The Case for DuoShare Address List Management versus a Spreadsheet

Spreadsheets revolutionized business analysis, and users found that the cell-based data entry was also good for entering and sorting data of all types, including addresses. While a spreadsheet program requires very little preparation to use, and is a great tool for prototyping data, reports, and other analysis, when any business task is performed repeatedly, then users should immediately begin to look for a better solution.

The Problems:

1) Repeat data entry into a spreadsheet program allows for a myriad of mistakes, including keying the wrong data into the wrong field, using the wrong data type for postal codes and other alphanumeric data, resulting in accidentally dropping leading zeros.

2) Loss or inaccuracy of formulas due to inserting or shifting data around.

3) The storage in a spreadsheet is married to its presentation, which violates model-view-controller architecture and limits use of the data.

4) There are no audit trails, showing who created and modified the data, and when. Audit trails are useful in analyzing problems with data and tracking down the source of the data error.

5) There is no multi-user capability, limiting the spreadsheet's use to a single person.

The Solution:

DuoShare incorporates list management capabilities into its address quality solutions at no extra charge. Capabilities include full multi-user, full audit trails, and consistent error checking. Users can import and export addresses to/from DuoShare and spreadsheet files. Reports can be designed that allow you to view the addresses in any way, from label format to spreadsheet style, that work correctly every time and there is no risk of a formula breaking just because you moved data around. Finally, DuoShare checks addresses as they are keyed so that the data entered is good from the start, allowing users to compare what they are keying from, such as an address card, to DuoShare to help resolve problems.