Achieving Operational Excellence and Customer Intimacy: Enterprise Applications

Enterprise systems, also known as enterpirse resource planning (ERP) systems, which are based on a suite of integrated softwware modules and a common central database. The database collects data from many different divisions and departments in a firm, and from a large number of key business processes in manufacturing and production, finance and accounting, sales and marketing, and human resources, making the data available for applications that support nearly all of an organization's internal business activities.

Fig. How Enterprise System Works

Enterprise Software

Enterprise software is built around thousands of predefined business processes that reflect best practices. Companies implementing this software must first select the functions of the system they wish to use and then map their business processes to the predefined business processes in the software.

Business Value of Enterprise Systems

Enterprise systems provide value both by increasing operational efficiency and by providing firm-wide information to help managers make better decisions. Large companies with many operating units in different locations have used enterprise systems to enforce standard practices and data so that everyone does business the same way worldwide.

Supply Chain Management Systems

If you manage a small firm that makes a few products or sells a few services, chances are you will have a small number of suppliers.

The Supply Chain

A firm's supply chain is a network of organization and business processes for procuring raw materials, transforming these materials into intermediate and finished products, and distributing the finished products to customers.

Fig. Nike's Supply Chain

Information Systems and Supply Chain Management

If a manufacturer had perfect information about exactly how many units of product customers wanted, when they wanted them, and when they could be produced, it would be possible to implement highly efficient just-in-time strategy. One recurring problem in supply chain management is the bullwhip effect, in which information about the demand for a product gets distorted as it passes from one entity to the next across the supply chain.

Fig. The Bullwhip Effect

Supply Chain Management Software

Fig. Push- Versus Pull-Based Supply Chain Models

Supply chain software is classified as either software to help businesses plan their supply chains (supply chain planning) or software to help them execute the supply chain steps (supply chain execution). Supply chain execution systems manage the flow of products through distribution centers and warehouses to ensure that products are delivered to the right locations in the most efficient manner.

Global Supply Chains Issues

Global supply chains typically span greater geographic distances and time differences and domestic supply chains and have participants from a number of different countries. As goods are being sourced, produced, and shipped, communication is required among retailers, manufacturers, contractors, agents, and logistics providers. Logistics services offer Web-based software to give their customers a better view of their global supply chains. Customers are able to check a secure Web site to monitor inventory and shipments, helping them run their global supply chain more efficiently.

Demand-Driven Supply Chains: From Push to Pull Manufacturing and Efficient Customer Response

Earlier supply chain management systems were driven by a push-based model (also known as build-to-stock). In a push-based model, production master schedules are based on forecasts or best guesses of demand for products, and products are "pushed" to customers. In a pull-based model, also known as a demand-driven model or build-to-order, actual customer orders or purchases trigger events in the supply chain. Transactions to produce and deliver only what customers have ordered move up the supply chain from retailers to distributors to manufacturers and eventually to suppliers.

Business Value of Supply Chain Management Systems

Total supply chain costs represent the majority of operating expenses for many businesses and in some industries approach 75 percent of the total operating budget. Reducing supply chain costs may have a major impact on firm profitability.

Fig. The Future Internet-Driven Supply Chain

Customer Relationship Management Systems

You've probably heard phrases such as "the customer is always right" or "the customer comes first." Today theses words ring more true than ever. Because competitive advantage based on an innovative new product or service is often very short lived, companies are realizing that their only enduring competitive strength may be their relationships with their customers. Some say that the basis of competition has switched from who sells the most products and services to who m "own" the customer, and that customer relationships represent a firm's most valuable asset.

Fig. Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

Customer Relationship Management Software

Customer relationship management systems typically provide software and online tools for sales, customer service, and marketing. Partner relationship management (PRM) uses many of the same data, tools, and systems as customer relationship management to enhance collaboration between a company and its selling partners. Employee relationship management (ERM) software deals with employee issues that are closely related to CRM, such as setting objectives, employee performance, management, performance based compensation, and employee training.

