From the Editor

 

The last few months have seen some very interesting developments in the data profiling discipline.  Interest in data quality and data assessment is increasing significantly, and it shows in the press releases on the major vendors.  Evoke Software^™ announced a record third quarter.  Avellino^™ announced a recent $1.26 million sale.  Ascential Software^™ secured both Landstar^™ and Jenny Craig^™ as customers of its Enterprise Integration Suite.  There is also increased interest in data profiling from ETL and business intelligence providers, as shown in announced partnerships with Group 1^™ and ETI^™ from Evoke Software.

 

There have also been new product developments.  Avellino has released version 3.1 of its Discovery^™ data profiling solution.  A new entrant in the data profiling space is DQS Software^™ with its Data Quality Suite^™.  I also know of other products in the pipeline that promise more and better capabilities.

 

A new book has been published that discusses data profiling as applied to data quality assessment and improvement.  Jack Olson, Chief Technology Officer of Evoke Software, draws on his considerable experience while writing “Data Quality: The Accuracy Dimension.”  If you want to learn an effective strategy for identifying and correcting existing data quality issues using data profiling technology, I highly recommend this book.

 

Of course, with this growth come new capabilities and techniques.  One article this issue discusses trends and advances in data profiling technology forecasted for the next couple of years.  Our readers are encouraged to submit articles on new profiling techniques as well as desired enhancements to existing technology.

 

On another note, we’re introducing a mailing list for newsletter and press announcements.  If you wish to be included, join our mailing list.

 

Finally, we need your opinions.  Please fill out the feedback form after reading this issue.  Let us know what topics you want covered.  Submit event or conference announcements.  We can’t make “The Data Profiler” better without your input.

 

Enjoy the newsletter.

 

Joseph Novella, Editor