Issa Elkhoury sat down with Srinath Alamela, CEO at Triniti Corporation, to discuss about Garbage In Garbage Out (GIGO) problem.
Srinath, you and I have forever heard the phrase Garbage In Garbage out (GIGO) - do you still think it exists?
Issa, I think you know the answer to that!.
Sorry man I was being facetious?
I have known you long enough Issa - no worries. But you do bring up an age old topic. Why do you think we still have not solved the problem?
I thought this Q&A was that I ask the questions and you answer - but anyway let me take a crack at it. People, including yours truly, usually think that if we ignore unpleasant things then they will somehow magically go away. But sadly that does not happen - and that I think is also true of GIGO - what do you think?
Partially Issa. I do not believe everyone thinks that ignoring the GIGO problem will make it disappear. I contend that they do not perceive the problem accurately. While I concede that some problems do go away (as they say Time is the greatest healer), but that certainly is not the case with GIGO. If you do not solve the underlying causes, they will fester. As a wise eccentric man once defined "Insanity" as "Doing the same thing again and expecting different results".
Agreed. So while the industry has focussed on making prettier presentation layers (you see new tools in the market continuously - Tableau etc), you really do not see much in fixing the plumbing layers. Why do you think that is the case?
You make an interesting point Issa. As our friend Stephen Ibbitson says, you can have the most expensive Faucet - but if the water is dirty, you still cannot afford to drink it. To answer your question - I think it is because ironically, keeping data clean is a dirty job. You must also remember that there are quite a lot of tools in the market that cleanse data and give this perception that you can solve the dirty data problem with "Data Quality tools".
Do you think the tools that cleanse data work?
Yes, No and finally NO. Yes, because they are effective in cleaning the data. No because they do not solve the root cause. In effect No - because it is the classical case of whack a mole!.
So, what does one need to do?
I think you need both. Because you have bad data to start with, you need these tools when you recognize the problem. So while you need the medicine to fix the bad data, you also need the vaccine to prevent it from being created. Then you really solve the problem.
I guess that is a good way to look at it. Do you want to talk about the Vaccine?
Next time Issa - now it is time for an IPA or a Pilsner and chat about the possibility of controlling Fusion and harnessing it as the silver bullet. :-)
Srinath, you and I have forever heard the phrase Garbage In Garbage out (GIGO) - do you still think it exists?Issa, I think you know the answer to that!.Sorry man I was being facetious?I have known you long enough Issa - no worries. But you do bring up an age old topic. Why do you think we still have not solved the problem?I thought this Q&A was that I ask the questions and you answer - but anyway let me take a crack at it. People, including yours truly, usually think that if we ignore unpleasant things then they will somehow magically go away. But sadly that does not happen - and that I think is also true of GIGO - what do you think?Partially Issa. I do not believe everyone thinks that ignoring the GIGO problem will make it disappear. I contend that they do not perceive the problem accurately. While I concede that some problems do go away (as they say Time is the greatest healer), but that certainly is not the case with GIGO. If you do not solve the underlying causes, they will fester. As a wise eccentric man once defined "Insanity" as "Doing the same thing again and expecting different results".Agreed. So while the industry has focussed on making prettier presentation layers (you see new tools in the market continuously - Tableau etc), you really do not see much in fixing the plumbing layers. Why do you think that is the case?You make an interesting point Issa. As our friend Stephen Ibbitson says, you can have the most expensive Faucet - but if the water is dirty, you still cannot afford to drink it. To answer your question - I think it is because ironically, keeping data clean is a dirty job. You must also remember that there are quite a lot of tools in the market that cleanse data and give this perception that you can solve the dirty data problem with "Data Quality tools".Do you think the tools that cleanse data work?Yes, No and finally NO. Yes, because they are effective in cleaning the data. No because they do not solve the root cause. In effect No - because it is the classical case of whack a mole!.So, what does one need to do?I think you need both. Because you have bad data to start with, you need these tools when you recognize the problem. So while you need the medicine to fix the bad data, you also need the vaccine to prevent it from being created. Then you really solve the problem.I guess that is a good way to look at it. Do you want to talk about the Vaccine?Next time Issa - now it is time for an IPA or a Pilsner and chat about the possibility of controlling Fusion and harnessing it as the silver bullet. :-)