Data quality

Last week, myself and members of the Experian team attended the MDM and Data Governance Summit in Chicago. The main topics of this conference were MDM (Master Data Management) and DG (Data Governance), although at many times, it was difficult to tell the difference.  MDM and DG are starting to meld together as one topic, with MDM being the data repository for all (or as much as possible) corporate data, and DG being the documentation and “GPS” for navigating the data (in this case, GPS means “Gain Perspective Simply”.

Have you ever launched an email campaign only to find out that most of your emails never even made it to the intended target due to soft or hard bounces? Have you ever spent a large amount of your budget on syndicated content and then come to find out that your target audience is from a database that was collected from tradeshows and POS systems where a consumer’s email is captured with no verification? How can you determine if those email addresses were correctly captured? Whether the information was wrong at point of capture, or became outdated, these issues ultimately contribute to your company’s email reputation.

As mobile devices continue their rise to prominence, organizations in every industry are clamoring to find ways to optimize the mobile experience for their customers. At this point, a positive mobile experience has become virtually synonymous with a positive customer experience. Simply designing an app or making your website mobile responsive is a great place to start, but how do you continue to optimize the experience from there? A good mobile experience is all about making it as simple and frictionless as possible. And that’s where data quality can truly help.

Data is now at the heart of the digital transformations occurring across the economy and building an advanced data analytics team is one of the keys to competitive advantage. Whether you plan to simply disrupt your own industry or expand into an adjacent segment, data is the key to unlocking opportunity. Data has become a critical corporate asset, and business leaders want to capitalize on the information they hold. But its value is tied to how it’s analysed and by whom. One dataset may be of little value, while another may contain the key to launching a new product line or cracking a challenging marketing question. One might affect only a small percentage of a company’s revenue, while another could reveal an opportunity for significant future growth. How do firms find out? Analytics.

This past week I had the pleasure of representing Experian along with three of my colleagues in Chicago at IRCE (Internet Retailer Conference + Exhibition). The show ran the full gamut of the world of online retail with Ecommerce industry leaders representing many large online retailers as well as small retailers looking to embrace the next step. 

Data governance refers to the set of processes to ensure data meets precise standards and business rules as it is entered into a system. Data governance enables businesses to exert control over the management of data assets. This encompasses the people, process, and technology that is required to make data fit for its intended purpose.

It’s no secret that the quality of your data matters. Your organization’s data is not some mysterious entity that exists only in the realm of technology and analytics, but is in fact a competitive differentiator increasingly used to influence broader business decisions around things like operations and marketing.

This past week, I attended the National Health and Human Services Summit in Arlington, VA. Over the past three years, I have met and worked with many state Health and Human Services (HHS) agencies across the United States. Through my work with these agencies, I have encountered a common goal is “improving outcomes.” What this means is ensuring constituents are served in the best possible way, and the focus of this conference was no different. 

Last week, I, along with two other members of the Experian team, took our talents to sunny San Diego to soak up some knowledge and spread some insight at the Enterprise Data World (EDW) conference. The conference was packed with some of the best and brightest representatives from organizations across the U.S. and around the globe. 

Last week I attend the Utility Analytics Summit in Irvine, CA, which was sponsored by Southern California Edison. I’ve been to a lot of data conferences in my day, (let’s just say this was not my first rodeo) however, it was my first foray into the world of utilities. What I noticed right away was that data-related challenges run rampant regardless of the industry. The analysts, data scientists, and engineers that I met at the summit were all struggling with similar issues that organizations in finance and government have been challenged with for years.