5 Best Data Preparation Solutions: How to Choose

You can have all the data in the world, but if you aren’t able to analyze it and make use of it for better decision-making, it’s the same as not having it at all. Data preparation solutions make it seamless and easy to leverage data for all of its purposes. 

We’ll take a look at data preparation software, data preparation steps, and data preparation examples to help maximize your data’s potential.

Coming Up

What are Data Preparation Tools?

Why is Data Preparation Important?

How Does Data Preparation Work?

How to Choose Data Preparation Tools?

What are the Best Data Preparation Tools?

What are Key Features of Data Preparation Tools?

What are the Steps in Data Preparation?

Closing Thoughts

What are Data Preparation Tools?

Data preparation tools are a type of software that make it possible for analysts, business professionals, and data scientists to perform data preparation and integration without the use of data warehouses. 

Before data can be analyzed and put to use, it must be cleansed and structured, which is a time-consuming and error prone process when performed manually. 

Data preparation tools streamline the process with total accuracy. They connect various data systems, organize and structure data coherently, combine data and clean it so that it can be applied within business intelligence systems and tools for analysis. 

Why is Data Preparation Important?

Data preparation is vital for organizations to optimize their efficiency, value to customers, and workflows. 

Data preparation enables organizations to:

1. Fix Errors 

Before processing anything, data preparation tools like SolveXia will spot errors and help you rectify issues. Once data moves out of its original source, it becomes more complicated to locate mistakes and rectify them. 

2. Maintain Quality Data 

By cleansing data and structuring it in a usable format, you can rest assured in knowing that analysis is accurate. 

3. Scale Smarter

With cloud-based data preparation solutions, such as SolveXia, businesses can scale faster and ensure data is accessible at all times.  

4. Collaborate Better 

With data preparation in the cloud, teams are able to collaborate across borders and locations with access to the same centralized system of information. 

5. Make Better Decisions 

Cloud-based data preparation solutions work quickly to analyze data so that business decisions can be made at a moment’s notice. 

How Does Data Preparation Work?

Data preparation consists of particular steps (which are outlined in more details below) to work. These steps include data collection, cleaning, and labeling to then be applied for analysis. 

During the analysis phase, machine learning and artificial intelligence work their magic. Moving from a raw and original format, data is prepared to then move into analysis. After analysis, users can leverage visual dashboards and customizable reports with the aid of data automation software.

How to Choose Data Preparation Tools?

When searching for the perfect data preparation tool for your business, there are different considerations to think about. Consider this to be a checklist of sorts to help find the right software for your data needs:

1. Usability 

Data preparation solutions shouldn’t require a dedicated IT team or data analyst to function. That’s why finding a tool that is easy to use for everyone is key. 

Finance solutions like SolveXia feature drag-and-drop and visual functionality, so it’s intuitive for all skill levels, plus once setup requires no further IT involvement.

2. Features

There are many data preparation tasks required to get the job done, so it’s best to look for a robust solution that can handle it all from cleansing to integration to transformation and analysis. 

3. Resources and Support 

It’s also recommended to choose a solution that offers support, be it through whitepapers, video tutorials, live guides, blog posts, or any other type of customer service. 

What are the Best Data Preparation Tools?

Choosing the right tool for your business will depend on your business goals, budget, and needs. 

That being said, we’re going to review some of our top selections as we look at our favorite 5 data preparation solutions. 

1. SolveXia

SolveXia is a low-code platform to automate spreadsheet-driven data and manual processes. SolveXia helps finance teams in particular to unify and collect data across systems and spreadsheets to automate key finance functions, without the need for an IT team. 

Data cleansing and analysis are key required to use data properly, and SolveXia makes these processes as easy as clicking a button. 

With data centralized, the system will ready it for analysis and run entire workflows for you, so that your team can spend time on high-level and value-add tasks while the system does the heavy lifting. Plus, SolveXia connects to all your existing systems, including legacy systems. 

With SolveXia, organizations can seamlessly automate responsibilities like reconciliation, expense analytics, rebate management, revenue management, reporting, and more.

