Harnessing Public Registry Data for Integrity: Global Database's Approach to First-Party Data Collection

In today's data-driven world, reliable company information is the key to unlocking a wealth of opportunities. Whether you're a sales or marketing expert, a product developer, or a data analyst, accurate and comprehensive company data is your foundation for success. 

But navigating the complex landscape of global business registries can be a daunting task. Inconsistent formats, varying update schedules, and language barriers often lead to incomplete or outdated information, hindering your efforts and impacting your bottom line. 

This is where Global Database emerges as your trusted partner. We act as your first-party data provider, offering a world-class solution for accessing over 250 million company records across 60+ countries. 

Our Advantage: Data Directly from the Source 

Global Database stands apart by sourcing every piece of information directly from official government registries. This meticulous approach ensures unmatched accuracy and reliability, eliminating the concerns of inconsistent formats and outdated data. This core dataset forms the foundation of our service. Depending on the country, it includes: 

• Company legal name 
• Registration number 
• VAT or TAX ID 
• Registered office location 
• Company status (active, inactive, in the process of strike off) 
• Legal form 
• Directors/shareholders 

In some jurisdictions, we provide additional information such as company financials, including balance sheet, income statement, UBO, and more. This comprehensive dataset ensures you have all the information you need at your fingertips. 

Enriched Firmographics: Adding Value to Core Data 

But we don’t stop at the core dataset. We enrich this information with firmographics that provide a deeper understanding of each company. This includes: 

• Company website 
• Business description 
• Revenue and employee numbers 
• Banking relationships 
• Technology usage 
• Industry keywords (allowing for specific searches such as fintech, AI, payments) 

This firmographics offer valuable insights into a company’s operations, industry, and market position. 

The Importance of Being a First-Party Data Provider 

Being a first-party data provider is crucial for several reasons: 

• Direct Data Collection: As a first-party data provider, Global Database collects data directly from the source. This direct collection allows for better control over data quality and ensures its accuracy. 

• Automatic Updates: The information collected from local registries is updated automatically. The frequency of these updates varies from country to country. For instance, in the UK, updates occur daily, while in Singapore, updates are available every two weeks. 

• Independence from Data Partners: Being a first-party data provider means that Global Database is not reliant on data partners. While a small dataset is purchased from a few partners, there are no limitations imposed by royalties that need to be paid to data vendors. 

• Privacy Compliance: With increasing regulations around data privacy, such as GDPR and CCPA, using first-party data ensures compliance with these regulations.   

Utilizing registry data is pivotal for two key user groups: 

• Sales and Marketing Use Case: Utilizing Global Database ensures that you’re working with data directly collected from local registries, the most accurate source of information available. This guarantees that no companies fitting your ideal customer profile are overlooked, as Global Database provides information for all registered companies. For instance, in the UK alone, there are 16 million companies, 6 million of which are active. When filtering these companies, you can be confident that no potential leads are missed. 

• Product and Data People Use Case: With the help of an API, you can automate the onboarding process for new partners and suppliers, and perform a light Know Your Business (KYB) verification. This allows you to confirm the existence, registration, and address of a company. Additionally, you can set up monitoring to receive notifications each time there is an update, ensuring you always have the most accurate information at your disposal. The reliability of this information stems from the direct sourcing of data from local registries. 

Challenges in Collecting Registry Data: A Case for Using Global Database 

• Variation in Available Data: The data business is complex due to the variation in the type and amount of information available in each country. Countries such as the United States, Mexico, Singapore, Australia, and Taiwan each have unique data landscapes. This diversity presents a significant challenge in terms of standardizing and processing the data for global use. 

• Lack of data: In many countries, data is not readily accessible via an Application Programming Interface (API). This lack of API access necessitates the need for creating a standardized structure and scripts to update the data.  

• Hosting and Processing Fees: The costs associated with hosting and processing the data can be substantial. These costs can impact the profitability of businesses that rely on this data. This raises the question of whether it’s more beneficial to focus on your product or use a ready-made solution for a small fee. 

• Incomplete Picture from Registry Data Alone: Registry data alone in many countries does not provide a complete picture. For instance, the data collected from countries such as Australia or the US lacks industry classification. This means that you need to enrich this data from other sources to get a comprehensive understanding of the business landscape. 

• Language Barriers: Company names in many countries, including Taiwan and Ukraine, are available only in their native languages. This language barrier requires additional resources to translate the names into a language that can be universally understood. This translation process can be complex and requires a deep understanding of the local language and culture. 

• Address Mapping: Addresses are often provided as a single string. This requires additional processing to split the address into its constituent parts: street, city, country, region, and ZIP code. This process can be complex and requires a high level of accuracy to ensure the data is usable. 

Given these challenges, using a ready-made solution like Global Database could be a more efficient and cost-effective approach. It allows businesses to focus on their core product, while ensuring they have access to standardized, up-to-date data from across the globe.