Imagine this — a sea of data that is discombobulated with crazy formatting and missing datasets. You might shudder at the mere thought of that, but for many financial teams this is an all-too-real aspect of data preparation.
Lucky for you, we live in the modern age where there are incredible automated data preparation tools that can sort out and clean all of this data for you.
Read on to learn more.
Automated data preparation is the process of using software tools or algorithms to automate the steps involved in preparing data for analysis or machine learning tasks. Data preparation typically involves cleaning, transforming, and structuring raw data into a usable format, and this process can be time-consuming and complex when done manually.
Automated data preparation tools aim to streamline and speed up this process, ensuring that data is ready for analysis without requiring as much manual intervention. Key tasks that are often automated include data cleaning, data transformation, data integration, feature engineering, and data sampling.
The key automation preparation steps include:
When set up properly, the best automated data preparation software can pull all your data into one consolidated place to be processed, cleaned, and transformed.
This step is essential because raw data typically resides in multiple different systems, databases, and formats — making it difficult to work with unless it is consolidated into one central location.
Your automated data preparation tool will clean your data in a matter of seconds. It will seamlessly correct errors, handle missing data, and standardize data formats. This ensures your data is accurate and high quality, meaning you can draw accurate insights from it.
Now that your data is all nice and tidy, your automated data preparation software will produce a report your team can use for further data analysis. In the background, this software has ensured your data meets predetermined business rules and quality standards.
Once your datasets are cleaned and prepared, you can start drawing informed insights from them. These insights might include areas for improvement, emerging patterns and trends, consumer behavior, and financial forecasts.
When using an automated data preparation tool, consider these best practices:
Common challenges you might experience when manually preparing your data include:
The benefits of automated data preparation include:
The best automated data preparation tools have these key features:
These are five of the best automated preparation tools:
SolveXia is a financial automation tool that has robust data preparation features, empowering your finance staff to automate their data preparation and reporting, replacing spreadsheets and macros with a comprehensive, end-to-end solution to streamline finance, tax, and compliance processes.
SolveXia automates mundane and repetitive tasks and combines and transforms data and prepares reports enabling you and your team access to greater insights and analysis to improve business decisions.
Along with data preparation, you can use SolveXia to automate key finance functions, including but not limited to: reconciliation, rebate management, expense management, regulatory reporting, APRA reporting, and more.
Once up and running, you don’t have to worry about having any IT involvement as SolveXia is easy-to-use for any skill level.
Key Features:
Astera offers data-cleaning solutions, along with transformation and preparation features. With Astera, you can connect to multiple data sources and access raw data as needed.
Key Features:
Alteryx is an automated data preparation tool that has a user-friendly interface and both on-premises and cloud data connectors. With Alteryx’s AI-guided technology, you can gain accurate data insights quickly.
Key Features:
Datameer is geared toward data teams that use Snowflake. With Datameer, teams can streamline their data processes while keeping data accessible.
Key Features:
Informatica’s data integration and management capabilities enable teams to centralize multiple data sources in one location. You can easily add new data to your existing datasets to ensure your information is accurate and up to date.
Key Features:
Here are several key implementation strategies for data preparation:
These strategies help optimize workflows, improve data accuracy, and reduce manual intervention, which will ultimately save your team countless hours of work.
When choosing the best automated data preparation tool for your team, first, assess the data sources it can connect to — ensure it supports the platforms and formats your team uses.
Next, look at the tool’s ease of use. A user-friendly interface with drag-and-drop features can save time and reduce errors. Consider scalability for growing data needs, ensuring the tool can handle larger volumes over time.
Automation capabilities are crucial to streamline repetitive tasks, while data governance features like security and compliance should meet your organization’s requirements. Lastly, evaluate integration with existing tools like business intelligence (BI) platforms or machine learning environments.
The key components of automated data preparation include:
Your finance team needs a financial automation tool that has robust data preparation features; saves time, reduces errors, and provides greater business insights. This is exactly where a solution like SolveXia comes in. Along with data preparation, you can count on SolveXia to automate key finance functions, like: reconciliation, expense management, regulatory reporting, rebate management, and more.
Ready to learn more about SolveXia’s ability to help you make better business decisions while saving your team time with automated data preparation? Book a demo today.
Book a 30-minute call to see how our intelligent software can give you more insights and control over your data and reporting.
Download our data sheet to learn how to automate your reconciliations for increased accuracy, speed and control.
Download our data sheet to learn how you can prepare, validate and submit regulatory returns 10x faster with automation.
Download our data sheet to learn how you can run your processes up to 100x faster and with 98% fewer errors.
Download our data sheet to learn how you can run your processes up to 100x faster and with 98% fewer errors.
Download our data sheet to learn how you can run your processes up to 100x faster and with 98% fewer errors.
Download our data sheet to learn how you can run your processes up to 100x faster and with 98% fewer errors.
Download our data sheet to learn how you can run your processes up to 100x faster and with 98% fewer errors.
Download our data sheet to learn how you can run your processes up to 100x faster and with 98% fewer errors.
Download our data sheet to learn how you can manage complex vendor and customer rebates and commission reporting at scale.
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