Blogs on Document Processing and OCR Technology

What is Data Chrysalization? Can it Transform Unstructured Text Data?

Written by Brad Blood | November 9, 2018

Do you know what makes butterflies?

I mean, besides just caterpillars and cocoons. That hidden transformation that makes a butterfly possible - it's some kind of nature magic. 

What goes on in that cocoon is the same thing we want from big data. We want something beautiful – a magical flying thing – the transformation of data into brilliant insight. And it's possible. 

The trick that the caterpillar has figured out - the thing it can do that no other creature can do - is actually part of its DNA. And we’re not talking about its amazing appetite, although that's critical.

Like Caterpillars - Businesses Are Hungry

Today’s organizations are equally hungry (for data). We’re creating and storing data at exponential rates. And locked away in that data is the insight required to innovate and gain competitive advantage.

Many software companies have responded by providing business intelligence / analytics tools, and robotic process automation.

But the problem is that these tools can only crunch recognizable data – data that’s already been processed or is in a standard format.

And this data is only the tip of the iceberg.

How Does This Relate to Unstructured Text Data?

We need results from a massive amount of unstructured data we haven’t processed.

When we look at where our data has come to rest, it’s like looking at big fat caterpillars. No butterflies in sight, and nothing to feed into analytics tools.

Now, you may know that inside its cocoon, which is called a chrysalis, a caterpillar basically melts into a gooey caterpillar soup. And it's at this point that nature magic transforms the goo into a butterfly. That's the process our data needs – chrysalization.

The Potential for Transformation - There All Along

Caterpillars aren’t magical. Nor are butterflies. But we do need science to understand what’s going on. And we’ve discovered the secret – something called imaginal discs. These discs were with the caterpillar from birth and are called upon in the chrysalis to form the butterfly.

The butterfly was always inside the caterpillar, just locked away and incapable of flying around and pollinating flowers for farmers, or migrating to warmer climates. 

How Unstructured Text Data Transformation Actually Works

Large scale data chrysalization is really only possible through intelligent document processing. A platform-based approach to solving the unstructured data problem has become a reality because of advances in machine learning and increasingly powerful data processing and storage infrastructure. 

Organizations are unlocking new insights every day from traditional document-based workflows. And these insights are causing massive disruption and competitive advantage in surprising new ways.

Are you ready to turn your unstructured data into something beautiful, new and useful?