Data management is the practice of collecting, organizing, and accessing data to support productivity, efficiency, and decision-making. It is a crucial part of implementing IT systems that run business applications and provide analytical information to help drive operational decision-making and strategic planning. The goal of data management is to help people, organizations, and connected things to optimize the use of data within the boundaries of policies and regulations so that they can make decisions and take measures that maximize the benefit to the organization. Data management involves ingesting, storing, organizing, and maintaining data created and collected by an organization.
By establishing a better framework for accessing the wide swaths of data generated by each company, companies can make more informed decisions and improve their ability to offer valuable products and services to their customers. Data management also allows for more efficient access to data analysis that provides the information needed to improve business operations and identify opportunities for improvement. When developing a data management strategy, it is important to start by understanding key business objectives. Users can deploy databases on local or cloud-based systems, and several database vendors offer managed cloud database services, where they are responsible for database deployment, configuration, and administration.
Master Data Management (MDM) creates a common set of reference data about things like customers and products. The master data is stored in an MDM center, which sends the data to analytical systems to generate consistent business reports and analysis; if desired, the center can also send the updated master data to the source systems. NoSQL databases are often used in big data implementations because of their ability to store and manage various types of data. Relational databases organize data in tables with rows and columns that contain database records; related records from different tables can be connected using primary and external keys, avoiding the need to create duplicate data entries.
Once databases are configured, performance must be monitored and adjusted to maintain acceptable response times in the database queries that users make to obtain information from the data stored in them. The first flourishing of data management was largely driven by IT professionals, who focused on solving the problem of garbage entering and leaving garbage on older computers after recognizing that machines came to false conclusions because they were fed with inaccurate data or incomplete information. With the acquisition of Cerner, Oracle intends to create a national and anonymous patient database, a path full of potentials for healthcare organizations. A good IoT solution requires capabilities that range from designing and delivering connected products to collecting and analyzing system data once in the field. Data has become a new type of capital, and forward-thinking organizations are always looking for new and better ways to use data to their advantage.
The data administrator can hold a full-time or part-time position depending on the size of the organization and the scope of its governance program. Taking charge of your data requires addressing a wide range of data management concepts, technologies, and processes.
