Poor data quality ‘concerning many businesses’

A large number of organisations are concerned about the effects poor data quality could have on their business.

According to recent research conducted by global independent software industry analyst the Business Application Research Center (BARC), data quality was named as the issue most concerning business intelligence application end users.

Barney Finucane, a BARC analyst and lead author of the survey, told the Computing website this year’s study is the first time in the annual report’s history that data quality has been in the top position.

"In the past it has always been beaten by complaints about query speed," he remarked.

"I think part of that is a general trend towards more complaints about organisation, rather than technical, issues."

Last month, ZDNet blogger Joe McKendrick said that a recent Sybase study found that improved data quality levels have the potential to lead to higher customer satisfaction and brand loyalty, thereby increasing sales.