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Data administration

 
Computer Desktop Encyclopedia: data administration
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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 Are Complex

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.

For example: When a customer places an order, the order becomes a commission for sales, a statistic for marketing, an order to keep track of in order processing, an effect on cash flow for financial officers, picking schedules for the warehouse, and production scheduling for manufacturing.

Users have different requirements for interrogating and updating data. Operations people need detail, management needs summaries. Database design must take this into consideration.

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Wikipedia: Data administration
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Data administration is a term in Computing Science used to describe the organization of data, usually as stored in Databases under a Database Management System or other software such as electronic spreadsheets. In many smaller organisations Data Administration is not performed at all, or is a small component of the Database Administrator’s work.

Data Administration ideally begins at software conception, ensuring there is a data dictionary to help maintain consistency, avoid redundancy, and model the database so as to make it logical and usable, by means of Database normalization techniques.

Data Resource Management

Data Resource management is a managerial activity that applies information system and other data management tools to the task of managing an organization’s data resource to meet a company’s business needs, and the information they provide to their shareholders. [1][2]

Data Resource Management refers to the development and maintenance of data models to facilitate data sharing between different systems, particularly in a corporate context. Data Resource Management is concerned with both data quality and compatibility between data models.[1][2]

Since 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.[1][2]

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.[1][2]

A corporate data resource must be developed within single, organization-wide common data architecture. A 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.[1][2]

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.[1][2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Zurell, Nancy. "Teaming Up to Manage Data: The Data Resource Management Organization". DM Review Magazine. http://www.dmreview.com/article_sub.cfm?articleId=3088. Retrieved December 2, 2009. 
  2. ^ a b c d e f Brackett, Michael. "A New Direction for Data Resource Management". http://www.tdan.com/view-special-features/5440. Retrieved December 2, 2009. 

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