For data to be usefully analyzed, it must be consistent, accurate, and trustworthy. When incoming data is non-uniform, duplicated records are created and the data starts losing its value. In order counteract this issue, SQL Server's Data Quality Services (DQS) helps monitor and maintain incoming data, and deduplicates existing data using rules-based matching. Feodor Georgiev provides a thorough walkthrough on setting up DQS and creating the rules it uses to function as a first step towards data cleansing.… Read more