Even though I’ve been a data management professional for 30 years, this story in Analytics Magazine was an eye opener. Don’t get me wrong. I get calls all the time from people who don’t trust the data they’re working with. But, 48% is pretty stark when one considers the large scale implications of using information you can’t trust to make important decisions.
 
48% should be a number that humbles us all. For decades, those of us in the information management world have asserted “garbage in, garbage out”. But, truth be told we can’t simply blame shoddy data input for lack of accurate information. User input is definitely one factor, but there’s more to the problem.

​Data is dynamic. That is the first rule of data management. Information changes over time, the information organizations need to make decisions evolves, shifts and varies as well. Employees come and employees go. With new employees, and evolving work teams, new preferences for managing information emerge. 

​One question that I occasionally get is: “What is the difference between MS Excel and MS Access”?
 
Access is as old as Excel. Professionals can purchase Access as part of some Office 365 packages. Many professionals have MS Access on their computer, but don’t know how to use it, or even why they should consider using Access.