Using SolveXia, finance teams can run processes 100x faster with 90% fewer errors. It’s easy to customize reports and dashboards to gain deep insights from structured and cleansed data. 

In turn, professionals and key stakeholders can make informed decisions at any time with real time data. 

2. Alteryx

Alteryx is an enterprise analytics solution that provides data preparation and analytics capabilities. 

Many data analysts and scientists enjoy the functions of Alteryx as data is connected quickly and the system can cleanse data across databases, cloud platforms, sources, and spreadsheets. 

However, some users note that Alteryx may be lacking in its ability to clean up unstructured data. It also may take some time to work if the volume of data is very heavy. 

3. Astera

Astera is a data management platform that offers warehousing, extraction, integration and data exchange. With the aid of APIs, Astera makes it possible to connect to different data sources and helps to conduct data cleansing in a quick and accurate manner to handle missing values, remove redundancies, and correct any mistakes. 

Its no-code interface makes it easy to use and AI-powered data extraction makes it reliable. 

4. Microsoft Power BI 

Microsoft Power BI is a business analytics tool and business intelligence platform that can be used to analyze data and gain insights. Visual data analysis can be shared across devices with team members on-premise or in the cloud. 

With customizable dashboards, Power BI enables professionals to make rapid decisions with data in hand. It’s best intended for use by data scientists, data analytics, developers, and data management teams, however. 

5. Improvado 

Improvado is a tool that’s designed for marketers and brands to gain access to marketing analytics. Marketing teams gain the ability to connect platforms through integrations so they can quickly understand how campaigns are performing and optimize campaigns as they run. 

There’s no need for developers to implement or maintain the solution. And, Improvado offers well-rounded customer support with customer service representatives available to help users customize data visualization measures. 

It’s a plug-and-play solution that delivers real-time marketing data to make the most out of your campaigns and initiatives. 

What are Key Features of Data Preparation Tools?

Data preparation solutions come in all shapes and sizes, with their own fair share of functions and features. 

When assessing the various options out there, take stock of what they offer. These are key features you’ll want to keep an eye out for:

1. Data Security

Your data’s security sits at the top of the list of priorities. Not only is data security often regulated to protect customers, but it is also of great value to a business to keep sensitive data safe. 

Data preparation solutions connect with all your systems, so you’ll want a solution that offers bank-grade security and is constantly updated, like SolveXia. 

2. Process Automation 

Manual data preparation is time-consuming and error-prone, so you’ll want to make sure that your chosen software can handle process automation. 

By automating the key tasks of data preparation, including collection, cleaning, standardization and transformation, your employees gain more time in their day to focus on higher value tasks that require human thought. 

3. Interoperability 

Being able to work between systems is critical. Interoperability refers to how a software can communicate and connect with your existing tools. 

For example, SolveXia integrates with your existing tech stack, including legacy systems, so you never have to worry about any data loss or information slipping through the cracks. You can combine all your tools to work together for you. 

What are the Steps in Data Preparation?

Regardless of the organization utilizing the data, data preparation steps tend to follow the same order, including:

1. Data Gathering

Data is pulled together from various sources. Manually, this would take a lot of time since data is ubiquitous and flows into an organization across systems. With a finance automation platform like SolveXia, data is automatically connected and collected. 

2. Data Assessment

Data assessment helps to discover the datasets and know what must be done in order to apply the data for analysis. 

3. Data Validation 

The most important, yet time-consuming step is data validation, in which data is cleansed, gaps are filled, and duplicate data is removed. 

4. Data Transformation 

Transforming data is performed to update it so that data can be more widely understood. 

5. Data Storage 

Lastly, you have to be able to store data so that it can be applied for analysis using a solution. 

Closing Thoughts

Data preparation solutions are like a blender that can take raw ingredients, combine it all and break it down into just what’s needed to create an easy-to-digest output. But, just like making a smoothie, you want to ensure that the ingredients you put into the blender are of top quality and can work together. 

That’s what data preparation tools like SolveXia do by cleansing and connecting raw data and making sure the quality is there. Because, as you know, the output is only as good as your input. 

To get a taste of SolveXia, request a demo today- it can help you save time, reduce costs, improve insights, and maximize profits!