BARC practice checklist · Free PDF
Find it. Classify it. Get AI-ready.
5 practices by 225 data leaders on preparing unstructured files for AI.
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Why this checklist
The analysts' definition of ready, not a vendor's
79% of data leaders are confident they can govern their files. Only 29% know where those files are.
Independent data and analytics research and advisory firm BARC turned that gap into a standard: the five practices that move your estate from baseline to ready, before your next agent reaches production.
You cannot govern, secure or use what you cannot find. Discoverability is the starting point of every serious AI program.
Kevin Petrie, VP of Research, BARC US
This checklist is a free companion to Harnessing Unstructured Data for AI Innovation, BARC's 2026 research across 225 enterprise data leaders in North America and Europe. Co-produced by BARC and Ohalo. Get the full report.
Inside the checklist
Why download
Know what's actually thereDiscover the files your agents will use, including the shadow repositories every inventory misses.
Make them ready and safeRefine files into trusted inputs, with access that's role-based and reviewable.
Prove what your AI usedValidate your golden sources and trace any output back to the file it came from.
Trusted by
- U.S. Department of War
- Veolia
- Wood
- Costain
- Macnica
- Atlan
- Collibra
- Thales
- Virtru
- Microsoft Purview
- Experian
- Carahsoft
- Vertosoft
If you don't know where your files live, you don't know what your agents are learning from
Accuracy is now the number one measure of AI success. Get the five practices that protect it.