Managing Data Resources

Introduction

The flow of data/information within a company is complex since the same data are viewed differently as they move from one department to the other. Data Administration

ideally begins at software conception, ensuring there is a data dictionary to help keeping consistency and avoid redundancy and modeling the database so as to make it logical and usable, by means of the normalization technique.

Quite often such modeling is mistaken as diagramming, because of the prevalence of entity-relationship diagrams. Here we answer to some of the questions like, what is the future for data resource management. Considering the past practices and the current data resource situation in most public and private sector organizations, is a new direction needed for developing and managing the data resource? Is a new orientation toward improved data resource quality and increased business support needed? What is a Database? What are the types of Databases? What Do You Need for Transaction Processing? What is Data- Mining? What are Data-Warehousing and its advantages?

Data Resource Management

Data administration or Data resource management is the administration of the organized data, usually as stored in Databases under some Database Management System or alternative systems such as electronic spreadsheets.

It is also the analysis, classification and maintenance of an organization’s data and data relationships. It includes the development of data models and data dictionaries, which, combined with transaction volume, are the raw materials for database design.

Although data administration and database administration are separate functions, both are typically combined into one department and are often performed by the same people. However, “data” administration deals with the modeling of the data and treats data as an organizational resource, while “database” administration deals with the implementation of the types of databases that are in use.

The person who performs “data” administration functions is a “database analyst” or “data administrator,” the latter being an earlier title for the job. The person who handles “database” administration, which is the technical design and management of the database, is the “database administrator.”

Data Resource Management refers to the development and maintenance of data models to facilitate data sharing between different systems, particularly in a corporate context. DRM is concerned with both data quality and compatibility between data models.

Data Resource management is a managerial activity that applies information system and other data management tool to the task of managing an organization’s data resource to meet a company’s business need and the information they provide to their shareholders.

With the beginning of the information age, businesses need all types of data on their business activity. With each data created, when a business transaction is made, need data is created. With these data, new direction is needed that focuses on managing data as a critical resource of the organization to directly support its business activities. The data resource must be managed with the same intensity and formality that other critical resources are managed.

Organizations must emphasize the information aspect of information technology, determine the data needed to support the business, and then use appropriate technology to build and maintain a high-quality data resource that provides that support.

Data resource quality is a measure of how well the organization’s data resource supports the current and the future business information demand of the organization. The data resource cannot support just the current business information demand while sacrificing the future business information demand. It must support both the current and the future business information demand. The ultimate data resource quality is stability across changing business needs and changing technology.

A corporate data resource must be developed within single, organization-wide common data architecture. Data architecture is the science and method of designing and constructing a data resource that is business driven, based on real- world objects and events as perceived by the organization, and implemented into appropriate operating environments. It is the overall structure of a data resource that provides a consistent foundation across organizational boundaries to provide easily identifiable, readily available, high-quality data to support the business information demand.

The common data architecture is a formal, comprehensive data architecture that provides a common context within which all data at an organization’s disposal are understood and integrated. It is subject oriented, meaning that it is built from data subjects that represent business objects and business events in the real world that are of interest to the organization and about which data are captured and maintained.

Data Administration

Guiding the creation and monitoring the usage of data and information as vital agency assets

Promulgating agency standards, procedures and guidelines related to data names and definitions

Maintaining the inventory of Agency data assets

Facilitating understanding of the meaning, accuracy and timeliness of data assets

Promoting the reuse of standardized data names, definitions, elements and values

Central Data Administration

CMS Central Data Administration team provides the following services in support of agency’s data management and data utilization objectives

Support Project development throughout the agency

Reviewing and Approval of Logical Data models during the requirement analysis phase

Validating Naming Convention compliance in Logical Data Model and first-cut Physical Data Model during development phase

Participate in the development of data governance processes and procedures

Develop and/or support existing data change request management processes

Publish standardized data naming conventions automated tools for enforcement of naming standards

Steward and distribute an Enterprise Data Model (EDM) containing common and reusable data objects as well as standardized data modeling templates for jump-starting new software development projects or re- engineering legacy applications

Administration and maintenance of Enterprise Metadata repository.

Data and impact analysis services in conjunction with new and ongoing application development efforts

Demonstration of source to target data lineage among systems and objects

The common services provided by DRM include installation of databases (and their Database Management Systems [DBMS]), configuration, troubleshooting,

backups, disaster recovery preparation and other general maintenance functions such as implementation of DBMS version updates.

DRM provides support for Datacom/DB, Oracle and MS SQL Server database environments. DRM also provides assistance with Lotus Domino, TIBCO Business Works, business objects, data analysis and data design.