TRILLIUM SOFTWARE INSIGHTS

Building Data Equity with Multi-domain Master Data Management and Data Quality solutions

Andrew Simpson, VP of Business Development  Riversand Technologies, Inc.  

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I have been doing a lot of work on my house recently - it’s a good investment and I enjoy both the process and outcome of home improvement.  As a result, I have been thinking a lot about a simple saying I read recently in a business journal: “When someone goes to a store to buy a drill, they are not buying a drill, they are buying holes.”  Sometimes simple sayings have the most meaning. 

A similar type of axiom can be applied to my work helping companies with their Master Data Management (MDM) initiatives. Companies that invest in MDM systems need high quality, authoritative data on important corporate entities readily available and synchronized with operational systems.  Improved Data Quality and effective Data Governance are primary end results and key performance metrics of a successful MDM initiative. When companies invest in MDM, they are buying into the outcome: robust, high-quality master data that is easily managed and leveraged throughout an organization. This is the reason Riversand has built pervasive data quality management capabilities into our MDM solution by integrating with Trillium Software. 

Without MDM and Data Quality systems, key corporate information is managed by multiple inflexible systems which can contain duplicate, inconsistent or inaccurate data causing operational inefficiencies and costly errors. This can have a major negative impact on an organization. In an October, 2011 Research Brief entitled “Measuring the Business Value of Data Quality”, Gartner indicated that 40% of the anticipated value of all business initiatives is never achieved due to poor data quality. This loss in business value was due primarily to reduced operational efficiency, risk mitigation and agility by compromising the accuracy of decisions based on available data.

To overcome these problems, we have seen a major trend over the last few years of most leading companies developing “golden” master records of Products, Customers, Vendors, Assets, Employees, and/or other important information assets using MDM solutions like Riversand’s. Master Data Management provides a platform to better manage critical master data on key corporate entities and all associated business processes. It can provide a platform to aggregate data to be cleansed by solutions such as Trillium Software. Together, Riversand and Trillium Software represent  extremely effective tools to help companies improve master data equity within their organizations.  

What Are Insurance Customers Really Thinking? A New Approach to Analyzing Sentiment

Michael Chochrek, Insurance Solutions Principal Consultant, Harte-Hanks Trillium Software 
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Insurance is a promise. When someone has an unfortunate occurrence, they expect their insurance company to help pick up the pieces and get them back to their normal life as soon as possible.

I'm So Excited to Learn Things I Don't Know

Len Dubois, Sr. Vice President, Marketing & Sales Support,Harte-Hanks Trillium Software

Today we kick off our 10th annual Trillium Software customer conference in Orlando. I'm so excited to learn things I don't know!

Forgotten Connections? Big Data and Data Quality

Nigel Turner, Vice President, Information Management Strategy, Harte-Hanks Trillium Software 
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Big Data is everywhere. Look at any IT industry journal or website and you'll see more articles about Big Data than any other subject in the industry. As I write this piece, typing the words "Big Data" into my Google search engine brings back over 1.5 billion hits.

Assess Your Claims Data Now – Key Questions to Get Started

Michael Chochrek, Insurance Solutions Principal Consultant, Harte-Hanks Trillium Software 
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 How long has it been since your claims department assessed the information that you rely on to make the most critical claims decisions?  If you are like most insurance companies, it has probably been quite some time.  I recommend that you take a step back and consider some of these questions as a starting point.

DATA GOVERNANCE – THE GLOBAL DIMENSION

Nigel Turner, Vice President, Information Management Strategy, Harte-Hanks Trillium Software
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I can recall a time, in a not so far off and distant past, when engaging business and IT people in the topic of data governance was a bit like using a self-service checkout in a supermarket. You gathered up your wares and approached the till. It appeared easy at first sight, but as soon as you put your goods on the table you were usually met with robotic indifference or even metallic cries of ‘unexpected Item’ and advised to go and seek help elsewhere.   

Medical Bills – To Owe Or Not To Owe, That Is the Question

Michael Chochrek, Insurance Solutions Principal Consultant, Harte-Hanks Trillium Software
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It’s no secret that medical expenses are spiraling out of control, costing the Worker’s Compensation insurance industry millions, if not billions of dollars each year. Most companies have controls in place to mitigate these costs and have implemented bill-auditing systems to address this issue, but are they effective?

WHO’S AFRAID OF THE BIG BAD DATA WOLF?

Nigel Turner, Vice President, Information Management Strategy, Harte-Hanks Trillium Software

I recently had the pleasure of presenting at a Big Data & Data Management event in Cambridge University in the UK. The event, jointly organised by the University and DAMA UK, focused on some of the key trends and challenges facing organisations looking to mine and exploit new Big Data sources.  It was an excellent day as attendees came from both Big Data science and the more traditional data management disciplines of data architecture, data integration, data quality and Business Intelligence.  By the end we all realised how much we will ultimately depend on each other, rather than ploughing two parallel furrows that will never meet, as sadly seems to be norm at present.

Data Governance Trek

Jim Harris, Blogger-in-Chief, Obsessive-Compulsive Data Quality (ocdqblog.com)

“Data: the final frontier.  These are the voyages of the stewardship Governance.  Its continuing mission: To explore strange, new sources of business insight; To seek out new data and new uses for existing data; To boldly go where perhaps no governance has gone before.”

Like many of my fellow data geeks, I am a fan of science fiction.  One of my favorite franchises is Star Trek, which includes several fictional technologies that provide good metaphors for data governance:

• Universal Translators — These devices, which instantly translate all received messages into the native language of the user, are an apt metaphor for the multi-directional communication necessary for pulling people together and facilitating an enterprise-wide understanding of data governance.

• Replicators — These machines, capable of creating any object whose molecular structure is on file, are an apt metaphor for building reusability into your data governance program, which includes reusing your existing data management best practices as well as creating reusable data quality rules.

• Tricorders — These multi-function devices for sensor scanning and data analysis are an apt metaphor for the role of data quality monitoring, which aligns data governance metrics with business insight.

• Cloaking Devices — This stealth technology that causes spaceships to be partially or wholly invisible is an apt metaphor for securing sensitive data, thereby concealing it from unauthorized view.

• Phasers — These directed-energy weapons are an apt metaphor for the phased implementation approach that is necessary in order to continue the momentum of a data governance program.

What other metaphors (science fiction or otherwise) can you think of or, even better, have you used in order to help your data governance program boldly go on its continuing mission for your enterprise’s success?

Financial Executives have Data on the Brain: My Thoughts on FIMA Boston 2013

Michael Hutnyan, EVP Sales & Solution Strategy, Harte-Hanks Trillium Software

I had the pleasure of attending the Financial Information Management Association (FIMA) event in Boston this week. As always, the conference was equal parts educational and inspirational. It’s exciting to learn from so many smart people dedicated to realizing the value of information.