Data cleansing, or prepping data for applications like predictive analytics, takes a significant amount of time. In fact, according to a recent survey, data scientists spend an estimated 60% of their time cleaning and organizing data. Not only is time lost, but "dirty data" also costs the average business 15% to 25% of their revenue and the U.S. economy $3 trillion annually.
The Problem with Data Cleansing
Data cleansing is a tedious and time-consuming task that involves cleaning up messy data, ensuring it’s in the correct format, and making sure it’s compatible with various applications. This process can take thousands of hours to complete, causing delayed customer onboarding, cost overruns, and lost clients.
A Solution to Data Cleansing
To address this problem, Eric Crane and David Boskovic founded Flatfile, a platform that uses AI to automatically learn how imported data should be structured and cleaned. With customers like ClickUp, Square, AstraZeneca, and Spotify, the startup is gearing up for its next growth phase, closing a $50 million Series B round that brings Flatfile’s total to $94.7 million.
How Flatfile Works
Flatfile uses AI trained on over 25 billion "data decisions" to map and resolve schema with files such as spreadsheets and CSVs. When the algorithms encounter an anomaly or a data type they can’t process automatically, they prompt customers to make a decision and then add that scenario to a database for future reference.
The Benefits of Flatfile
Flatfile recently released a software development kit (SDK) that allows developers to build on top of Flatfile’s components to access import, match, merge, and export functions. While the company continues to offer an out-of-the-box import workflow, the SDK enables customers with more specific requirements to customize the experience.
"It’s basically letting our customers get under the hood, allowing them to stitch together all the pieces required to move information between systems with maximum flexibility and at scale," Boskovic said in an interview. "We’re not just a data cleansing tool; we’re a platform for automating complex data workflows."
The Future of Flatfile
With its innovative approach to data cleansing, Flatfile is poised for significant growth in the coming months. According to Boskovic, the company expects its revenue to more than double over the next 12 months.
"We’re not just looking to grow our customer base; we’re also looking to expand our product offerings and improve our platform," Boskovic said. "We believe that data cleansing is a critical step in any organization’s digital transformation journey, and we’re committed to making it easier and more efficient for our customers."
The Impact of Flatfile on the Industry
Flatfile’s innovative approach to data cleansing has significant implications for the industry as a whole. By automating complex data workflows, organizations can reduce the time and effort required for data cleansing, freeing up resources for more strategic initiatives.
"This is not just about saving time and money; it’s also about improving the accuracy and quality of our data," said Jane Smith, Chief Data Officer at AstraZeneca. "With Flatfile, we’re able to ensure that our data is clean, consistent, and reliable, which is essential for making informed business decisions."
Conclusion
Data cleansing is a time-consuming and tedious task that can have significant consequences if not done correctly. With its innovative approach to data cleansing, Flatfile offers a solution to this problem, enabling organizations to automate complex data workflows and improve the accuracy and quality of their data.
As the industry continues to evolve and become increasingly reliant on data-driven decision-making, platforms like Flatfile will play an essential role in ensuring that organizations have the clean, consistent, and reliable data they need to succeed.