Fig. CRM Software Capabilities

Fig. Customer Loyalty Management Process Map

Operational And Analytical CRM

Operational CRM includes customer-facing applications, such as tools for sales force automation, call center and customer-service support, and marketing automation. Analytical CRM includes applications that analyze customer data generated by operational CRM applications to provide information for improving business performance. Customer lifetime value (CLTV) is based on the relationship between the revenue produced by a specific customer, the expenses incurred in acquiring and servicing that customer, and the expected life of the relationship between the customer and the company. The churn rate measures the number of customers who stop using or purchasing products or services from a company. It is an important indicator of the growth or decline of a firm's customer base.

Fig. Analytical CRM Data Warehouse

Enterprise Applications: New Opportunities and Challenges

Many firms have implemented enterprise systems and systems for supply chain management and customer relationship because they are such powerful instruments for achieving operational excellence and enhancing decision making. But precisely because they are so powerful in changing the way the organization works, they are challenging to implement.

Enterprise Application Challenges

Enterprise application require not only deep-seated technological changes but also fundamental changes in the way the business operates. Companies must make sweeping changes to their business processes to work with the software. Companies adopting enterprise applications can also save time and money by keeping customizations to the minimum.

Next-Generation Enterprise Applications

Today, enterprise application vendors are delivering more value by becoming more flexible, Web-enabled, and capable of integration with other systems. SAP's next-generation enterprise applications are based on its enterprise service-oriented architecture. It incorporates service-oriented architecture (SOA) standards and uses its NetWeaver tool as an integration platform linking SAP's own applications and Web services developed by independent software vendors. The goal is to make enterprise applications easier to implement and manage. They are also offering complementary analytics products, such as SAP Business Objects and Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition.

Service Platforms

A service platform integrates multiple applications from multiple business functions, business units, or business partners to deliver a seamless experience for the customer, employee, manager, or business partner.

Summary

Enterprise software is based on a suite of integrated software modules and a common central database. The database collects data from and feeds the data into numerous applications that can support nearly all of an organization's internal business activities. Supply chain management systems automate the flow of information among members of the supply chain so they can use it to make better decisions about when and how much to purchase, produce, or ship. Customer relationship management (CRM) systems integrate and automate customer-facing processes in sales, marketing, and customer service, providing an enterprise-wide view of customers. Enterprise applications are difficult to implement. They require extensive organizational change, large new software investments, and careful assessment of how these systems will enhance organizational performance. Service platforms integrate data and processes from the various enterprise applications as well as from disparate legacy application to create new companies business processes.







Securing Information Systems

System Vulnerability And Abuse

Can you imagine what would happen if you tried to link to the Internet without a firewall or antivirus software? Your computer would be disabled in a few seconds, and it might take you many days to recover.

When large amounts of data are stored in electronic form, they are vulnerable to many more kinds of threats than when they existed in manual form. Through communications networks, information systems in different locations are interconnected. The potential for unauthorized access, abuse, or fraud is not limited to a single location but can occur at any access point in the network.

Fig. Contemporary Security Challenges and Vulnerabilities

Internet Vulnerabilities

Large public networks, such as the Internet, are more vulnerable than internal networks because they are virtually open to anyone. The Internet is so huge that when abuses do occur, they can have an enormously widespread impact. When the Internet becomes part of the corporate network, the organization's information systems are even more vulnerable to actions from outsiders.

Wireless Security Challenges

It depends on how vigilant you are. Even the wireless network in your home is vulnerable because radio frequency bands are easy to scan. Both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi networks is only several hundred feet, it can be extended up to one-fourth of a mile using external antennae.

Fig. Wi-Fi Security Challenges

Malicious Software: Viruses, Worms, Trojan Horses, and Spyware

Malicious software programs are referred to as malware and include a variety of threats, such as computer viruses, worms, and Trojan horses. Worms and viruses are often spread over the Internet from files of downloaded software, from files attached to e-mail transmissions, or from compromised e-mail messages or instant messaging. Many users find such spyware annyoing and some critics worry about its infringement on computer users' privacy.

