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For instance, you may collect your customers’ personally identifiable information (PII), such as their full name, Social Security number, address, and credit card information. In addition to supporting strong decision-making, data integrity protects your data subjects’ information and image. If the integrity of your company’s data has been compromised in any way, the negative impact could be long-lasting and far-reaching. After all, data-driven decisions can only be as strong as the data they’re based on. Related: Data Wrangling: What It Is & Why It’s Important Why Is Data Integrity Important?Īchieving and maintaining data integrity can save your organization the time, effort, and money it would cost to make a big decision based on incorrect or incomplete data.

Cybersecurity or internal privacy breaches: For instance, someone hacks into your company’s database with the intent to damage or steal information, or an internal employee damages data with malicious intent.

Collection error: For instance, data collected is inaccurate or lacking information, creating an incomplete picture of the subject.

Inconsistencies across format: For instance, a set of data in Microsoft Excel that relies on cell referencing may not be accurate in a different format that doesn’t allow those cells to be referenced.

Human error: For instance, accidentally deleting a row of data in a spreadsheet.

Threats to a dataset’s integrity can include:

This contributes to the data’s integrity by ensuring it hasn’t been compromised by those threats. Involves protecting data from both external and internal threats and maintaining the privacy of its subjects. It’s worth noting that data integrity isn’t the same as data security, although the two concepts are related. Preserving the integrity of your company’s data is a constant process.

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DOWNLOAD NOWĭata integrity is the accuracy, completeness, and quality of data as it’s maintained over time and across formats.

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Here’s a look at the answers to these questions so you can help your company ensure the integrity of its data.įree E-Book: A Beginner's Guide to Data & AnalyticsĪccess your free e-book today. So, what is data integrity? What can you do to combat threats and maintain datasets’ integrity for the benefit of your organization, data subjects, and customers? One error in a dataset can have a ripple effect and impact your business’s most vital decisions. With so much hinging on the power of data, the importance of data integrity can’t be overstated.

According to McKinsey, data-driven organizations are 23 times more likely to outperform competitors in customer acquisition, nine times more likely to retain customers, and up to 19 times more profitable. As data becomes increasingly available, businesses that use it to drive decision-making are reaping the benefits.