Data profiling can provide businesses with a reality check

Understanding data is essential if it is to be used effectively, it has been claimed.

Writing for Smart Data Collective, industry commentator Jim Harris said there is "simply no substitute for data analysis".

"Data profiling can provide a reality check for the perceptions and assumptions you may have about the quality of your data," he commented.

Mr Harris noted that the point of profiling is not to reveal answers, but to "discover the right questions".

Cleansing is also important when it comes to improving data quality, especially when it impacts on information that is used to make important decisions, he explained.