Liliendahl on Data Quality

Yesterday I visited a client in order to participate in a workshop on using a Data Quality Desktop tool by more users within that organisation.

This organisation makes use of 2 different Data Quality tools from Omikron:

• The Data Quality Server, a complete framework of SOA enabled Data Quality functionality where we need the IT-department to be a critical part of the implementation.
• The Data Quality Desktop tool, a user friendly piece of windows software installable by any PC user, but with sophisticated cleansing and matching features.

During the few hours of this workshop we were able to link several different departmental data sources to the server based MDM hub, setting up and confirming the business rules for this and reporting the foreseeable outcome of this process if it were to be repeated.

Some of the scenarios exercised will continue to run as ad hoc departmental processes and others will be upgraded into services embraced by the enterprise wide server implementation.

As I – for some reasons – went to this event going by car over a larger distance I had the time to compare the data quality progress made by different organisations with the traffic on the roads where we have:

• Large busses with persons and large lorries with products being the most sustainable way of transport – but they are slow going and not too dynamic. Like the enterprise wide server implementations of Data Quality tools.
• Private cars heading at different destinations in different but faster speeds. Like the desktop Data Quality tools.

 I noticed that:

• One lane with busses or lorries works fine but slowly.
• One lane with private cars is bit of a mess with some hazardous driving.
• One lane with busses, lorries and private cars tends to be mortal.
• 2 (or more) lanes works nice with good driving habits.

So, encouraged by the workshop and the ride I feel comfortable with the idea of using both kind of Data Quality tools to have coherent user involved agile processes backed by some tools and a sustainable enterprise wide solution at the same time.