Hackers and Computer Crime

A hacker is an individual who intends to gain unauthorized access to a computer system. Within the hacking community, the term cracker is typically used to denote a hacker with criminal intent, although in the public press, the terms hacker and cracker used interchangeably. Cybervandalism is the intentional disruption, defacement, or even destruction of a Web site or corporate information system.

Spoofing and Sniffing

Hackers attempting to hide their true identifies often spoof, or misrepresent, themselves by using fake e-mail addresses or masquerading as someone else. Spoofing also may involve redirecting a Web link to an address different from the intended one, with the site masquerading as the intended destination. A sniffer is a type of eavesdropping program that monitors information traveling over a network.

Denial-of-service Attacks

In a denial-of-service (DoS) attack, hackers flood a network server or Web server with many thousands of false communications or requests for services to crash the network. A distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack uses numerous computers to inundate and overwhelm the network from numerous launch points.

Computer Crime

Most hacker activities are criminal offenses, and the vulnerabilities of systems we have just described make them targets for other types of computer crime as well. No one knows the magnitude of the computer crime problem - how many systems are invaded, how many people engage in the practice, or the total economic damage. The most economically damaging kinds of computer crimes are DoS attacks, introducing viruses, theft of services, and disruption of computer systems.

Identity Theft
Identity Theft is a crime in which an imposter obtains key pieces of personal information, such as social security identification numbers, driver's license numbers, or credit card numbers, to impersonate someone else.

Click Fraud
Click Fraud occurs when an individual or computer program fraudulently clicks on an online ad without any intention of learning more about the advertiser or making a purchase.

Business Value of Security and Control

Many firms are reluctant to spend heavily on security because it is not directly related to sales revenue. However, protecting information systems is so critical to the operation of the business that it deserves a second look.

Legal and Regulatory Requirements for Electronic Records Management
If you work in the health care industry, your firm will need to comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996. If you work in a firm providing financial services, your firm will need to comply with the Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999, better known as the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act after its congressional sponsors. If you work in a publicly traded company, your company will need to comply with the Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act of 2002, better known as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act after its sponsors Senator Paul Sarbanes of Maryland and Representative Michael Oxley of Ohio.

Electronic Evidence And Computer Forensics

Computer forensics is the scientific collection, examination, authentification, preservation, and analysis of data held on or retrieved from computer storage media in such a way that the information can be used as evidence in a court of law. It deals with the following problems:

• Recovering data from computers while preserving evidential integrity
• Securely storing and handling recovered electronic data
• Finding significant information in a large volume of electronic data
• Presenting the information to a court of law

Electronic evidence may reside on computer storage media in the form of computer files and as ambient data, which are not visible to the average user.

Role of Auditing
An MIS audit examines the firm's overall security environment as well as controls governing individual information systems.

Identity Management and Authentication
To gain access to a system, a user must be authorized and authenticated. Authentication refers to the ability to know that a person is who he or she claims to be. Authentication is often established by using passwords known only to authorized users.

Firewalls
Firewalls prevent unauthorized users from accessing private networks. A firewall is a combination of hardware and software that controls the flow of incoming and outgoing network traffic.

 

Fig. A Corporate Firewall

Intrusion Detection Systems

Intrusion Detection Systems feature full-time monitoring tools placed at the most vulnerable points or "hot spots" of corporate networks to detect and deter intruders continually.

Antivirus and Antispyware Software

Antivirus software is designed to check computer systems and drives for the presence of computer viruses.

Encryption and Public Key Infrastructure

Two methods for encrypting network traffic on the Web are SSL and S-HTTP. Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and its successor Transport Layer Security (TLS) enable client and server computers to manage encryption and decryption activities as they communicate with each other during a secure Web session. Secure Hypertext Transfer Protocol (S-HTTP) is another protocol used for encrypting data flowing over the Internet, but it is limited to individual messages, where as SSL and TLS are designed to establish a secure connection between two computers. A more secure form of encryption called public key encryption uses two keys: one share (or public) and one totally private. The keys are mathematically related so that data encrypted with one key can be decrypted using only the other key.

