Firstlogic, La Crosse, WI, a data quality solutions vendor for data warehousing, e-business, and print and mail applications, is announcing an international e-data quality solution at the Spring 200 National Postal Forum in Nashville today.
The EDQ solution allows businesses to gain access to Firstlogic’s data quality products in an application-service provider (ASP) environment.
The solution will allow companies to link their business systems into a Firstlogic Web site — hosted by a Web hosting company called Data Returns based in Dallas –and have their cleansing and data quality performed and then returned back to their application. The data is updated every two months by Firstlogic, with virtually no customer upkeep.
“We’ve changed our architecture so that it is much easier to integrate with how e-commerce companies are deploying their businesses,” said Joe Zurwaski, director, marketing, Firstlogic. “In addition, our services will allow companies that maybe previously couldn’t afford to buy these types of sophisticated data quality tools the ability to use them in a real-time data environment.”
While no prices are currently available, customers will pay either monthly subscription or per-transaction service charges.
Here’s how the system works: A companies’ customer registers on a Web site, and decides they want to buy something. They type in their contact information — such as name, address and Web address — and seamlessly, using the ASP service, the data will travel to the hosted service that houses all of Firstlogic’s data quality software. The data will go through the cleaning process including making sure the right information is contained in the right field, arranging customer information into a consistent format, adding missing information and correcting addresses for the US and Canada and other countries. If there is a mistake, the company will either offer the customers suggestion list that says, for example a ZIP code is not correct, and offer choices. A company can also choose to automatically have the address or ZIP code changed automatically.
“The unique characteristics of customer data demand clean, reliable, real-time information to facilitate meaningful and profitable transactions,” said Zurawski. “Customer carelessness and inability to type effectively are factors that can play a critical role in conducting reliable e-business transactions.”
Firstlogic is particularly excited about the international addressing that new solution offers. The company will offer an adders assignment solutions in 16 European countries — including France, Italy, Germany and the United Kingdom.
“Each country will have the best available postal-grade data to offer the best possible address assignments,” said Zurawski. “And we’ve found assignment rates in the 90 percent range from customers that have tested the solution.”
Zurawski said that customers who send either direct marketing campaigns or ship goods internationally need this level of data quality, “or else you are really taking a chance if they ever gets there.”
