Qualifying data
The data labs are after
AI labs are trying to understand how actual work happens. You will find it in the tools your team opens every day.
Get my estimateWhy everyday records
Public text shows what people say. Company records capture what people actually do: a request becoming a quote, an issue being escalated, a late project being pulled back on schedule. That is why labs license it: models trained this way are useful for real tasks.
None of the systems below needs cleaning or reorganizing in advance. If your team has used the system for a few years, it likely holds something useful.
By system
Company email
Years of threads with customers, vendors and your own team.
Shared drives and files
Shared folders full of proposals, procedures, specs and reports.
Chat channels
Threads where people raise questions and work out fixes.
CRM
Deal notes, account history and follow ups.
Help desk tickets
Customer issues from the opening message to the final fix.
Project tools
Who did what, when, and how work passed between people.
Finance and ERP
Records of orders, purchases and invoices.
Code
Repositories, reviews and the issues behind them.
Signs of stronger records
- Length of history. Several years of records show how work changes over time.
- Live problem solving. Exchanges where people reason through an issue together.
- Connected systems. The same job showing up in email, the project tool and the invoice.
- Consistent headcount. A team of twenty or more adding to the record daily.
Platforms we often see
The usual setup is Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 alongside a chat app such as Slack, a CRM, a help desk, a project tool and accounting or ERP software. Specialist tools qualify as well, for example transport management or field service software.
Having every one of these is not required. One well used system with a few years of history is enough to start a conversation.
Choosing what is in scope
You are not left to work this out alone, and nothing is settled on this website. Following the estimate, a specialist at License Your Data goes through your systems with you by phone. Side by side you check what each holds, its date range and anything that ought to be left out.
The result is a brief list of systems and the dates they cover. You can keep it small. You can also add to it later if you want to.
What is left out
By default some data stays out in every system: client and patient files, payment card and bank account details, passwords and logins, and whatever you mark off limits. The data handling page explains this further.
Find out what your records could be worth.
It takes three questions to see an indicative range. No obligation.