Melissa Data Quality Reviews

We had a project where we had purchased data files. We ran a standard name, address, and zip code, internal dedupe between the different files we had, and we were able to quickly notify our vendor that they had tens of thousands of duplications that they were not even aware of, that we would have ended up paying for if we had not used the MatchUp software on the front end.

• Being able to open up large files
• The extensive merge/purge capabilities

We handle large amounts of data, in the terabytes. It's important to be able to have a program that can handle that large amount of data at one time, and effectively do internal dedupes of the data itself.

One of the problems that we ran into this year was we probably spent over 40 hours finding and trying to drill down to where specific bugs were in the program, which was a tremendous waste of time for us. There were a couple of updates to Windows this year and the Melissa program kept crashing. It happened on two different occasions over a period of a few months. We were apparently the first firm that noticed it and reported it. They had problems figuring out what the problem was, so we had to drill down and spend a considerable amount of time, proving to them that it wasn't an issue on our end, but that it had something to do with the compatibility on their end with a Windows update. 

Once we told them what the problem was - even though their tech support is great to work with - it literally took probably about two months to fix the issue where we could actually use the program the way we needed to use it. Two months is just too long to solve a problem on a program when we had just purchased the program earlier this year.

When there's a Windows update, they should check the program in detail to see if there are going to be any conflicts with that update, instead of waiting for their clients to spend countless hours solving the problem of why the program is crashing.

Also, it would be nice to be able to do a merge/purge of larger data sets. What I mean by larger data sets, data sets in the terabytes, without any crashing issues. But from talking to tech support, it's probably as good as it's going to get.

It was crashing a lot, that was one of the problems, it was crashing non-stop. It took them a couple of months, after we had conveyed to them what the specific problems were, but they finally got it fixed where it was no longer crashing.

It has good capability. It probably has about as good a capability as what it's ever going to have.

The tech support people are very accommodating. They're very receptive, they're very knowledgeable.

When you're learning any software program, it takes a little while, but we've used several programs from Melissa over years, MatchUp, Personator, RightFielder, Dirty Harry. MatchUp is fairly straightforward as far as how to use it. It's probably simpler to learn than most of your other merge/purge type programs that are available out there.

We just researched on the internet. There weren't a lot of choices - we're going back probably 13 years - back then as there are now. 

I know Melissa has gone the route where everything is going to the cloud, where you have to pay an ongoing annual fee. We specifically want to use a desktop solution, not a cloud solution - which is the direction many other firms are going, they're going to a cloud solution. But we prefer using a standalone desktop solution, where we are purchasing the software program one time, plus occasional updates, as opposed to having to use the cloud, based on the volume of use.

In terms of advice to others, if you have a large file with many, many terabytes, break it down into smaller files, the program will typically process it a lot quicker.

The best way to learn is try some small test files to see if it's working the way you want it to work, as far as your math logic. A lot of times you have to set up your own unique math logic combinations in order to get the results that you want.

I give it an eight out of 10 overall, because it does involve the cloud, and it can handle unusually large data files.

However, it's not a 10 because, if you don't have the threads set correctly - they have a multi-thread option - if you don't have those threads set correctly it will, in certain instances, cause your program to crash.

I mainly use name and address lookups and Listware Online for mass mailings.

It cuts down significantly on time in trying to match names to addresses. I can do in a few hours what would otherwise take days to accomplish.

Listware Online. I can enter a list of addresses and get names of residents, whether owners/renters, and their phone numbers.

Many issues, sometimes I have to completely log out and start over.

I have never used tech support.

Polk Data.

Easy, but I did not purchase a big package; I have mostly taught myself the program.

Pricing is very reasonable.

Various reverse address, reverse name people search programs; none of them worked for what I need.

Depending on your needs, it is adequate. My need is simply an easy lookup system for mailings.

We use Melissa during subscriber onboarding and the KYC process to verify a provided address.

The customers' addresses are now complete, correct and follow one consistent format. This ensures the delivery of services/products, and all data to be consistent and valid.

Address searching and verification. The user can quickly search for an address and verify it in a multi-country setup.

More countries should be supported by Melissa.

We did not encounter any issues.

We did not encounter any issues.

We have been provided with the highest level of support up to now.

We used local products but decided to switch to Melissa where they support multiple countries at the same time.

