Easing Data Transformation Woes

October 15, 2009

Transformation is the Latinate mumbo jumbo that information technology professionals use to flummox chief financial officers. File A is in one format. The enterprise system understands File A only when it is transformed into something that the enterprise software system can * really * process. XML, for example, is not created equal. There are weirdnesses in common file types such as the wonder RTF from Microsoft ages ago and still kicking after all these years. In my work, I have established that transformation can chew up 25 to 35 percent of the information technology unit’s budget. CFOs don’t know where the money is going because “transformation” is not taught in MBA school and CFA online courses.

If you track this type of information processing, you will want to read “Convert PDF to XML and Save Up to 60% Cost”. I found the assertions in the write up interesting. Here’s an example passage:

Outsourcing XML Conversion – A trusted and well known xml conversion outsourcing organization provide PDF to XML conversion services & solution worldwide at lowest possible rates. We offer high quality PDF to XML conversion services with savings up to 60% on PDF to XML conversion cost. You can also try our free PDF to XML conversion services to test our quality of our PDF to XML conversion.

What I have learned is that getting PDFs to yield usable tagged content is a tough problem. The Adobe crowd in the 1980s seemed to be looking for a way to render the printed document on multiple platforms. Somehow the PDF became the “new” PostScript which was wild and crazy too. PDF files make it tough to figure out what content object goes with what content object. Stated another way, PDFs do string searching because the format is clueless when content is rendered in columns. The text is unpredictable when simple copying of a sentence or two from one PDF is required. The text will have more fleas and ticks that my pet goat in Brazil had when I was a “kid”.

I wanted to capture this info because transformation troubles often yield only to a full, complete list of vendors and some hammer dialing.

Y0u can also try Online OCR which cuts out the humans entirely.

Stephen Arnold, October 15, 2009
I wish I knew how to get paid for writing about transformation outfits in far off lands. I will keep trying. No dough for the goose on this write up.

Written by Stephen E. Arnold · Filed Under News, Publishing, Text processing

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Stephen E. Arnold monitors search, content processing, text mining and related topics from his high-tech nerve center in rural Kentucky. He tries to winnow the goose feathers from the giblets. He works with colleagues worldwide to make this Web log useful to those who want to go "beyond search". Contact him at sa [at] arnoldit.com. His Web site with additional information about search is arnoldit.com.