What is data Quality?
Within SAP,data
Quality is defined as postal validation,
duplicate checking, and error tolerant searching. Postal Validation
enhances address information by comparing data against address
directories provided from local postal authorities around the world.
Duplicate Check avoids duplicate entries by scanning the database
for potential duplicates before new customer data is committed to
the database. Finally, Error Tolerant Searching provides flexibility
by giving users the ability to conveniently search their SAP system
for business information as re
Quired. Involvement of a data
Quality
initiative helps you maintain a reliable source of information for
all departments within your own organization while simultaneously
maximizing interactions with your vendors, customers, and business
partners.
When and where should I
integrate data Quality into my SAP Suite of applications or other
projects in my enterprise?
Data Quality should be integrated any place where data is entered,
loaded, processed, or updated. Data Quality should be built into the
beginning phases of all Enterprise Resource Planning, Customer
Relationship Management, and Business Intelligence projects. Too
many projects focus on data Quality as an afterthought, at the
back-end of a data repository or when a project has failed. By not
incorporating data Quality measures at every customer touch point,
on both front and back-end operations, the cost of cleansing the
data dramatically increases as well as how long the cleansing
process takes to complete.
Can I integrate a data Quality solution within
other software applications?
Data Quality solutions can be fully integrated into
CRM, ETL (Extract Transform Load), ERP, or BI
solutions and have the advantage of being &Quot;seamless&Quot; to the end user
- reducing the learning curve, as well as decreasing the
implementation timeframes. Your data process flow should not have to
be modified to add a new data Quality solution. Through integration
and strategic partnerships you are assured that you are getting a
best-of-breed solution. However, keep in mind it is not absolutely
necessary for the solution to be fully integrated. Firstlogic also
provides tools that your organization can easily integrate on your
own, and oftentimes stand-alone solutions may be more effective for
specific projects.
Will Firstlogic's Global Data Quality Connector
for SAP manage my international data?
Yes. Built on a global framework capable of validating address
information for over 190 countries in a single processing pass,
Firstlogic's Global Data Quality Connector for SAP allows you to
identify country names, format and standardize addresses, correct
missing address information, and assign postal codes for each
respective country. Furthermore, Firstlogic's Easy IQ technology
offers the ability to complete/populate addresses with minimal data
or offer suggestions for possible matches. This easy address system
is ideal in call centers or any transactional environment
where data needs to be cleansed at the point-of-entry. The software
improves real-time transactions for your call centers, sales, and
support centers by providing accurate address data for your customer
facing employees.
How easy is it to maintain Firstlogic's Global
Data Quality Connector for SAP after implementation?
Ongoing maintenance should be minimal. Once the solution is
implemented and configured, typically maintenance will only be
reQuired when you receive postal directory updates, upgrade to a new
data Quality release, or decide to change your application or
business rules.
What are the benefits of a data Quality
solution?
The biggest benefit is the confidence you have that your data is
accurate. A data Quality solution also allows you to:
- Manage customer data in different formats
initially residing in separate databases
- Build and maintain successful relationships
- Better understand and service your customers
- Enhance knowledge management and business
intelligence initiatives with reliable and accurate information
- Deliver clean, reliable data throughout your
expanding information supply chains to all varieties of
operational and analytical applications throughout your
enterprise
How does Firstlogic's Global Data Quality
Connector for SAP Systems work?
Firstlogic's Global Data Quality Connector is integrated at the
BASIS layer and communicates with the SAP Applications via TCP/IP
leveraging SAP's Remote Function Call (RFC) interface. As users make
postal validation inQuiries in either batch or real-time, calls are
made outside of the SAP Application to Firstlogic's RFC Server. Once
the customer's address has been received by Firstlogic's technology,
our Information Quality Suite parses, standardizes, and corrects
records according to configurable business rules and local postal
authority standards. To ensure your customer view is optimized,
Firstlogic's technology catches duplicates at the point of entry;
not after redundant information has infected your SAP Environment.
Before any customer, vendor, or business partner is committed to the
database, Firstlogic's Information Quality suite
will immediately inspect the data upon input. The connector scans
the entire database for duplicates and assigns a similarity match
score to potential duplicates. At that point, the user can determine
whether the entered record is uniQue or a duplicate that should be
eliminated from the system. In addition, convenient Error Tolerant
Searching is available for prompt and precise address recognition.
This improves transaction processing, saves time locating records,
and optimizes system efficiency.
Explain the architecture of Firstlogic's Global
Data Quality Connector for SAP Systems.
Integrated at the BASIS/WAS layer, Firstlogic has developed Business
Add-Ins (BAdI's) that can be leveraged with a single instantiation;
allowing for all SAP modules that utilize SAP's Business Address
Services framework to leverage the compelling advantages of
Firstlogic technology. Furthermore, Firstlogic's Information Quality
Suite has been developed as a Remote Function Call (RFC) Server: the
most common integration component of SAP software. Utilizing SAP's
RFC interface, SAP makes calls to Firstlogic technology for address
check, updates, duplicate checks, and error tolerant searches.
