How Does Your Data Smell?

Posted by Charley Hughes on Apr 2, 2015 2:00 PM


Two Quick Thoughts

The Issue

A popular air freshener company is moving lots of product these days by asking if we have become “Noseblind”.   Noseblindness is the phenomenon where humans become accustomed to the odors around us until we no longer recognize them, while our guests are overwhelmed by the cat’s litter box or the fish we cooked for dinner last night.     

Since none of us want to offend the sensibilities of those who visit our homes and offices, we purchase the latest plug in fragrance or aerosol freshener out of fear that others will detect the offensive odors to which we have become immune.   After all, who has the time to constantly search for things we no longer realize exist? 

The Application

Fotolia_77537472_XS1Today, we live in a world where data has become nearly as ubiquitous as the air we breathe.   And, while it is easy to become overloaded and succumb to paralysis by analysis from every possible data point available, have we become equally “Data Blind” to the needs of our data integration users and stakeholders?  

When setting up data integration systems such as an EDI translation package, we take great care to make sure that inbound data is translated correctly and arrives at its intended destination error free.  After the setup is complete we can become blind to the magical and transparent flow of data unless an error occurs, calling our attention to the data once again.   

Has our definition of competitive excellence, where B2B data integration is concerned, become falsely masked by the data blindness of merely maintaining error free integration systems?    If we don’t smell anything, do our internal customers share the same opinion that all is as well? 

As situations evolve for our users, stakeholders, trading partners, and back end systems, so does our opportunity to consider “freshening” things up by providing additional value.   

The Solution

With end to end visibility and reporting capabilities available thru translator framework offerings, we have the opportunity to provide more value to the business by leveraging information related to volume, trends, and other meaningful metrics that may be right under our noses.   

Especially if you are planning for an upgrade given the recent end of support announcement for Sterling Integrator version 5.1, fresh data may be ripe for the picking.  Especially for those who are willing to step outside of daily routines briefly, clear their palette, and take a fresh sniff at the possibilities.