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The Quality of Data
Computer processors are faster than ever, storage is fairly cheap, network bandwidth is continually expanding, and information
technologies are capable of integrating massive amounts of data. With all of these high-end systems and capabilities, there
is still a limitation in performing effective analytics and much of this has to do with the quality of the data used in these
systems. The real challenge is in improving the accuracy of the data through better collection and representation methods.
It is only when this problem is appropriately addressed that we can realistically expect to see improvement in the detection
of fraud, terrorism, money laundering, and other critical areas.
To emphasize this point, it was recently reported that Senator Edward Kennedy (Massachusetts) was stopped while boarding
airline flights on five different occasions because his name was matched to an entry on a government no-fly-list.
Additionally, Congressman John Lewis (Georgia) claims he is also required to commit to additional security checks because
his name was matched on a watch list. In both cases, the data processed by these systems represented only a limited portion
of what was necessary to properly perform an appropriate match.
Needless to say, the quality (consistency, correctness, and precision) of data impacts the accuracy and reliability of
analytical and monitoring systems. In the financial industry, Cash Transaction Reports (CTRs), Suspicious Activity Reports
(SARs), and other Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) data are prone to virtually every type of misrepresentation imaginable. Simple
mistakes such as spelling errors, phonetic interpretations, or abbreviations account for a large number of the inconsistent
data recorded.
In one financial database analyzed, a large west coast city was entered with 13 different spellings, a venerable bank had 18
unique name variations, and the number of permutations for certain industry occupations (e.g., chef, cook, waiter, worker at
a restaurant, etc.) were almost unmanageable. Also, under the circumstances, most people will not be entirely truthful with
their information while others will outright lie or intentionally misrepresent themselves to the financial institution. The
quality of this data directly impacts the types of analyses that are conducted and ultimately the value of results.
Continued on VAI News page
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VAI technologies are making a huge difference within the analytical communities they serve by providing more timely, accurate, and actionable intelligence.
VAI's Data Clarity Suite allows organizations to keep control and oversight of their data while at the same time
securely sharing their data with other organizations or agencies.
Our tools also remove the need for data to be translated into a central repository, effectively creating a virtual
data warehouse, which saves organizations an enormous amount of time and money and guarantees the most up-to-date and
accurate information.
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Surprise! Our 4.0 version will be preceded by a 3.5 version to provide our clients with access to a number of newly integrated features. In the 3.5 release, different software components can be enabled and disabled according to the needs of the client including the LAS Name Variation Generator, Server-side APIs, plus several other "cool" features. This version should be released by year's end.
Additionally, the 4.0 version, due out next year, will offer a new architecture configuration - including an SDK - and different cost models.
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Our DIG development staff has been burning up their keyboards adding monumental features and functionality to our upcoming release.
The team has added so many advanced features to this release that we have decided to release it as a brand new version. We expect to release this new version - 3.0 - well before year's end.
Visit our DIG News page for a glimpse of one of 3.0's ground-breaking features – Symphony.
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It’s official - our GSA schedule has been updated to reflect new configurations, licensing tiers, product discounts,
and technology integrations. Our schedule was also adjusted to include Cooperative Purchasing for all
Special Item Numbers (SINs) assigned to our contract (GS-35F-0340K) so that state and local government organizations
may also benefit from these discounts. Currently, VAI maintains the following SINs:
132-32 Term Software License
132-33 Perpetual Software License
132-34 Software Maintenance
132-50 Classroom Training
132-51 Information Technology Services
Please keep in mind that these prices are only for approved U.S. government agencies and prices are
subject to change at any time. To learn more about our schedule, visit GSA Advantage!
to see VAI's product offerings and related discounts.
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"VAI tools allow me to quickly query multiple databases at one time. They let me cull huge amounts of data with queries that crashed our other tools."
U.S. Government Analyst
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