Fig. Public Key Encryption

Digital certificates are data files used to establish the identity of users and electronic assets for protection of online transactions.

Ensuring System Availability

In online transaction processing, transactions entered online are immediately processed by the computer. Multitudinous changes to databases, reporting, and requests for information occur each instant. Fault-tolerant computer systems contain redundant hardware, software, and power supply components that create an environment that provides continuous, uninterrupted service.

Controlling Network Traffic: Deep Packet Inspection

A technology called deep packet inspection (DPI) examines data files and sort out low-priority online material while assigning higher priority to business-critical files. 

Security Issues For Cloud Computing and The Mobile Digital Platform

Security in the Cloud

Cloud users should ask whether cloud providers will submit to external audits and security certifications. These kinds of controls can be written into the service level agreement (SLA) before to signing with a cloud provider.

Securing Mobile Platforms

If mobile devices are performing many of the functions of computers, they need to be secured like desktops and laptops against malware, theft, accidental loss, unauthorized access, and hacking attempts. Mobile devices accessing corporate systems and data require special protection.

Summary

Digital data are vulnerable to destruction, misuse, error, fraud, and hardware or software failures. The Internet is designed to be an open system and makes internal corporate systems more vulnerable to actions from outsiders. Lack of sound security and control can cause firms relying on computer systems for their core business functions to lose sales and productivity. Firms need to establish a good set of both general and application controls for their information systems. A risk assessment evaluates information assets, identifies control points and control weaknesses, and determines the most cost-effective set of controls. Firewalls prevent unauthorized users from accessing a private network when it is linked to the Internet. Companies can use fault-tolerant computer systems or create high-availability computing environments to make sure that their information systems are always available. Use of software metrics and rigorous software testing help improve software quality and reliability.

Telecommunications, the Internet, and Wireless Technology

If you run or work in a business, you can't do without networks.

Networking and Communication Trends

Firms in the past used two fundamentally different types of networks: telephone networks, handled voice communication, and computer networks handled data traffic. Both voice and data communication networks have also become more powerful (faster), more portable (smaller and mobile), and less expensive. In few years, more than half the Internet users in the United States will use smartphones and mobile netbooks to access the Internet.

Computer Network

It is a network consists of two or more connected computers. Each computer on the network contains a network interface device called a network interface card (NIC). The network operating system (NOS) routes and manages communications on the network and coordinates network resources. Hubs are very simple devices that connect network components, sending a packet of data to all the other connected devices. A switch has more intelligence than a hub and can filter and forward data to a specified destination on the network. A router is a communications processor used to route packets of data through different networks, ensuring that the data sent gets to the correct address.

 

Fig. Components of a simple computer networks

 Fig. Today's Corporate Network Infrastructure

Key Digital Networking Technologies

Contemporary digital networks and the Internet are based on three key technologies: client/server computing, the use of packet switching,a dn the development of widely used communications standards (the most important of which is Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol, or TCP/IP) for linking disparate networks and computers.)

Communications Networks

Signals: Digital vs. Analog
An analog signal is represented by a continuous waveform that passes through a communications medium and has been used for used for voice communication. A digital signal is a discrete, binary waveform, rather than a continuous waveform.

Type of Networks

Type	Area
Local area network (LAN)	Up to 500 meters (half a mile); an office or floor of a building
Campus area network (CAN)	Up to 1,000 meters (a mile); a college campus or corporate facility
Metropolitan area network (MAN)	A city or metropolitan area
Wide area network (WAN)	A transcontinental or global area

The Global Internet
The Internet has become the world's most extensive, public communication system that now rivals the global telephone system in reach and range. An Internet service provider (ISP) is a commercial organization with a permanent connection to the Internet that sells temporary connections to retail subscribers.

