Data is the strongest weapon in any enterprise’s arsenal. With proper Data Management tools, organizations can use data to gain insight into customer patterns, update business processes, and ultimately get ahead of competitors in today’s increasingly digital world. 

With IDC predicting that there will be 175 zettabytes of data globally by 2025, many solutions have emerged on the market in order to help organizations get a better handle on their data. But with so many different options, how can organizations truly know which software is the best for them? 

Because of the pervasive marketing of Data Management vendors, the common misconception is that any old commercial software will suffice. While some features like the price tag may be compelling, buyers should be wary of the risks involved by settling for anything less than excellence. Choosing incumbent Data Management tools can include risks that have the potential to derail entire projects, costing organizations time, money, and reputation in the future. 

Here are a few key features of premium Data Management tools:

Guaranteed Data Integrity 

Unfortunately, many Data Management tools lack the fundamental step of validating that data was kept intact during any project. When cross-checking data during a migration, replication, or sync, these tools check only file size, timestamps, and name. Without an extra step to guarantee data integrity, there is a higher chance for content to be lost or changed along the way. 

When legacy data tools are performing a migration, they often won’t tell you if you’ve missed data on the source. As a result, it’s common to see data sets abandoned on the source during the day of cutover when the users log in and can’t find their data.

Without the extra step of source validation at the end, organizations risk facing huge compliance fines and delaying the project in the long run, costing enterprises more money over time. 

Shorter Project Times 

Speed and reliability are two of the most crucial factors that IT professionals should consider when choosing Data Management tools. 

Without proper management, an organization can end up with wasted time, along with a host of other problems. Legacy tools take hours for individual tasks within one project. Additionally, there is often a two-week period just to copy the data and make it ready for cut-over to the new hardware. 

With older tools, a project manager can also take hours by manually completing tasks within a cutover period.  

On average, premium Data Management tools provide faster performance than legacy tools by automating the tasks required such as data discovery, job creation, reporting, and remediation. 

Less Chance of Human Error

Human error is bound to happen in any practice, not just Data Management, but a premium tool will significantly reduce the chances. Using legacy tools, enterprise IT teams have to sift through dozens to hundreds of scripts to bridge gaps in functionality. More scripting leads to a higher chance of human error that could cause a halt in productivity or dissatisfying results to the customer. 

Incumbent tools seem attractive, with smart marketing and appealing-to-the-eye prices. However, it is important to evaluate the risks that come with them. Disregarding data integrity, lengthening project times, and allowing more room for human error will ultimately cost organizations more money in the long run when settling for lower-cost tools. 

Premium Data Management Tools Are Necessary in Today’s Big Data Environment 

Handling customer data is a dangerous game. Looking at the risks involved, organizations should heavily weigh their before selecting a proper Data Management tool. Premium software includes multiple benefits that make Data Management a less daunting task, such as: 

• Can work with a performance up to 25 times that of legacy and freeware tools
• Saves time by speeding up the cut-over process by hours
• Can copy the entire data set in a single window, keeping unstructured data secure
• Cuts a six-month project into a three-week project

Getting Informed on Data Management 

Unstructured data is at the heart of today’s thriving enterprises. Organizations must heavily weigh all of the factors of Data Management service to see if it delivers the quality they need in the data-driven world. Making the right choices will ultimately save your organization two of its most important resources: time and money.