why:
A manufacturing company approached us to automate tracking stock levels across daily reports.
One person manually tracked stock levels across 4–5 reports daily:
– About 80 products (not a huge volume).
– Extract the stock levels manually.
– Check the email for new orders.
– Put them in Excel.
– Alert the team if something drops.
It seems manageable, right?
But what if that person goes on holiday?
Or forgets to notify?
Or just misses one email?
Imagine the financial losses if the stock isn’t replenished on time due to a missed alert:
– Sales freeze.
– Contract deadlines are missed.
– Penalties are triggered.
All because one person didn’t send an alert.
But there’s more.
That person also has to check their email all day:
– Context-switch.
– Lose focus.
– Keep that mental loop running.
It’s inefficient.
It’s exhausting.
Therefore, automation removes risk from your business operations.
And that’s far more important than reducing manual work.
Therefore, ask yourself:
What are the real risks you’re carrying as a leader?
Focus on those.
Then, use automation to eliminate them.
Simple as that.
Your company doesn’t need more data.
It needs a way to use the data you already have.
Start with the documents you touch every day (emails, contracts, reports) and ask:
Are we actually using this information?
If the answer is no, you’re not alone.
But you are missing opportunities.
The good news?
It’s fixable.
And it starts with structure, orchestration, and automation that’s aligned to your real processes.
—
We’ve built PROCESIO to work with your IT team, not against it. If you need to automate complex workflows and don’t know where to start, let’s schedule an intro call.
No pitches. No pressure. Just an honest conversation about how PROCESIO can solve your automation challenges.Want to see how others have benefited? We invite you to visit the following article.
