The Power of Identity Resolution

Oct 29, 2024 | Data Cleansing, GDPR

The Power of Identity Resolution: Ensuring Accurate Customer Data Matching

In the day in age where organisations are striving to be as data-driven as possible, businesses are constantly seeking ways to better understand and engage with their customers. One of the most effective tools in achieving this is identity resolution. This process not only helps in creating accurate customer profiles but also enhances marketing strategies, customer experiences, and regulatory compliance. Let’s dive into why identity resolution is crucial and how it works.

What is Identity Resolution?

Identity resolution is the process of creating a unified and accurate customer profile by linking data from various touchpoints and systems. This involves integrating information from emails, social media, offline interactions, and more to form a comprehensive view of each customer.

Why is Identity Resolution Important?

Accurate Customer Profiles

360-Degree View: Identity resolution helps businesses create a 360-degree view of their customers. By integrating data from multiple sources, companies can gain a holistic understanding of customer behaviours and preferences.
Personalisation: With accurate profiles, businesses can tailor their marketing strategies to individual customers, leading to improved engagement and satisfaction.

Improved Marketing Strategies

Targeting and Segmentation: Identity resolution allows for better audience segmentation and more precise targeting. This means marketing campaigns can be more effective and yield higher returns.
Cross-Channel Consistency: Maintaining a consistent message across various channels is crucial. Identity resolution ensures that customers receive a seamless and coherent experience, regardless of the platform.

Enhanced Customer Experience

Seamless Interactions: Customers expect a seamless experience across different touchpoints. Identity resolution ensures that interactions are smooth and consistent, enhancing the overall customer journey.
Predictive Analytics: By leveraging accurate customer data, businesses can use predictive analytics to anticipate customer needs and behaviours, further improving the customer experience.

Regulatory Compliance and Security

Data Privacy: With increasing data protection regulations, relying on first-party data through identity resolution helps ensure compliance and protects customer privacy.
Security Measures: A centralised and accurate customer data system enhances security, reducing the risk of data breaches and ensuring that customer information is safeguarded.

How Does Identity Resolution Work?

Deterministic vs. Probabilistic Matching

Deterministic Matching: This method uses exact data points, such as email addresses or phone numbers, to link customer data. It is highly accurate but requires precise and consistent information, which is often not available.
Probabilistic Matching: This approach uses statistical algorithms to link data based on probabilities. It can connect data points even when exact matches are not available, which is more often the case. A good algorithm will recognise different ways the same name or address can be presented enabling matches to be established, even when there are significant differences in the input data for the same individual.

Identity Resolution and Matching within Data Cleanrooms: A New Era of Privacy and Precision

In today’s data-driven world, businesses are constantly seeking ways to leverage customer data to enhance their marketing strategies and improve customer experiences. However, with increasing concerns about privacy and data security, traditional methods of data sharing and analysis are becoming less viable. This is where data cleanrooms come into play.

What are Data Cleanrooms?

Data cleanrooms are secure environments where data can be matched and analysed without exposing the underlying raw PII. These environments ensure that sensitive information remains protected while still allowing for secure matching. Data cleanrooms use advanced encryption and privacy-preserving technologies to maintain data confidentiality.

Benefits of Identity Matching within Data Cleanrooms

Enhanced Privacy: By anonymising data and using secure environments, data cleanrooms ensure that privacy is maintained throughout the analysis process.

Better and More Precise Matching: Many organisations face challenges when matching their customer data to other datasets (whether that be other customer data or external third-party sources). Inconsistently formatted data, missing data and other data related issues can be overcome through employing identity matching solutions, enabling an organisation to match their customer data with confidence, leading to better data-driven outcomes.

Compliance: Data cleanrooms help businesses comply with data protection regulations like GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 by ensuring that data minimisation is built into their data matching solutions and sensitive information is handled securely.

Conclusion

As the digital landscape continues to evolve, the importance of identity resolution will only grow and as privacy concerns continue to increase, data cleanrooms and identity matching offer a robust solution for businesses looking to leverage customer data responsibly.

