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By now, you are likely acquainted with the benefits of data. That is why you use it to understand your market better, improve customer databases, launch targeted campaigns, and facilitate personalization. However, what you may not know is data quality determines whether or not you get to enjoy most of these things. That being said, data can only be valuable to your operations if it's of high quality. Some of the characteristics of data quality are outlined below.

1. Reliability

Reliability helps you determine whether the data you have contradicts trusted sources. That means you can consider data as high-quality if it's from a verified source like a scientific research magazine instead of social media platforms or unregulated online forums. Moreover, reliable data is consistent and impervious to variations. On the other hand, unreliable, inconsistent information is predisposed to numerous issues, the topmost being incorrect results and misinformation.

2. Accuracy

Experts determine the accuracy of a particular set of data by gauging how well it reflects reality. Quality data should be a mirror image of the way things are. For instance, if your company's annual revenue is a million dollars, the data you have shouldn't represent that as the business's bottom line. Since accurate data is error-free, you can use it to make informed decisions. Inaccurate information is likely to mislead your team, cause faulty predictions, and tamper with outcomes.

3. Relevance

Most businesses constantly deal with two types of data: relevant and distracting data. Relevant data is information that positively impacts decision-making and outcomes. And, as the name suggests, distracting data is worthless to you. For instance, if you run a car dealership, data proving that people are leaning more towards red cars helps you strategize and restock accordingly. Therefore, you can categorize it as relevant. The same information is distracting and not particularly useful to a carwash owner.

4. Completeness

Data can only be complete or whole if it has no missing parts or gaps. If the information you have doesn't have everything essential, it's incomplete or incomprehensive. For data to serve you effectively, it must be comprehensive and complete. Otherwise, information gaps only hinder your operations by interfering with outcomes. For example, if your business delivers packages by mail, you must have at least two things: your customer's name and address. If the information on your database lacks either of those, you will not serve them efficiently.

Get Data Quality Monitoring Software

Information can serve your company best when it's top-quality. Fortunately, you can assess the quality of your organization's data using data quality monitoring software. This tool executes that task by checking the quality of every created, maintained, or utilized data instance in your company. That way, if there are any problems, you get duly notified and can rectify the situation before it negatively impacts your operations.

For more information, contact a data monitoring software company in your area such as FirstEigen.