COVID-19 data accuracy would be unacceptable in the business world

July 20, 2020  By John H. Capron

If IBM managed data as ineptly as many state-run medical operations are currently doing during this COVID-19 panic-demic, it would have gone out of business years ago.

IBM is a company that deals with a lot of data, and it works hard to get that data right, harder than any company I've ever observed. If I've learned anything from my years with IBM, getting the data right is a hard job. IBM has spent years perfecting methods for getting data right, from validating the source data to guaranteeing it processes that data with no corrupting influences. Why? It affects every business element of the company, and more importantly, it ensures that when IBM publishes its business results, those results are accurate and believable.

So, how does IBM do this? As a business, IBM has a large number of processes that make the company hum. These business processes all have designated business process owners who manage them and are responsible for their compliance with standards. Those not familiar with how a business process is constructed, think of it as a series of steps to get work done. These business process steps are enabled by computing technology that collects and processes data.

Every business process within IBM has to pass an information processing audit. If changes are introduced to any process, it has to be reaudited. I have been through a lot of these audits, and they are rigorous and brutally honest. IBM calls this data compliance program "Application Systems Control and Auditability" (ASCA). Its role is to ascertain and certify that the IBM Corporation's information assets are protected, and that’s why you never hear about IBM's information systems being compromised.............To Read More