With privacy regulations tightening and data volumes exploding, managing unstructured information isn’t just an IT concern – it’s a business imperative.
Whether you’re dealing with redundant files on shared drives, forgotten folders in cloud storage, or Personally Identifiable Information (PII) buried in HR’s email archives, one thing is clear: the risks of dark data are growing.
What is dark data, and why does it matter?
According to Gartner, dark data is the information that organisations collect, process, and store during regular business activities but fail to use for other purposes. Often buried in file shares, emails, legacy systems or cloud drives, this data carries risk – not value.
Without proper classification and oversight, dark data may contain sensitive personal, financial or contractual information that falls under the scope of privacy laws like the Privacy Act 1988 in Australia, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the EU, or the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) in the US. This creates significant exposure during data breaches, audits, or data subject access requests (DSARs).
Why DSARs are the wake-up call
DSARs give individuals the right to access the personal information held about them by an organisation. Fulfilling a DSAR sounds straightforward – until you realise that most organisations don’t have a clear view of where that data lives.
According to Gartner, as much as 80% of an organisation’s data is unstructured and unclassified. That means fulfilling a DSAR is like searching for a file in an unlabelled cabinet – slow, expensive, and error-prone. Worse still, failure to respond within the legally required timeframes can result in penalties and reputational harm.
The cost of doing nothing
Retaining outdated, irrelevant, or duplicated data increases storage costs and makes it harder to secure your systems. IBM reports that poor data quality costs the U.S. economy approximately $3.1 trillion annually due to lower productivity, system outages, and higher maintenance costs.
The longer dark data remains unmanaged, the more it compounds existing problems:
- Non-compliance with data privacy regulations
- Difficulty in detecting and containing breaches
- Poor audit readiness
- Inefficient operations and bloated infrastructure
- Missed opportunities for AI adoption due to poor data quality
How Grace can help
That’s where our Information Governance Solution comes into play. Grace Information Management is a provider of a leading platform for unstructured data discovery, classification, and governance. Together, we help organisations:
- Identify where sensitive data lives across network drives, emails, and cloud repositories
- Create a continuously updated data inventory for better visibility and control
- Surface data privacy risks before they become liabilities
- Streamline DSAR response with targeted search and defensible audit trails
- Support data minimisation and defensible disposal strategies
Our Information Governance Solution is hosted in secure, sovereign environments and offers integration with your existing IT estate. With built-in analytics, sensitivity scoring, and visual data maps, it enables organisations to transition from reactive discovery to proactive governance.
Build trust with privacy-first governance
Privacy is no longer a checkbox – it’s a brand differentiator. Customers, employees and regulators all expect transparency, accountability, and control. Proactively managing dark data and ensuring fast, reliable DSAR fulfilment signals that your organisation takes privacy seriously.
At Grace, we support our clients with secure infrastructure, advisory expertise, and enterprise-grade platforms to improve data quality and reduce regulatory exposure. Whether you’re just starting your governance journey or looking to modernise your privacy posture, we’re here to help.
Shine a light on your dark data. Book a call with our digital specialists to learn how Grace can support your privacy and governance goals.