By combining advanced privacy-preserving technologies with sophisticated matching algorithms (such as our own JetStream solution), businesses can ensure accurate customer data matching, leading to better marketing strategies, enhanced customer experiences, and robust regulatory compliance, while maintaining the highest standards of data security.

By Martin Jaggard – Director at The Ark

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Big Data LDN 2024 – The Important Bits

Sep 25, 2024 | Data Cleansing, GDPR

On Wednesday last week I visited Big Data London at London Olympia, and I wanted to take a few minutes to talk about some of the important bits that I took away from it.

I ended up getting to five of the talks throughout the day, with some really great speakers and a lot of great insight shared. I really do love an event like this – both to exhibit and attend – and there aren’t too many that top Big Data LDN in our line of work.

Firstly:

Data Governance

This was everywhere throughout the show. Now data governance isn’t new, by any stretch, and getting your ducks in a row when it comes to integrity and compliance has been a focal point for virtually every organisation for a long time, but unless your company truly is a data driven organisation, you did data governance because you had to, not least of all from a regulatory standpoint.

But now that every person and their dog want to be using AI, you must get it right. We all know the old adage “put rubbish in, get rubbish out”, but it’s never been as true as it is today. You simply will not get the best out of any internally deployed LLM if your data governance isn’t up to scratch.

Golden Records

Next it’s golden records – a single source of truth.

We, as a company, work with some of the biggest names in retail, and if you think of a company that has multiple brands under their banner, most of the time there will be disparate customer data sets in various data silos across the place, likely with slightly different formats of home address or phone numbers with international codes or without them, so it can be really tricky to get a view of information like shopping history of a single person, when it’s very hard to match them as records.

The message was, if you want to be getting full value out of your data, and again we’re talking about AI – possibly for analytics – you need a single source of truth to leverage, and when we’re looking at consumer data, golden records are a good place to start.

The final spot on my list is:

Anonymisation and Pseudonymisation

For those that aren’t overly au fair with these terms, anonymisation is the removal of personal identifiers from your customer data, and pseudonymisation is the process of replacing identifying information with random codes of numbers, symbols and codes.

Both of these were cited by the European Privacy Officer of Acxion as key safeguards when making sure compliance is adhered with not only with existing standards like GDPR, but also the New Digital Information and Smart Data Bill which is one of the 40 legislative plans announced by the Labour government in the last few months.

Just as a slight aside, if you’d like to know more about our methods of pseudonymisation, take a look at our JetStream page.

So, to recap: -

Data Governance – if you want to use AI effectively, get it right
Golden records – get your single source of truth sorted, again for AI’s sake
Anonymisation and Pseudonymisation – make sure your consumer data is protected, especially when considering new legislation

By Steve Clarke – Commercial Director at The Ark

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The Ark passes rigorous independent data compliance audit by the DMA

Jun 30, 2021 | Comment, Data Cleansing, Deceased Identification, GDPR, Goneaway Identification, Identity Fraud, National Deceased Register, Re-mover

Martin Jaggard, Managing Director of The Ark

Oxfordshire-based data specialist – The Ark – has been accredited after passing the Data & Marketing Association (DMA) rigorous and thorough compliance audit process. Membership of the DMA is an endorsement that The Ark is a dedicated and responsible marketer.

The Ark – which was created in 2003 – is the market-leader in helping companies of all sizes combat identity fraud and ensuring that they comply with legal regulations including GDPR. Its services include the National Deceased Register (NDR) – the country’s most accurate and reliable deceased identification file and Re-mover Goneways – which captures over 90% of all movers in the UK.

All DMA members are subjected to a lengthy and evidence-driven process before receiving accreditation. In the case of The Ark, it looked for evidence of its understanding of GDPR and how it was applied to the creation of identification files. It also focussed on the due diligence The Ark undertook for each data source it uses. All data companies offering PII data have to undergo this audit once every 3 years. The DMA comprises the Data and Marketing Association and the Institute of Data & Marketing (IDM) and represents over 1,000 members across the UK’s data and marketing landscape.

