Both businesses and postal offices suffer from undelivered mail that falls into the category of undeliverable as addressed (UAA) mail. UAA mail implies all mail that cannot be delivered to the address specified in the receiver information and thus should be returned to the sender. Such mail costs businesses around 20 million dollars annually, in many cases due to incorrect addresses.
Maintaining accurate addresses is a challenge nowadays since people are frequently moving, street names change, and several other reasons. That is why it is so important to have a reliable infrastructure for the verification system; this can look like investing in a dedicated server for rent or ensuring the proper updates of data systems.
In this article, we will explore how the server infrastructure impacts the accuracy of mailing address verification.
Why Address Verification Matters
Address verification is held to ensure that delivery addresses are valid before mail is sent. For example, in the US every address has to be verified by USPS (United States Postal Service) before it can be used for delivery. Usually, specialized software is used to perform verification by local standards.
If the step of address verification is skipped or not conducted properly, this can result in:
- Increased costs as a result of more returns, higher costs of printing and materials, and increased working hours of the personnel for handling returned mail;
- Noncompliance with regulations due to possible violation of data privacy laws or repeating penalties;
- Customer dissatisfaction due to untimely or absent delivery;
How Servers Impact Address Verification
Now, address verification can be challenging and disrupted because of the large data volumes, that cannot be processed by systems with weak infrastructure, different data types (including international addresses that require different processing), and overall verification disruption due to insufficient security and reliability of the system handling sensitive customer data. Most of those problems arise due to a weak server framework that powers the mentioned systems. However, the role of servers in the address verification process doesn’t stop there.
Servers also support the following processes for address verification systems:
- Hosting of Software and Applications. The software that ensures the standard of address format and Coding Accuracy Support System software (in the US) used for appropriate certification is supported directly by server infrastructure.
- Data Processing, and Standardization. Servers process data and correct it to fit the standards if there are any misalignments. They can spot if the apartment number, ZIP code, or street name is missing or inserted in the wrong format.
- Address Validation. Based on the databases (like the one of USPS), verification of addresses and elements related to them is carried out. Data validation is primarily conducted to check for and avoid potential issues.
- Real-time Updates. Servers take part in updating the information in real time, ensuring that it is accurate to use.
- Carrier Knowledge. Mail carriers heavily rely on servers that support address verification processes. In short, servers play a crucial role in informing the carriers if the addresses are wrong or incomplete.
Benefits of Dedicated Servers for Address Verification
There is a lot of what dedicated servers have to offer for speedier and more accurate address verification, including:
- Robust Performance. Dedicated servers offer reliability and large amounts of processing power that make address verification go faster and ensure consistency.
- Enhanced Security. Dedicated servers provide a more solid foundation for strong security due to the isolated server environment associated with them, which reduces the risk of security breaches.
- Scalability. Hosting with dedicated servers offers a great deal of scalability, based on which they can handle increasing verification demands.
- Long-Term Efficiency. With dedicated servers, you are expected to pay more upfront than with other hosting options; however, in the long run, they prove to offer more reliability and security, which leads to higher uptime metrics for your systems, and their increased efficiency.
Conclusion
The role of servers for address verification is huge. Since incorrect addresses lead to all sorts of complications, the challenge of maintaining the proper address verification processes can be addressed with more reliable server infrastructure.
By powering the software that is responsible for address verification with robust performance, strong security, scalability, and long-term efficiency, one can ensure increased operational capabilities and improved customer satisfaction.
