by Mohd Sohel, World Executives Digest |
Data cleaning? Not a common term in most people’s vocabulary,but in a world where customer retention and loyalty reign supreme,it certainly should be.
Data cleaning refers to the process of removing or correcting dirty or erroneous information. Data cleaning is an important part of the data management
process, and is a critical part of housekeeping for any companythat deals with databases or large amounts of information.
A smart data cleaner will help a company operate more efficientlyand save a lot of money. From removing duplicate data to correcting abbreviations, a smart data cleaner can declutter a company’s data-base.
Data Ladder, based in Hartford, CT, offers an easy to use, affordable data cleaning solution. Their easy to use data cleaning desktop tools are very affordable, can be used by business users, and can be acquired without a lengthy approval process. Their flagship data cleaning package DataMatch provides a comprehensive toolkit for deduplication, standardization, and fuzzy matching.
DataMatch enables real-time fuzzy, intelligent search of a company’s databases quickly and easily. Data Ladder’s suite of tools for deduplication and record linking provides a clean workflow operation for any IT manager or data analyst. With DataMatch Enterprise, our modern, flexible system gives the user assistance with their data management needs and issues, including:
- Data deduplication
- Standardization of Information across all fields
- Enhancement of data
- Merge/Purge functionality
- Suppression of data from existing lists
- Extraction of required information
- Cross field matching support
- Advanced matching techniques
- Scoring and cut-off modes, predicates
- Multi-table selection, semantic equivalence classes
- Advanced domain specific libraries such as nicknames, continuously updated
They recently added several new features to their data quality suite, including:
- Integration with Salesforce CRM
- New match reporting with improved graphical displays
- Automated scheduling of data quality projects
- Improved pattern building
- Unlimited parsing and extraction capability
Benchmarked in 15 different studies, DataMatch Enterprise was proven to find on average 5-12% more matches than leading software companies IBM and SAS. In addition to data cleaning, Data Ladder also offers product matching and address verification services.
So, with the thousands of records a typical company database may have at any given time, how does one sort through the duplicates that might exist? How does one know whether Jacqueline Jones may also be JackieJones? Well, let fuzzy matching software do the work.
Many companies and organizations have begun using data quality tools to accomplish this often difficult and lengthy task of cleaning data. A sophisticated tool in the data cleaning arsenal, fuzzy matching software uses processes that work at various levels of interpretation – from sentences to phrases.
So, as one knowledgeable in the world of IT, you think you probably consider yourself pretty well-read on the topic of data cleaning, and consider it a pretty straightforward process. Yes, while there is actually a clear-cut method to data cleaning, did you know poor data quality costs the U.S. economy hundreds of billions of dollars? According to Gartner research, the estimate is upwards of $600 billion annually.
Data cleaning and data management are proven sciences that are crucial to success in today’s data rich environment. Social media and online presence absorbs data at an astounding rate. The amount of insight and intelligence amassed is incredible and the subsequent value is immeasurable. As we’ve seen the proliferation of big data across all sectors of business, specifically through mobile and social media platforms, it is directly impacting businesses of all sizes that use this data to run operations and make important decisions.
Suddenly, terms like data cleaning tools and data matching tools have become important buzzwords in the office. The underlying data quality issues your company has been sweeping under the rug now need and deserve some attention.
Let’s look at a few facts from one study on marketers on the topic of data quality:
1. One survey indicates that only 12% of marketers have plans for improving customer data methods
2. 23% indicate they cleanse customer data monthly
3. 24% cleanse customer data weekly
4. 27% cleanse customer data either quarterly or annually
5. 26% cannot remember the last time they cleansed customer data
These numbers can be a bit unnerving when compared to the value of the data they accumulate.
Most will agree that effective data management is crucial to marketing and related business strategies. Time and again, statistics clearly show that data cleaning increases customer satisfaction, fiscal performance and customer insights. Billions of dollars are lost annually to ineffective data management. Marketing and direct mail marketing is an essential tool to small and medium business. Campaigns that are well managed can reap significant profits and build solid customer relationships. These campaigns will never be truly effective without a solid data management strategy.
Data cleaning can correct records that are incorrect, out of date, irrelevant, or inaccurate. From incorrect phone numbers to missing zip codes, these errors can come from a number of different sources, such as misspellings during data entry, or when multiple data sources are placed together and redundant data is created due to various representations of information.
Data cleaning and fuzzy logic can be complicated. This is why Data Ladder has invested strongly in a world class visual interface that minimizes the number of clicks needed to complete a data cleaning and matching project, and also provides a visual graphic user interface that can be filtered and customized however works best for your project.
What can an effective data quality program do for your business? Provide more targeted sales leads, eliminate duplicate mailings, improve sales effectiveness, and reduce time required for administering duplicate customers. Use the quantified results to gain buy in from CIOs, CFOs, CEOs etc. This momentum can pay for further initiatives and energizes the organization with tangible results.
Data Ladder offers the best in class fast fuzzy matching software with DataMatch 2017 software suite. Try free trial today.
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About Author : This article is contributed by Mohd Sohel, He is software developer engineer and content writer by passion, He writes for all helpful software and technology and contribute for all high quality blogs like http://www.worldexecutivesdigest.com
