Author Archives 
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Data granularity- avoid going against the grain
In the world of data warehousing, the grain of a fact table defines the level of detail that is stored, and which dimensions are included make up this grain. Obviously, the higher the grain the better- although source systems and data volume/performance may intervene. Using the example in the Wikipedia article on fact tables, a [...]
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Too much data storage hurts data quality- the toothpaste effect
When I brush my teeth there is a wide range in terms of amount of toothpaste that is acceptable to me. This is not a profound statement- bear with me. Only as the tube of toothpaste starts getting near to its end do I start conserving toothpaste because I know I need to make it [...]
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Cloudy thinking in the cloud
Maybe its just me, but the hype about "the cloud" seems to just keep growing. I think that not since the concept of vaporware was created has the moisture content been so high in information technology circles, the relative humdity is making my brain all foggy. It seems like everything just somehow gets fixed by [...]
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Datamartist V1.3.0 Value Distribution data profiling
This video gives a quick (under two minute) look at the Datamartist data profiler's ability to explore the distribution of numeric values in a data set by counting the number of values that fall into a series of equal size buckets. It highlights the datamartists calculation, visualization, selection and drill down features using a simple [...]
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How the general ledger can become a data warehouse
Many companies today rely on the general ledger as key part of their management reporting, well beyond the obvious financial information. This has often been shaped by how companies first adopted information technology. In some firms, their management reporting systems reflect the fact that as information technology began to be used extensively by business, often [...]
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V1.3.0 Public beta released
Come and get it while its still warm! The next release of Datamartist, a data profiling and data transformation tool (think ETL and data profiler rolled into one) is now available in BETA as a public trial download. UPDATE: V1.3 has been released- thanks to all our Beta testers! The currently released version 1.2.6 is [...]
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When the right tool is not a standard tool.
Phil Simon (@philsimon) tweeted a link to an article in the Harvard business review that talks about the dangers of being "overly tool standardized" within an organisation that I thought was very interesting. Now, of course, standards are needed, and for a broad range of tools its counter productive (and horrifically expensive) to let everyone [...]
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A simple ETL tool with data profiling tools built in
Datamartist is a new idea in ETL and data profiling tools. It gives people who are serious about getting at their data a powerful, simple to use, right sized tool. Easy to install Easy to use ETL features and data profiling capability Avoid using the wrong tool for the job Enterprise ETL tools (Extract Transform [...]
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Data quality from a four year old
I think my four year old would make a good data quality dude. He explained to me recently, why its better to use stickers than crayons, "for the things people use a lot". "Dad, if you use crayons, you might draw it different, but stickers- they are all the same." he then pointed to the [...]
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Data integration is like a pizza
I enjoy a slice of pizza as much as the next person (perhaps a bit more). The key to a good pizza is the raw materials- use the right stuff, and you'll be happy every time. What's great about pizza is that it has all sorts of great stuff on it, and presents them all [...]
