Key Takeaways

70-80% of organizational data remains underutilized, representing significant wasted investment and missed opportunities for security, compliance, and operational improvements

datasensAI provides intelligent data scoring that identifies which data sources are actively used versus those sitting idle in your Splunk environment

AI-driven analysis delivers actionable insights through comprehensive reports that recommend specific use cases aligned with MITRE frameworks and industry best practices

ROI visibility becomes clear with detailed breakdowns of data storage and processing costs, helping organizations make data-driven decisions about their Splunk investment

Implementation requires minimal time (2-4 hours) with no direct access needed, making it a low-risk, high-reward solution for maximizing Splunk value

Introduction

Your organization invested in Splunk to transform data into actionable insights. You're ingesting data from multiple sources—security logs, operational systems, cloud platforms, and more. But here's the uncomfortable question: Are you actually getting value from all that data?

If you're like most organizations, the answer is sobering. Research shows that 70-80% of enterprise data remains untapped, sitting idle while your organization continues to pay for storage and processing. This isn't just a missed opportunity—it's a fundamental problem that affects security posture, operational efficiency, and bottom-line ROI.

datasensAI, a Splunk-certified app developed by bitsIO, addresses this challenge head-on by providing visibility into both utilized and underutilized data sources, evaluating their impact, and delivering AI-assisted recommendations that transform dormant data into strategic assets.

The Hidden Cost of Unused Data

Wasted Investments Without Returns

Every data source flowing into your Splunk environment represents an investment—in infrastructure, licensing, storage, and processing power. When data sits unused, you're essentially paying rent on digital real estate that generates no value. Organizations often discover they're:

• Paying for data ingestion from sources that no one actively monitors or analyzes
• Allocating storage resources to data that doesn't support any active use cases
• Processing and indexing information that never influences business or security decisions

This isn't a minor inefficiency. For many organizations, the cost of unused data runs into hundreds of thousands of dollars annually.

Missed Security and Compliance Opportunities

The problem extends beyond wasted money. Underutilized data often contains critical insights that could improve security posture, support compliance requirements, or enhance operational decision-making. When valuable data sources remain disconnected from active monitoring and analysis, organizations face:

• Security blind spots where potential threats go undetected
• Compliance gaps where required visibility doesn't exist
• Operational inefficiencies that persist because relevant data isn't being analyzed

The irony is stark: organizations invest heavily in comprehensive data collection, then fail to extract the value that justified the investment in the first place.

The Visibility Gap

Most organizations lack clear answers to fundamental questions about their Splunk deployment:

• Which data sources are actually being used, and how frequently?
• What's the ROI on each data source we're ingesting?
• Where are the gaps between data collection and actual analysis?
• Which underutilized data sources could support new security or operational use cases?

Without this visibility, optimization becomes guesswork, and data strategy lacks the foundation it needs to deliver measurable business value.

How datasensAI Solves the Data Utilization Challenge

Intelligent Data Scoring

At the heart of datasensAI is a sophisticated scoring algorithm that evaluates every data source in your Splunk environment based on utilization patterns and knowledge object creation. This scoring mechanism segments your data into clear categories:

High-Score Data Sources are actively used and optimized—these represent your current areas of value extraction where dashboards, alerts, searches, and reports are regularly leveraged.

Low-Score Data Sources are underutilized and represent untapped potential—these are the hidden opportunities where you're paying for data without extracting commensurate value.

This scoring provides immediate clarity about where your Splunk investment is working and where significant opportunity exists.

AI-Driven Analysis and Insights

datasensAI goes beyond simple scoring to deliver a comprehensive analysis that identifies patterns, inefficiencies, and opportunities across your data landscape. The platform's AI engine examines:

• Search history and patterns to understand how teams interact with data
• Usage patterns across different user groups to identify gaps between data availability and actual consumption
• Dashboard utilization to determine which visualizations drive decisions versus those that sit unused
• Data volume trends to spot anomalies and optimization opportunities
• Error patterns that may indicate configuration issues or missed integration opportunities

This analysis feeds into bitsIO's internal AI use-case recommender, which builds comprehensive reports with specific, actionable recommendations. These aren't generic suggestions—they're tailored insights based on frameworks like MITRE ATT&CK and industry-specific best practices.

For organizations in financial services, for example, datasensAI might recommend focusing on authentication logs, process monitoring, and file/registry monitoring to address common adversary tactics. The recommendations align with both security frameworks and practical implementation priorities.

Clear ROI Visibility

One of datasensAI's most powerful capabilities is translating technical data about utilization into clear financial insights. The platform provides detailed breakdowns of:

• Data storage costs allocated across different sources and use cases
• Processing expenses tied to specific data ingestion patterns
• Investment allocation showing where Splunk spending delivers returns versus where it doesn't

This ROI analysis empowers organizations to make data-driven decisions about their Splunk deployment—determining where to expand data collection, where to optimize existing sources, and where to potentially reduce unnecessary ingestion.

Rapid, Non-Invasive Implementation

Unlike solutions that require extensive configuration or direct access to sensitive environments, datasensAI is designed for quick, secure implementation:

• 2-4 hour time investment to run reports using the datasensAI add-on
• No direct access required from bitsIO—your team maintains complete control
• Secure data handling with masking capabilities and controlled sharing through secure portals
• Admin-level access requirements limited to dashboards, saved searches, search configurations, and internal logs

The low barrier to entry means organizations can quickly assess their Splunk utilization without disrupting operations or compromising security.

How bitsIO Can Help

As a trusted global Splunk partner with recognition as a 3x Partner of the Year, bitsIO brings deep expertise in data optimization and Splunk implementation. The team understands that maximizing Splunk value isn't just about technology—it's about aligning data strategy with business outcomes.

Comprehensive Data Management Solutions

Beyond datasensAI, bitsIO offers comprehensive data management solutions that help organizations optimize their entire data pipeline. From data ingestion and normalization to advanced analytics and federated search capabilities, bitsIO provides the expertise needed to transform Splunk from a data repository into a strategic asset.

Expert Consultation and Strategy

bitsIO's consultants work collaboratively with your teams to ensure datasensAI insights translate into measurable business results. This includes:

• Strategic planning to prioritize which underutilized data sources to activate first
• Use case development that aligns technical capabilities with business needs
• Implementation support to turn recommendations into operational reality
• Ongoing optimization to ensure sustained value extraction

The goal isn't just to identify unused data—it's to build a sustainable approach to data utilization that continues delivering value long after the initial assessment.

Conclusion

Your Splunk investment represents significant resources allocated to data collection, processing, and analysis. Yet if 70-80% of that data remains underutilized, you're leaving tremendous value on the table—value that could strengthen security posture, improve compliance, and drive better operational decisions.

datasensAI provides the visibility, analysis, and actionable recommendations needed to unlock this hidden value. With intelligent scoring, AI-driven insights, clear ROI visibility, and rapid implementation, datasensAI transforms data utilization from guesswork into strategy.

The question isn't whether your organization has opportunities to extract more value from Splunk data—it's whether you'll take action to discover and capture those opportunities.

Ready to uncover the hidden value in your Splunk deployment? Book a consultation with bitsIO to learn how datasensAI can transform your data strategy and maximize your Splunk ROI.