Complex sentence: This so-called "long tail" data, both past and present, has the potential to inform future research in many areas of study; however, much of this data has become largely inaccessible due to obsolete software and file formats.
Split into simpler sentences: This so-called "long tail" data, both past and present, has the potential to inform future research in many study areas. Much of this data has become inaccessible due to obsolete software and file formats.