Data cleansing work can be an important part of successful data quality initiatives.

Ensuring data quality is an important part of modern day police work, a senior official has said.

It has emerged that North Yorkshire Police has the details of around 180,000 people logged on to a database, containing information such as dates of birth and ethnic origin, reports the Independent.

Presenting the case for conducting data quality work needs to focus on the tangible benefits of carrying out such an initiative, as well as the dangers of not doing so.

The use of data deduplication techniques can help businesses to tackle the amount of redundant information they are storing.
According to an article on the Network World website, data storage continues to grow at a rapid pace, placing a strain on both disaster recovery and backup systems.

Ensuring good data quality can be especially beneficial to companies involved in product-orientated industries.
According to an article by Information Management's senior editor Valerie Valentine, there are several reasons why organisations in this field may be looking to be making data quality improvements.

Data profiling enables businesses to understand the information they have and how it can be used.

The majority of organisations hoard a considerable amount of valueless data.
This is according to industry commentator Dylan Jones, who noted that in most cases, at least half of the information is of "limited value and could be cut from the target system".

The Direct Marketing Association (DMA) has announced plans to strengthen its sustainability guidelines.

According to Marketing Week, the organisation has added advice on issues such as data hygiene, recycling messages and the sourcing of sustainable paper to its code.

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".

Direct marketing professionals should use relevant data to drive their campaigns, it has been suggested.

Writing for Marketing Week, Richard Lees, Chairman of DBG, said there can be no customer engagement unless material is properly tailored.

It has been announced that a data quality overhaul is to take place to ensure that accurate information is kept for UK pensions schemes.

Information used for risk management purposes could be improved if financial providers take an enterprise-wide approach to data quality.

Small businesses looking to communicate with their customers more effectively have been advised to consider launching a blog.

Portable data storage devices can make organisations extremely vulnerable, particularly those belonging to senior managers.

Ensuring that data is well maintained is vital for the financial services industry.

This is according to Daragh O'Brien, former Director of Publicity for the International Association for Information and data quality, who said data is "the mission critical asset" for this sector.