“The updated compliance process ensures that DMA Members continue to work to the highest standards, and that Membership remains a badge of accreditation that can be trusted in a data-driven world” commented DMA Managing Director, Rachel Aldighieri.

The Ark Managing Director, Martin Jaggard is delighted to be recognised by the DMA “Identity fraud is the UK’s fastest growing crime and with our existing products and those in development, we are in pole position to help our clients combat the threat. We are pleased that the DMA has recognised The Ark as dedicated, responsible marketers. We have worked through the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure that our clients have received faultless service and look forward to their, and indeed our continued success for the rest of this year and into the next”.

Is poor data sabotaging your campaign performance?

Sep 21, 2017 | Data Cleansing, Deceased Identification, GDPR, Goneaway Identification

Complacency when it comes to data suppression could be sabotaging your campaign performance and may also derail your GDPR compliance plans.

That’s the reality facing even those marketers who already use deceased and gone-away suppression services but who do not regularly evaluate their providers and put the health of their databases to the test.

Holding out-of-date records (whether knowingly or not) is a clear infringement of several key areas of GDPR, not least the basic principle of data accuracy. What’s more, you need to demonstrate compliance – and that means being able to prove the effectiveness of your suppression solution.

So what are the starting points to creating a watertight suppression strategy?

Guard against inertia

Despite the widely adopted practice of supplier switching in the consumer arena to reduce costs or improve services, there is often much resistance within businesses. This may be because the decision-makers are also responsible for implementation and it is simply easier to stick with the status quo rather than tinker with something that is deemed to be working. Sometimes there is also the perception that change would cause unnecessary upheaval to the wider IT systems in which suppression is embedded.

Whatever the reason, relying on outdated legacy suppression files will certainly result in deceased and goneaway data slipping through the net.

Your chosen suppression files should be evaluated regularly to make sure they are doing their job – reducing campaign wastage, providing the building blocks for advanced data insight and keeping you compliant.

Be rigorous in supplier management

In our experience, much of the procurement decision-making in suppression is still reliant on human judgement rather than an objective data evaluation. But GDPR (and the threat of large fines) is likely to change this.

Each organisation needs to have a structured approach to supplier evaluation, selection and review. This should be underpinned by clearly defined criteria and well communicated processes, so that you can make evidence-based decisions that will stand up to scrutiny. Indeed the evaluation in itself would provide valuable supporting evidence to the ICO that you are taking proactive steps to keep your databases as clean and compliant as possible.

Don’t put all your eggs in one basket

Every supplier of suppression data should be included in your evaluation. This is because relying on a single file rarely identifies all known deceased, and it is simply wrong to claim otherwise. Although there is a degree of overlap, each file is created from different data sources and you need to understand how they vary in terms of data provenance, verification method, speed to market and proportion of unique records.

Take the example of one of the country’s largest general and life insurers. They recently evaluated our flagship product, the National Deceased Register (NDR), and found 89,000 deceased customers that had gone undetected by the two deceased suppression files they had been relying on for decades. This clearly illustrates the risks of relying on legacy suppression files without evaluating newer entrants in the market.

Plus, suppression services are evolving with new, innovative products coming on to market so keeping on top of the latest developments will ensure you remain ahead in data strategy.

Beware ‘biggest is best’ claims

One of the most misleading selling points from data suppliers is file size. We are proud to say that a recent independent evaluation of the main files on the market revealed the NDR as having the highest proportion of unique records despite being the smallest file.

So why does file size vary so dramatically? Some include records that date back to the mid-1980s, whereas we have chosen only to include deaths notified from the turn of the century. It is our view that older data is redundant because any organisation that has licensed suppression files in the past will already have flagged or deleted these customers. Also, some files are inflated by the inclusion of individuals who are thought to have died but where further verification is necessary. We stringently check our data and filter out those that remain unconfirmed.

Marketers and GDPR – Heads in the sand?

