New 42-day free trial
Smarty

Celebrating Laser Day and the precision of modern technology

Andrew Townsend
Andrew Townsend
 | 
July 6, 2023
Tags
Join us as we commemorate Laser Day. Much like lasers, Smarty is ludicrously fast and incredibly accurate. Come find out why our tools are what you need!

Every July 11, technology enthusiasts, scientists, and curious minds come together to celebrate a milestone in the annals of scientific achievement - Laser Day. On this day in 1960, Theodore Maiman first operated the laser, introducing the world to a tool that would significantly shape industries, from manufacturing to healthcare.

At first glance, lasers and processes like address validation, geocoding, address enrichment, and address autocomplete may appear worlds apart, relegated to vastly different domains. However, upon closer inspection, intriguing parallels come to light. So, as we commemorate Laser Day, let's explore how these technological wonders share surprising similarities in precision, efficiency, enrichment, utility, innovation, and speed.

Robot arm using a laser

The precision of light and location

Lasers, in their essence, are highly concentrated beams of light renowned for delivering precise results. When used in applications like surgery or manufacturing, they’re directed to exact locations with astounding accuracy.

It would be terrible if they weren't accurate.

This precision mirrors address validation and geocoding. An address's accuracy will determine whether mail reaches the correct destination or, at the very least, help a delivery driver find the right location.

For insurers, the accuracy of a geocode can make or break their risk analytics. And much like a laser, it would be terrible if your geocodes weren't accurate.

Efficiency: From lasers to autocomplete

The energy efficiency of lasers is one of their most remarkable characteristics. They can focus energy on exact points, minimizing waste and increasing productivity.

If a laser is removing some of your hair, you'd like it to be pretty focused, no?

This efficiency is paralleled in the digital world through address autocomplete features. As you start typing an address, these systems predict and fill in the rest, saving you precious time and effort.

If you're trying to increase form fills, making the address portion easier is key. Insurers are finding that address autocomplete also shortens the time to quote. Address autocomplete is just more efficient.

Enrichment: More than meets the eye

Just as a laser can enrich a material's surface—be it etching a design or altering its properties—address enrichment adds valuable data layers to a basic address.

It's not just about knowing where something is anymore; we can add demographic details, geographic information, and more.

Smarty adds up to 55 points of metadata to each address. Root data, components, record types, RDI, geocodes, and analysis information just to name a few.

Laser engraving a piece of metal

The pervasive utility of lasers and location services

One of the reasons lasers have had such an impact on our world is due to their diverse applications. From barcode scanners at the grocery store to sophisticated surgical instruments for vision correction, lasers have become a part of everyday life.

Similarly, address-related services like validation, geocoding, and enrichment have wide-ranging applications. They're indispensable tools in fields as diverse as logistics, eCommerce, digital marketing, and more.

The need for speed

Lasers epitomize speed.

I mean, they're light.

In the digital realm, this attribute is equivalent in Smarty's address autocomplete, geocoding, and validation systems.

Some have called our address processing speeds 'ludicrous' and want to know how it's done.

But more impressive is the ability to deliver so much data so quickly through a geocode. You can compare the top geocoding tools here.

Lights speeding by in a city

As we celebrate Laser Day, let's take a moment to appreciate these technological marvels, from the precision of lasers to the efficiency of location data tools (mostly Smarty's). Both have played instrumental roles in shaping the modern world, and their continued evolution promises to drive progress across various fields.

Happy Laser Day!

Subscribe to our blog!
Learn more about RSS feeds here.
rss feed icon
Subscribe Now
Read our recent posts
Inside Smarty - Brenyn Beesley
Arrow Icon
Meet Brenyn Beesley, our Business Development Manager. At Smarty, Brenyn has made waves on our Sales team with her exceptional interpersonal skills, ability to take on any organizational and operational challenge, top-notch singing, and all-around awesomeness. Let’s jump right in and get to know Brenyn!Can you explain your role at Smarty to a 10-year-old?“I help my team communicate with people from all kinds of jobs—delivery drivers, real estate agents, insurance workers. We show them how to use Smarty’s tools to find the addresses they need or learn more about a location.
Build address data into your health insurance platform to stay HIPAA and ACA compliant
Arrow Icon
Your product might be HIPAA and ACA-compliant in theory, but a mistyped ZIP Code or invalid apartment number can still trigger privacy violations, eligibility errors, and failed mailings. Misdirected mail is explicitly named in HIPAA breach cases. For example, the Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has publicly cited misrouted or misaddressed mail as a cause of HIPAA breaches in their breach portal. Aetna paid $1. 15 million in 2018 for a mailing breach where envelopes revealed sensitive information to the wrong recipients.
Improving user/customer experience in every industry with clean address data
Arrow Icon
You finally track down an essential addition to your collector’s set of [insert item of your choice], and you're hyped to buy it until the chaos begins. The cart is hidden in a fly-out on the side, cluttered with blocky, overwhelming text. You spend way too long just trying to find the "Proceed to Checkout" button. 👎 That’s bad UI (user interface): messy, confusing design that makes navigation a chore. You make it to the checkout and start entering your info, but the site keeps rejecting your address.

Ready to get started?