South African High Court: AI Adoption Hinges on Robust Content Governance

• Up to 80% of enterprise data is unstructured, with 70% classified as 'dark data'.
• Unmanaged and unstructured data can pose significant organisational risks.
• Effective governance is essential for efficient data discovery, classification, and management – critical components of successful AI adoption.
• Robust content governance policies are necessary to manage unstructured data effectively.

South Africa's next wave of AI value won't come from better algorithms – it will come from organisations that finally get their data house in order.

South African organisations are facing a daunting challenge as they attempt to adopt artificial intelligence (AI) solutions. The problem lies not in the algorithms, but in the data itself. Unmanaged and unstructured data can pose significant organisational risks, undermine AI progress, and hinder decision-making. In fact, up to 80% of enterprise data is unstructured, with a staggering 70% classified as 'dark data' – including redundant, obsolete or trivial information. This means that organisations are struggling to locate and manage their own data, let alone provide trusted and usable data for AI systems to access.

To unlock the true potential of AI, South African enterprises must first get their data house in order. This requires robust content governance policies that can manage unstructured data effectively. According to experts, good governance is essential for efficient data discovery, classification, and management – all critical components of successful AI adoption. By putting proper security guardrails in place, organisations can ensure that AI has access to trusted and usable data. In other words, effective governance is the foundation upon which AI value creation is built.

So, what does this mean for lawyers advising clients on AI adoption? It means that organisations must have robust content governance policies in place to manage unstructured data. This involves investing in skills and capacity to help local enterprises take control of sprawling data estates. Faranani DocTec, an OpenText Reseller Platinum Partner, has built its expertise in deploying OpenText solutions to solve real challenges in information governance, automation, and digital enablement. By showcasing these solutions at the upcoming OpenText Summit Africa 2026, Faranani DocTec aims to help South African organisations turn their data from a risk into an asset.

Lawyers advising clients on AI adoption should ensure that their organisations have robust content governance policies in place to manage unstructured data, as poor data management can undermine AI progress and pose organisational risks.

Source: Original reporting via OpenText Summit Africa 2026