Business analytics company SAS has partnered with Lightstone, a data management solutions provider, to roll out a joint initiative called Data Hub, a data management and maintenance system.
The Data Hub is powered by technology from Dataflux, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SAS. The solution, comprised of hardware and software, analyses, cleans, standardises, and validates business data, as well as providing ongoing database maintenance services.
Lightstone is responsible for Data Hub's hardware and Web-based information systems, data management and consulting services.
SAS identified the growing problem of medium-size enterprises not storing accurate data and being unable to afford costly data quality systems and the staff to maintain those systems.
The Data Hub solution works as an outsourced service that aims to boost the accuracy and effectiveness of customer data integration, product information management and compliance.
“The future success of your business is based on the quality of your data, which is essential in understanding not only your customers, but knowing when to make informed business decisions and the impact that such decisions will have on your business,” said Anthony Miller, MD of Lightstone, during the partnership announcement in Sandton, last night.
Miller explained that Lightstone is working with partners such as Xperien to retrieve its customers' missing business data and to validate whether the information around a particular customer is complete.
“For instance, a financial organisation might want to check that the customer's address correlates with that of the deed's office,” noted Miller. “The service is provided in real-time and information is standardised.”
He added: “Historically, medium-size businesses would have to make significant capital investments in hardware, software and skills to run these data centres. This led to a large financial commitment for an uncertain return on investment.
“What was previously unaffordable to the mid-market now enables organisations to pay for data maintenance at a variable cost basis and can be tested before commitment is made.”
According to SAS, geo-demographic data or missing data elements like address or contact details can be added to individual customer records.
Kerry Evans, general manager of the SAS commercial division, said: “One of the biggest challenges facing South African businesses is the fact that data quality resources are not generally available.
“Customer data is a critically important part of an organisation, but often it's not easy for the company to authenticate and clean the data on its own,” she added.
Regarding data security, SAS maintains that the Data Hub service adheres to strict data security standards, ensuring confidentiality of all data whether it is being transferred, processed or managed.
Last month, SAS acquired intelligence management solutions provider Memex to build systems that combine data resources between law enforcement and defence intelligence agencies in the US and UK.
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