Outsource the dirty work

So, you’ve completed your audit and prioritized areas that need your focus, but you now need to cleanse your data. Where do you start this process?

Data cleansing can be complex. Considering your data’s value, you want to make sure this is done correctly, so you may need to seek support from an external partner who is a specialist in this area.

When selecting a partner, it is important to consider the following:

• Make sure this partner satisfies your InfoSec and compliance requirements. As a valuable asset, your data should be protected. You do not want it to be exposed to security risks or shared beyond what is necessary.
• Ensure the data sets they use to validate your data are credible and varied. Some suppliers rely on their own internally generated datasets and many don’t cover all sources.
• Check they have access to multiple comprehensive datasets.
• Ask if they have the autonomy to validate your data against a broader range of data sources. An organization that is not independent may only validate against their own data. As a result, the validation may be less comprehensive.