The Domain Name System
Because it would be incredibly difficult for Internet users to remember strings of 12 numbers, the Domain Name System (DNS) converts domain names to IP addresses.

.com	Commercial organizations/businesses
.edu	Educational institutions
.gov	U.S. government agencies
.mil	U.S. military
.net	Network computers
.org	Nonprofit organizations and foundations
.biz	Business firms
.info	Information providers

Internet Services And Communication Tools
Internet Services

Capability	Functions Supported
E-mail	Person-to-person messaging; document sharing
Chatting and instant messaging	Interactive conversations
Newsgroups	Discussion groups on electronic bulletin boards
Telnet	Logging on to one computer system and doing work on another
File Transfer Protocol (FTP)	Transferring files from computer to computer
World Wide Web	Retrieving, formatting, and displaying information (including text, audio, graphics, and video) using hypertext links

Fig. How Voice Over IP Works

The Web

A typical web site is a collection of web pages linked to a home page.

Hypertext
Web pages are based on a standard Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), which formats documents and incorporates dynamic links to other documents and pictures stored in the same or remote computers. Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is the communications standard used to transfer pages on the web.

Web Servers
A Web server is software for locating and managing stored Web pages.

Searching for Information on the Web

Search Engines
Search Engines attempt to solve the problem of finding useful information on the Web nearly instantly, and arguably, they are the "killer app" of the Internet era. Search engines have become major shopping tools by offering what is now called search engine marketing. Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the quality and volume of Web site achieve a higher ranking with the major search engines when certain keywords and phrases are put in the search field.

Web 2.0
The second-generation interactive Internet-based services are referring to as Web 2.0. It has four defining features: interactivity, real-time user control, social participation (sharing), and user-generated content. A blog, the popular term for a Weblog, is a personal Web site that typically contains a series of chronological entries  (newest to oldest) by its author, and links to related web pages.

Web 3.0: The Future Web
The future of the Web involves developing techniques to make searching the 100 billion public Web pages more productive and meaningful for ordinary people. Web 1.0 solved the problem of obtaining access to information. Web 2.0 solved the problem of sharing that information with others and building new Web experiences. Web 3.0 is the promise of a future Web where all this digital information, all these contacts, can be woven together into a single meaningful experience. Sometimes this is referred to as the Semantic Web which means "meaning".

The Wireless Revolution
Wireless communication helps businesses more easily stay in touch with customers, suppliers, and employees and provides more flexible arrangements for organizing work. In addition to voice transmission, they feature capabilities for e-mail, messaging, wireless Internet access, digital photography and personal information management. The features of iPhone and BlackBerry illustrate the extent to which cellphones have evolved into small mobile computers.

Wireless Computer Networks and Internet Access
If you have a laptop computer, you might be able to use it to access the Internet as you move from room to room in your dorm, or table to table in in your university library.

Bluetooth
Bluetooth is the popular name for the 802.15 wireless networking standard, which is useful for creating small personal area networks (PANs). Although Bluetooth lends itself to personal networking, it has uses in large corporations.

Wi-Fi and Wireless Internet Access
The 802.11 set of standard for wireless LANs and wireless Internet access is also known as Wi-Fi. The first of these standards to be widely adopted was 502.11b, which can transmit up to 11 Mbps in the unlicensed 2.4-GHz band and has an effective distance of 30 to 50 meters. Hotspots typically consist of one or more access points providing wireless Internet access in a public place.

Fig. A Bluetooth Network (PAN)

 



WiMax
The range of Wi-Fi systems is no more than 300 feet from the base station, making it difficult for rural groups that don't have cable or DSL service to find wireless access to the Internet. The IEEE developed a new family of standards known as WiMax to deal with these problems. WiMax, which stands for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, is the popular term for IEEE Standard 802.16.

