BizAnalyst Network: Garbage In, Garbage Out of Control; Growing Odor of Bad Data

Saturday, June 18, 2005

Garbage In, Garbage Out of Control; Growing Odor of Bad Data

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-------- EWEEK'S DATABASE UPDATE --------
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June 16, 2005

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In This Edition
Lisa Vaas: Garbage In, Garbage Out of Control

1. News: The Growing Odor of Bad Data
2. New: Liberty Alliance Gangs Up on ID Thieves
3. News: CA's Gupta: We and Open Source Are Just Friends. Really.
4. News: Oracle Bats a Come-Hither Eye at SAP Users
5. News: Oracle's North American Sales Force Gets Blender-ized

Visit the Database Topic Center:
http://ct.enews.eweek.com/rd/cts?d=186-2158-11-96-93771-245253-0-0-0-1

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Lisa Vaas
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Garbage In, Garbage Out of Control

I had to laugh.

There I was, writing a response to Baseline's excellent package
on the spread of bad data and how data brokers such as
ChoicePoint are so very cavalier about innocent people winding
up in jail because of it, in the middle of getting all steamed up
about the people who greedily suck up information and spew it
out at great profit with no regard for its accuracy or the intent of
its purchasers, when the phone rang.

"Hello, I'm so-and-so from blah-blah media tracking company,
and we want to update our information on you," was the rapid-fire
introduction.

The bristles on my neck stood straight up. More people, wanting
more information, disseminating it all over the globe, with not a care
in the world for my privacy or potential identity theft. Luckily, I
recovered my wits in time to update my information as
a media contact -- which, after all, is a professional obligation
that ensures that news can actually get to me -- instead of
ripping the caller a new one.

Read my suggestions on how bad bad data is really going to get
when dirty databases get linked, and make sure to check out
Baseline's package. It will leave you primed to wage war over
protecting your own data, as was I.

Read Lisa's column on the issue.
http://ct.enews.eweek.com/rd/cts?d=186-2158-11-96-93771-245256-0-0-0-1

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Database Update
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1. News: The Growing Odor of Bad Data

An innocent man is thrown in jail to rot for a week after a new
employer's background check depicted him as a child molester
and rapist, all thanks to identity theft: namely, the theft of his
Social security number and birth certificate years ago. Think it
would be easy to clean up the mistake? No way, Jose, not with
the powers that be investing their faith in data aggregators and
brokers such as ChoicePoint, who in turn throw up their hands
and say lousy data isn't their fault. Check out the whole Baseline
package to learn how spotty data checking is and how customers
are paying the costs.
http://ct.enews.eweek.com/rd/cts?d=186-2158-11-96-93771-245259-0-0-0-1

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2. New: Liberty Alliance Gangs Up on ID Thieves

The alliance, a consortium of 150+ companies, nonprofits
and government agencies devoted to an open standard
for federated network identity, has launched a group to
target the problem through technology, policy and business
activities. Find out what's first on its agenda.
http://ct.enews.eweek.com/rd/cts?d=186-2158-11-96-93771-245262-0-0-0-1

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3. News: CA's Gupta: We and Open Source Are Just Friends. Really.

CA likes the business opportunities of managing open-source
technology, but it's got no plans to go and marry the stuff by
becoming an open-source software vendor, says the CTO at
a conference on venture capital.
http://ct.enews.eweek.com/rd/cts?d=186-2158-11-96-93771-245265-0-0-0-1

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4. News: Oracle Bats a Come-Hither Eye at SAP Users

We'll give you up to 100 percent license credit to make
the switcheroo, whispers the second-place enterprise
apps suitor. The program, subtly enough, is dubbed OFF
SAP (Oracle Fusion for SAP).
http://ct.enews.eweek.com/rd/cts?d=186-2158-11-96-93771-245268-0-0-0-1

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5. News: Oracle Shakes Up North American Sales

Ted Bereswill, former director of the eastern region, becomes
leader of the whole NA enchilada. Dan Stroks, former western
honcho, takes on global sales and consulting for Retek. Analysts
say: Yeah, OK, just keep working to muzzle that aggressive bunch.
http://ct.enews.eweek.com/rd/cts?d=186-2158-11-96-93771-245271-0-0-0-1

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Job Search
http://ct.enews.eweek.com/rd/cts?d=186-2158-11-96-93771-245274-0-0-0-1

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The Channel Insider
http://ct.enews.eweek.com/rd/cts?d=186-2158-11-96-93771-245277-0-0-0-1

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DevSource
http://ct.enews.eweek.com/rd/cts?d=186-2158-11-96-93771-245280-0-0-0-1