DP-900 · 1 Describe core data concepts
Unstructured data
Exam objective: Describe the features of unstructured data
Unstructured data has no specific structure. Think of documents, images, audio, video and other binary files.
Unstructured data is everything that has no specific structure. There is no schema, there are no fields, and one item does not look like the next.
Microsoft Learn lists documents, images, audio and video data, and binary files. A photo, a recorded phone call and a contract written in a word processor all belong here.
A quick way to tell the three types apart:
| Question | Answer | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Same fields in every record? | Yes | Structured |
| Named fields, but they vary per record? | Yes | Semi-structured |
| No fields at all in the content? | Yes | Unstructured |
Unstructured data is stored as files. Because images, audio and video are binary data, the files are often called BLOBs, short for binary large objects.
On the exam, look for no specific structure, images, audio, video or documents.
Key points
- There are no fields or records to rely on. The content has no schema.
- The examples Microsoft Learn gives: documents, images, audio and video data, and binary files.
- It is stored as files. Data professionals often call such binary files BLOBs (binary large objects).
- To decide between the three types, ask one question. Can you point at named fields in the content?
Exam trap
Readable text is not automatically structured. A free-form document or a chat transcript is unstructured. A JSON file is semi-structured, although it is also plain text.
Check yourself
A museum archives historical photographs and video interviews as raw binary files, with no fields or schema describing their content. What term do data professionals commonly use for files like these?
Go deeper on Microsoft Learn
- Identify data formats (Explore core data concepts)
- Explore file storage (Explore core data concepts)
Checked against Microsoft Learn on October 1, 2026.