Dark data is analogous to dark matter. We know it is out there, but just can't see it or interact with it. In the age of abundance of data, we are entering; we are gathering more and more data from the edge of the enterprise. In the January issue of Seed Magazine, they stated that more data was created in 2008 than in all the history of mankind up to this point (page 15, sorry it was not on-line yet when I wrote this).
This year may be the first in a long time (because of the financial downturn) that the growth of data may actually slow down. This should give organizations a chance to plan, for a moment, how they would like to tap into and derive value from all the data that is currently collected but not accessed.
This dark data will likely be of use to the organization as well as its extended network of suppliers and consumers. What's interesting is that the people who work close to this data can see it and the disorder related to it. I wonder if this disorder can cause changes in people's behavior.