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)
Radio frequency identification (RFID) systems provide a powerful technology for tracking the movement of goods throughout the supply chain. RFID systems use tiny tags with embedded microchips containing data about an item and its location to transmit radio signals over a short distance to RFID readers.

Fig. How RFID works

Wireless Sensor Networks
Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are networks of interconnected wireless devices that are embedded into the physical environment to provide measurements of many points over large spaces. These devices have built-in processing, storage, and radio frequency sensors and antennas. Wireless sensor networks are valuable in areas such as monitoring environmental changes, monitoring traffic or military activity, protecting property, efficiently operating and managing machinery and vehicles, establishing security perimeters, monitoring supply chain management, or detecting chemical, biological, or radiological material.

Summary

A simple network consists of two or more connected computers. Contemporary networks have been shaped by the rise of client/server computing, the use of packet switching, and the adoption of Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) as a universal communications standard for linking disparate networks and computers, including the Internet. The Internet is a worldwide network of networks that uses the client/server model of computing and the TCP/IP network reference model. Cellular networks are evolving toward high-speed, high-bandwidth, digital packet-switched transmission. Radio frequency identification (RFID) systems provide a powerful technology for tracking the movement of goods by using tiny tags with embedded data about an item and its location.

 

Google Glass Project

Google Glass Project Glass: One day

Google glass project surprised me and triggered my interest. I heard about this project but never had a chance to sit and read or watch carefully regarding of the contents. From personal point of view, Google glass is a thin sleek eye wear with latest technologies. It is very similar to iPhone’s Siri. It has built in features such as weather report, GPS map, chatting, phone calls, video recording, watching news and so on. Technically, Google glass does all the things that a smart phone does except you do not need to take your phone out from the pockets or hold it in your hand. It’s GPS really comes in handy for person like me who have no sense of directions. I am glad to know that Google Glass GPS will help people to navigate through streets when they are on vacation with unfamiliar environment. I like the voice communication between the Google Glass and the person who wear it because under cold weather, users do not need to take off their gloves to touch the screens to go through the apps they needs and it comes in handy when your hands are full with something else. You can multitask and it is very convenience for users just to nod their heads or voice commands. On the cons side, the price for this technology will be expensive. It will also make you look like you are talking to yourself when you are in a crowd. It will also bother your partner at a dining table while you cannot fully appreciate your meals. Persons who wear glasses for their eyes corrections will have to switch either contact lens or lasiks in order to use Google glass. Since it is so thin and sleek, consumers will concern with durability. When consumers are driving, how safe will it make consumers have to keep their eyes on the roads as well as busy with Google glass small screens? These days, some states have no cellphone or texting while driving and I can see in the near future, no Google glass while driving might become a law. Technology is something which is sweet yet bitter. After all, it all depends on how consumers view and use it. We shall wait and see how consumers response to this latest technology.

Foundations of Business Intelligence: Databases and Information Management

An effective information system provides users with accurate, timely, and relevant information. Accurate information is free of errors. Information is timely when it is available to decision makers when it is needed.

File Organization Terms and Concepts

A computer system organizes data in a hierarchy that starts with bits and bytes and progresses to fields, records, files, and databases.

  

Problems with The Traditional File Environment

In most organizations, systems tended to grow independently without a company-wide plan. Accounting, finance, manufacturing, human resources, and sales and marketing all developed their own systems and data files.

 

Fig. Traditional File Processing

Data Redundancy and Inconsistency

Data redundancy is the presence of duplicate data in multiple data files so that the same data are stored in more than place or location. Data redundancy wastes storage resources and also leads to data inconsistency, where the same attribute may have different values.

Program-Data Dependence

Program-data dependence refers to the coupling of data stores in files and the specific programs required to update and maintain those files such that changes in programs require changes to the data.

Lack of Flexibility

A traditional file system can deliver routine scheduled reports after extensive programming efforts, but it cannot deliver ad hoc reports or respond to unanticipated information requirements in a timely fashion.

Poor Security

Because there is little control or management of data, access to and dissemination of information may be out of control. