9 Different Data Types to Better
Understand Your Business
A guide to understanding the key data types for your business and corresponding use-
cases. We'll cover internal, external, structured, open data, and more.
The end result of this process is a plethora of recommendations that are catered
to each individual.
While it’s paramount for businesses today to get hold of valuable data to be relevant and
tech-savvy, it’s also important for business owners to first understand the many different
nuances of data that currently exist. In this article, we’re going to be covering a number
of different data types. Knowing them will allow you to focus your direction on the ones
relevant to your business.
One important thing to note is that the data types mentioned below are not mutually
exclusive of each other. One data type can fall into many other categories as well. The
amount of overlap each data type will have with the rest is debatable, but there is always
a connection with something else.
Internal data
Internal data is the data generated by a company’s internal functions. Internal functions
include anything that every department under the company would perform. To put it
simply, all data that is stored within the company’s databases is considered internal data.
The value of internal data is immeasurable. It allows the company to gather insights
about their workings and improve on them. It also allows them to see what isn’t working
according to expectations and take appropriate action on it.
Internal data includes, but is not limited to, customer behaviors, sales figures, marketing
expenses, social media trends, etc. These are statistics that companies rely on to
function and hold very dearly. Companies tend to not disclose such information to the
public in hopes of keeping their strategies confidential.
Internal data allows the brand to tell its story in a unique and interesting way. It allows
brands to showcase their success and shortcomings while presenting them in a way that
is interesting for readers. Internal data can make every company’s content marketing
really shine.
External data
External data is generated outside of the company’s control. It can range from
anything including weather forecasts, government datasets, police records, tax
records, etc. The list is non-exhaustive and will only continue to grow.
Data of this type can be of interest to many, and countless companies are already
making use of it. An insurance firm will be interested in the hospital records of all their
customers. An agricultural company will be vehemently consumed by weather-related
data so they can plan all their strategies accordingly. Political campaigns are now taking
massive interest in how social media trends evolve to better their propaganda strategy.
External data is virtually limitless in its usage. As we begin to collect more information
from new devices (via the explosion of the Internet of Things) about our routine
behaviors, what seems like a sci-fi fairytale right now may just be a few years away.
Time-stamped data
This is a category in which the collected data has one more element: time. Time allows
us to enter a new dimension of analysis and its importance is being emphasized greatly.
User experience is a very valid concern for developers and product designers these days
and for good reason.
It’s been known that even minute differences can make or break an idea. How long a
user takes to complete a certain task is a great predictor of their overall experience with
a product. Google has been keeping a track of this metric ever since Search Engine
Optimization became a serious business.
From page load times (i.e. a response 2 seconds slower than competitors can easily
push you down in rankings) to seeing how long a user decides to stay on a page, Google
wants to know it all.
The world is speeding up and so are our requirements from the tasks we do regularly. If
something can be improved even slightly, no opportunist would ever let the chance go.
Structured data
This is one of the simplest forms of data that every person is familiar with. Structured
data, in its rawest form, simply means organized data.
Data is considered organized when you can decipher what it means by looking at its
structure. One of the most popular forms of organized data is tables. Even on paper, we
tend to separate information into rows, columns, and tables. This simple modeling can
allow most forms of information to take tangible meaning.
For instance, your grocery lists are considered structured data. Items are usually listed
by the name, price, and quantity you want to buy it in. In the digital world, the need for
organized data grew rapidly and soon we were presented with relational database
management systems.
These systems employ carefully-structured tables that are linked together and, when
used in amalgamation, can present data in a way that is unbounded in its use cases
In short, any data that represents information in a decipherable way can be considered
structured data.
Unstructured data
Unstructured data is the opposite of structured data. While we expect structured data to
be stored in a presentable way, unstructured data is defined by its inability to showcase
meaningful information just by looking at it.
Examples of unstructured data include emails, text messages, raw audio data, videos,
webpage content, etc.
