Part of Newton's First Law states that "...an object in motion stays in motion..." What does this have to do with data management? Quite a bit, actually.

One of the many challenges of data management is the constant grind of keeping data clean. (I refer to this as "weeding the garden.") With most of my clients, I see one of two approaches:

1. Updating data consistently and constantly, always staying on top of the data.
2. Running big projects periodically (usually once annually or longer) to clean up the data.

The difference between the two is that once we start cleaning, it's easier to maintain that (keeping the object in motion) than it is to start and execute a huge data clean up project once every couple of years. In addition, weeding the garden consistently keeps your data cleaner longer, which is better.

But the key is getting that object in motion. Implementing and executing a consistent data cleaning program is tough, but once you've got it moving, it's likely to keep moving.

So the choice is yours: get the object moving now and keep it moving, or let it sit and see how difficult it will be to start the object when you haven't moved it in years!