Jul 6, 2017 | Deceased Identification, GDPR, Goneaway Identification

Simon McLaven, CEO of The Ark

We have all read the plethora of statistics that point to the country’s lack of preparedness for GDPR. Yet speaking to many data managers, CIOs and compliance officers over the last few months, I do not believe that this corporate inertia is simply a matter of marketers burying their heads in the sand. There is a growing feeling that all levels of the organisation – from backroom to boardroom – remain genuinely unclear about certain aspects of the Regulation, especially the issue of consent, and that this confusion is paralysing compliance efforts.

Sadly, firms are being deterred from progressing with the necessary overhaul of their strategies and systems due to the dearth of detailed guidance on the practicalities of GDPR implementation. The DMA Group has recently added their voice to calls for greater clarification – from the ICO in particular – to bring an end to this state of limbo. The RNLI case – where a database repermissioning project from last year may fall foul of newer guidelines – will cause increasing frustration among marketers (and rightly so) because it penalises what should be a laudable, best-practice example of proactivity. This type of publicity sends out all the wrong messages, actively discouraging organisations from giving the green light to their plans for fear of having to go over the same ground twice. Let’s hope that common sense prevails.

Put simply, the ongoing uncertainty is no excuse for delaying all GDPR preparations. In fact, waiting for guidance about the opt-in model could mean losing valuable time in the race to shape up for one of the most basic elements of compliance – data quality. The overarching principle of data accuracy is enshrined in the Regulation in crystal clear terms: Chapter II, Article 5 (1d) states that personal data must be kept accurate and up-to-date, and that “every reasonable step” must be taken to make sure that inaccuracies are “erased or rectified without delay.”

This means that databases must be maintained to the highest possible standards which includes suppressing or updating the records of deceased or goneaway customers. This is an area in which many companies have become complacent, believing that the legacy suppression files they have relied upon for years will do the job. It’s a risky assumption – and at worst could lead to a technical breach of GDPR with its hefty financial penalties. Aside from the commercial benefits to be gained by boosting the accuracy of customer data, it is also worth bearing in mind that healthy databases will be the cornerstone of any repermissioning exercise. With the costs of customer acquisition set to rise in the GDPR era, now is not the time to lose track of valuable, opted-in customers when they move home.

The clock is ticking and companies that push ahead with their preparations now – especially in the fundamentals of database management – will reduce the likelihood of being thrust into a reputation-damaging, last-minute compliance panic as the enforcement date looms.

New whitepaper gives lowdown on your GDPR suppression obligations and opportunities

Jun 19, 2017 | Deceased Identification, GDPR, National Deceased Register

We’ve just published a new whitepaper in conjunction with DataIQ to help steer your GDPR preparations, including a detailed suppression strategy checklist.

We are delighted to offer you a free-of-charge, independently written whitepaper that gives you the lowdown on the role of data suppression in GDPR compliance, including a detailed suppression strategy checklist to get your preparations on the right track.

The GDPR will be enforced from May 2018 with data accuracy as one of its core principles. It requires that organisations keep customers’ personal information up-to-date and that any inaccuracies be corrected or deleted as quickly as possible. Suppressing the records of deceased customers and updating those of home-movers are inherent obligations, and failure to do so could incur a fine of 2% of global turnover.

Our CEO, Simon McLaven, comments: “Many marketers are occupied with the high-profile elements of the GDPR such as consent and privacy, but they should not overlook the fundamentals of data accuracy. Poor quality databases have long been the bane of marketing but now they could put you on the wrong side of the law.

“Under the GDPR, all types of marketers – including digital and B2B – need to screen their data using suppression files. In our experience, many companies think that they have suppression covered but usually they lack insight into its performance and may well find that their strategy isn’t actually GDPR-compliant.”

Our new whitepaper examines the Regulation in detail and illustrates how you can use suppression files to adhere to the GDPR but also to deliver tangible commercial payback, for instance by improving your campaign performance, reducing costs, boosting customer engagement and protecting brand reputation.

The whitepaper is free to download here.