There Is No Such Thing As Unstructured Data

Machine learning breakthroughs like large-language models, self-driving cars, and Google's DeepMind's Alphafold 3 have been built on unstructured data, which comprises a vast majority of the world's data. Despite its significance, traditional data management tools are primarily designed for structured data in relational tables, leading to the underutilization of unstructured data's potential. The article argues for the necessity of rethinking data categorization by recognizing the inherent structure in all data types, advocating for the use of multidimensional arrays, as championed by TileDB, to handle complex data more efficiently and effectively. This approach, which offers performance improvements over traditional databases, is seen as crucial for addressing significant challenges in fields like drug discovery and precision medicine, where conventional relational tables fall short. By shifting away from outdated perceptions of unstructured data and adopting more versatile data structures, the industry can unlock valuable insights and drive innovation.