What does "Redacted Personal Data" mean?

When looking at supplier data in the Observatory you may see the words “Redacted Personal Data” in place of a name in the Supplier Name column. This is because if during the analysis process a name cannot be verified as a supplier then it is redacted to protect identity.

Redaction process
The redaction process occurs before a dataset is published to the Observatory. Initially, all suppliers are redacted.
Suppliers are then unredacted if they meet any of the following conditions:
The supplier has been appended with a main business trade classification description (such as vCode) in Spikes Cavell’s supplier database.
The supplier name is a single word.
The supplier name contains any common business words (Limited, Ltd, & Co, etc).
The supplier name contains a business keyword (e.g. telecommunications).
The supplier was paid via purchase card.
The supplier has a contract (in date or expired) in the Observatory.
The supplier name matches a pattern (“Davies & Sons” for example).
The supplier name is an acronym.
The supplier name and post code matches that of another supplier in Spikes Cavell’s supplier database that has also been appended with a main business trade classification description.
If a supplier does not meet any of these conditions, and, it has not been manually unredacted by the data owner, then the supplier’s name will appear as “Redacted Personal Data” in the Observatory and, if purchased as part of your organisation’s Observatory subscription, in spotlightonspend.

Getting visibility of the redacted supplier name
You are able to see the real name of a redacted supplier in an Observatory report. Go to Analyse, expand the Methodology folder and click the Duplicate Creditor Analysis report. Use the grid filter in the Supplier Name column and search for “Redacted Personal Data”. The column next to the Supplier Name column is called the Un-Redacted Supplier Name column and it is in this column that you will see the real name.
The information in the Duplicate Creditor Analysis report is only visible to the Observatory users in your organisation. No one outside your organisation can see the real name of your redacted suppliers and you won't be able to see the real name of a redacted supplier in any other organisation's Duplicate Creditor Analysis report.

Manual redactions
Organisations are free to redact or un-redact the name of any supplier in their data. Please contact Support for more information.