Customer Data Integration: Reaching a Single Version of the Truth

WHAT WE DON’T KNOW CAN HURT US

More data. More users. More platforms. More business questions. No wonder companies can’t get their arms around information! The results of an Accenture survey published in Customer Interface magazine found that 56 percent of executives said that their businesses would grow from 1 to 20 percent if they could gain access to comprehensive customer data.¹³

It takes executives a little while and often some business pain in the form of fines or worse—the threat of jail time—to deconstruct their new business drivers back to the need for data. But when they do, they understand that, without clean, complete, and auditable data, there’s a lot they can’t do.

CASE STUDY: SCENARIO 3

You work for an HMO and are challenged with the issue of patient compliance. HMOs and other health care providers often struggle convincing patients to fill their medication prescriptions. Providers have found that patient compliance is directly correlated to lower costs and better outcomes, so you want to make sure your patients follow doctors’ orders. However, it’s imperative that the pharmacist understand the patient’s other medications to prevent unpleasant side effects of incompatible drugs being taken together. Looking at the wrong patient record at the wrong time could literally mean life or death.

This newfound knowledge leads to the now-common refrain from executives for a “single version of truth” about their customers. They want to know how customers are interacting ...