Data quality efforts ‘should be proactive’

Companies have been advised to take a proactive approach to ensuring high data quality levels.

David Loshin, president of consultancy Knowledge Integrity, explained to the B-Eye Network website that there is a tendency for data quality efforts to be focused on dealing with previously-identified problem areas.

But he stated that this may not be the best approach and that the real challenge for data quality initiatives is to identify where future issues may crop up.

"The first step is to consider the types of errors that might occur and determine ways to anticipate those errors," Mr Loshin went on to advise.

Earlier this month, an article on the SmartData Collective website said that organisations should be treating data quality as a top business priority.

It warned that companies that cannot properly manage their structured data are in "dire straights", especially considering unstructured information is much harder to keep a handle on.