Informatica Data Explorer Product

Data Quality for Performance Management

Informatica Data Explorer is breakthrough software that puts powerful data profiling and mapping capabilities in the hands of the business and IT. Data analysts and data stewards work with Informatica Data Explorer to search and profile data from any source. With unparalleled ease of use, the software reveals hidden data quality issues, gaps, and inconsistencies and incompatibilities within and across data sources. Accurately profiled data accelerates and streamlines data integration initiatives and other business or IT projects. Organizations use Informatica Data Explorer to create a complete and completely accurate picture of the content, quality, and structure of their enterprise data that can be used as the foundation for addressing data quality enterprise-wide.

Benefits

• Puts powerful data profiling capabilities in the hands of business and IT users
• Reduces risk of IT initiatives by identifying issues and gaps in the source data before migration or integration begins
• Instills business confidence in enterprise data
• Provides foundation for addressing data quality enterprise-wide

Key Features

Data Profiling. Informatica Data Explorer features sophisticated data profiling capabilities, which enable data analysts and data stewards to automatically discover and define the content, structure, and quality of highly complex data structures. The software alerts users to hidden inconsistencies and incompatibilities between data sources and target applications. Data can be profiled on an ongoing basis, and changes to source data can be analyzed over time to improve data quality.

Data Mapping. Informatica Data Explorer features robust data mapping capabilities, which enable data analysts and data stewards to generate accurate source-to-target mapping between different data structures and define the necessary transformation specifications. The software allows users to compare actual data and metadata sources to target application requirements and identify the gaps, inconsistencies, redundancies, and inaccuracies so that they can be resolved before moving the data.

Configurable Tagging. Informatica Data Explorer features configurable tagging capabilities, which enable data analysts and data stewards to generate "tags" against any data element and store the tags in the open, standards-based repository. These tags might include information about project management, data explanations, or transformation logic. This feature lets users easily identify data quality issues, document them, flag them for resolution, and communicate this to others in the organization easily via email.

Easy-to-use User Interface. Informatica Data Explorer features an easy-to-use user interface (UI) that is familiar to anyone who uses Windows-based applications. Informatica Data Explorer's UI supports process-oriented, intuitive investigation and documentation of all data quality issues,   accelerating data profiling initiatives and the software product learning curve. Informatica Data Explorer reduces total cost of ownership and return on investment by expanding use and appeal to a wider range of users across the organization.

Support for All Enterprise Data Types. No other product offers support for a broader reach of enterprise data sources. This support extends beyond simply customer data such as names, addresses, and telephone numbers; it includes product, financial, inventory, pricing, and other data as well. Informatica Data Explorer profiles multiple data sources and all data types.

Why Does Your Business Need Informatica Data Explorer?

Put Powerful Data Profiling Capabilities in the Hands of Business and IT Users
Informatica Data Explorer was designed specifically for business and IT professionals, such as data analysts and data stewards. Informatica Data Explorer is easy to use. With a simple, Windows-like user interface, data analysts and data stewards will be able to perform comprehensive data profiling and mapping processes while avoiding the steep learning curve inherent in other technology. Configurable tagging lets users easily identify and communicate data quality issues they find. Over 500 pre-built profiling rules are automatically applied to the data being investigated. Users can easily customize new rules for auto-profiling processes when new data enters the enterprise. These features empower business users to start to implement effective and lasting data quality processes in their organizations.

Reduce Risk of IT Initiatives
Too often, mission-critical IT initiatives overrun their schedule and budgets-or fail outright-because organizations lack a complete and accurate understanding of the source data. Why? Databases are complex. The volumes of metadata and data can be vast and difficult to unravel. The process of understanding source data using a manual process is tedious and prone to errors.

Before data can be used in a specific application or system-or in a data integration initiative such as data migration, systems consolidation, or a data warehouse project-the content, quality, and structure of the data must be thoroughly understood. With its robust data profiling capabilities, Informatica Data Explorer quickly and easily searches and profiles data from any source. If data quality issues are discovered, they can then be resolved before the data is used. Informatica Data Explorer helps ensure that there are no surprises, so valuable IT initiatives can proceed on time, on budget, and with less risk.

Instills Business Confidence in Enterprise Data
With Informatica Data Explorer, any source data can be automatically profiled. The software provides a complete set of data investigation, discovery, and mapping tools that are used to scan every single data record. An algorithmic sampling of source systems is then used to deliver accurate assessments. Data can be profiled on an ongoing basis, and changes to source data can be analyzed over time to improve data quality. This gives business users confidence that the data upon which they depend to make strategic business decisions is consistently accurate, current, and complete.

Provides Foundation for Improving Data Quality Enterprise-wide
The quality of data and metadata can degrade over time if it's not continuously managed and updated. Metadata that is correct and appropriate when a system is created can become inadequate, out-of-date, incomplete, or misleading as the uses to which the data are put to change over time. Informatica Data Explorer compares actual data content to new application requirements, identifies gaps, and provides all the information necessary to start the process of correcting inconsistencies, redundancies, and inaccuracies in data used in applications, databases, and business systems. Designed from the ground up to work with all data types and provide robust scalability, Informatica Data Explorer helps organizations improve data quality enterprise-wide.

Home | Legal Notices | Privacy Statement | Site Map
Performance Management | Business Intelligence | RSS Feeds

Copyright © 2008 Cognos ULC (formerly Cognos Inc.), an IBM Company. All rights reserved.

Cognos is a world leader in business intelligence, performance management, data integration, enterprise risk management, olap reporting, analytics software, bank branch profitability, retail performance management, supply chain visibility, customer profitability, Oracle business intelligence, and balanced scorecarding for the enterprise.