It was straightforward. There was documentation that was easily read and understood. A dedicated Melissa contact responded to our clarification questions and we were able to integrate with Melissa without any issues.

We advise our customers to buy the high volume bands of Melissa.

We investigated various solutions and decided that Melissa was the best fit for our business and customers’ businesses needs.

Melissa offer a high quality product with great service. Their pricing is also very competitive.

NCOA to keep our addresses up to date.

Our membership addresses are kept up to date.

Getting the most up to date address for our members. We like to keep in touch with membership a few times a year so we want to maintain up to date addresses to be sure they receive any information that we mail to them.

It will mix up family members at times, so we will change addresses at times that shouldn’t be changed.

No issues.

No issues.

Good.

No previous solution.

Yes, but too long ago, I don’t remember which.

Cleansing addresses of referring healthcare facilities to improve duplicate identification and geocoding their addresses.

• Address parsing
• Cleansing
• Standardization
• SSIS integration

No issues.

No issues.

Have not had to use technical support.

Nothing previously.

Simple.

Did not evaluate other options.

You need to have a specific strategy wrapped around its use so that you can fully utilize its capabilities.

We use Personator to validate any address entered into our system. We also use their GeoPoints to get the most precise, rooftop level geocoding. We do not use the name, email, or phone validation built into Personator.

We use Express Entry Service to fuzzy search; in case there are multiple matches for the address entered, we present them to the user to pick the right one.

We used to use a third-party product that had to be installed and maintained onsite. Since we switched to Melissa Data web services, we do not need to maintain those servers and/or software. Also, we get the most up-to-date addresses from USPS.

Address validation, standardizing and formatting.

In the three years we have been in production with this, we haven’t seen any major issues.

No issues. In fact, we have increased our request volume in the last three years and they have been able to accommodate us easily and smoothly.

Excellent. I mostly contact Jason Chapple who provides front-level support and, if it is something he cannot handle, he forwards it to their technical team which responds with a ticket number immediately. In the last three years we had a few questions about their address validation/formatting, but those turned out to be non-issues.

They also have good documentation and their lookup sites are good for validating results.

We had to write a new Java client to use this service in our application. The complication is only in terms of integrating that into our legacy software. Otherwise, their software/API is pretty straightforward to use.

We did a RFP with various vendors. This one was the most accurate and most reasonably priced for our purpose.

The price for address validation is similar in all software. However, price for geocoding decides the actual pricing. If you get their most accurate geocoding (called GeoPoints), then it will add about $10k+ per million requests.

They were willing to work with our preferred vendors, though it involved extra steps to get the license.

Yes, we tried Pitney Bowes, Service Objects, Trillium, Texas A&M, Informatica. We also considered USPS and Google Maps, though they didn’t fit into our model.

• I suggest you try both their online product and batch mode. If they provide a sample program to consume their (web) services, then try that as well.
• When we selected the product, we got an evaluation license for the products and tried some of the most difficult addresses in our database (based on use case).
• I also suggest you negotiate to send them a sample file with at least 1000 addresses that they can process and send back validated and geocoded. Then, run the results against Google or other sites that are available out there to verify their results are correct.

Cleanse, standardize, and verify addresses at point of entry into our primary system, via both UI and import processes.

We have been able to avoid costly duplication of data and effort. Additionally, verifying has increased the accuracy of our target marketing efforts.

Standardizing and verifying are equally important to me. Standardizing allows me to more effectively check for duplicate/existing records. Verifying increases the value of the data.

The SSIS component setup seems a little klunky, but otherwise the product does what I expect.

No issues.

No issues.

We haven't needed it much, so I can't address this.

We had nothing previously.

Straightforward.

It's affordable.

No. I've used Melissa Data zip code products in the past, and became interested in their additional offerings.

It's pretty easy to implement inline in a website and Windows application code. SSIS setup and configuration is a little klunky, but pretty easy to use.

Ability to link through web service and to set error status back.

Ability to validate addresses, make corrections to address. Also, if a person has moved, use the new address to send the mail and thus reduce the postage cost and reduce return mails.

Web service connections - easy to maintain synchronous connections.

Pricing model.

No issues.

No issues.

Very good.

Easy setup and easy code integration to invoke the web service calls.

Yes, we did review other NCOA provider software.