An email can contain extremely sensitive data about an organization/person. But, in its
natural form, we can’t extract meaningful information from it. Think of it this way, how
would you fit an email into a table?
Without performing a precise sentiment analysis of the text, the email can be
meaningless. If it’s processed word-by-word, it can generate its own table of useful
information.
The same goes for web page content. When Google examines a page to see where it
should rank, it examines the content of the page rather than simply looking at the page
as a whole.
It breaks down its structure into an HTML document and analyzes every part individually
to judge how useful that information actually is. If it passes all the checks, the page gets
a good rank. This is simply not possible by skimming over the page. Once the page has
been analyzed, its information is considered structured data, and that is used to generate
results.
Open data
Open data is the kind that is freely available to use. It’s also synonymous with open-
source data which can be used by anyone for whatever purpose they feel like.
Government databases, such as those on the US Consular Affairs website, are part of
open data. For instance, firms that specialize in helping immigration rely heavily on the
data from government-vetted sources.
Anything that you can find on Google is also open data, as long as there aren’t any
restrictions that prevent you from publishing your findings on it.
While the open-source community has flourished with freely available information,
companies will not want to share their data on every occasion. In fact, many privately-
owned companies around the world will prefer to keep some sort of check and balance
on how they release data to the public.
Companies rely on their data to stay ahead of the competition, and it’s also their right to
disallow the breach of their data. Gone are the days when data security might’ve only
referred to secrets discussed inside sensitive government institutes. These days, even a
normal company will make you sign contracts that state data security offenses will be
handled in court.
Big data
This is a term that gets thrown out a lot and has been a buzzword for many years now.
Big data is used profoundly in the field of Data Science. Data Science has seen eye-
catching growth over the past decade and that’s primarily because of how the amount of
data we generate has grown.
According to this article, over 2.5 quintillion bytes of data are generated every day.
With data being so abundant, the growth of Data Science is inevitable. It also means that
the current ways we handle data (through relational databases) are no longer viable. The
surplus amounts of data need adequately designed tools that can produce results in a
meaningful timeframe.
Normally, big data is referred to as something that cannot fit inside our typical
tools. Hadoop is one such tool that is designed to work with humongous inflows of data.
The rise of big data has allowed the fields of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine
Learning to prosper. This is in part of how these fields effectively rely on large amounts
of information to be successful.
With more businesses adopting AI to boost their successes every day, it will always be a
viable choice to incorporate it into your own business. It might not work for every
business out there right now but will soon be a necessity.
Genomic data
This data type is mainly focused on the medical field. With computers allowing more
complex and faster computations, reading DNA structures has been made viable. Our
DNA contains about 3 billion base pairs which used to be extremely costly to analyze just
a decade ago.
The ability to analyze DNA sequences allows scientists to understand unsolved
problems the human race faces. It can include why different diseases attack people in
different ways, help us understand cancer better, and even allow us to mutate our
genes to prevent certain diseases.
Breakthroughs in the medical field are possible because of large amounts of data and
complimenting machinery. With more data being available, previously impossible
problems now have a chance to be solved.
Through this data, a controversial debate has also emerged. Some companies are
experimenting with “designer babies,” which are genetically-altered newborns. Their
mutations allow parents to choose certain traits for their kids. The debate is whether
science has gone too far and is venturing into domains that should be left to nature.
If these mutations can help prevent unwanted diseases, then it seems fair. However,
once people begin to make changes to appearance, that can get difficult to justify.
Real-time data
Real-time data makes use of currently available information to predict future events. We
take advantage of real-time data almost unconsciously these days in the form of Google
Maps and Uber rides.
These technologies have allowed us to make better routines by choosing the less
crowded route to get to work and also finding nearby places to eat. All data that makes
use of information regarding our current position or status in time can be called real-time
data.
Its use cases are also prevalent in medical technologies. Patients that are in the ICU
have their data transmitted to caretakers through linked devices. They’re immediately
notified if something changes, and that’s possible because of real-time data. If patterns
deviate strongly for even a second, alerts are sent to the right people.
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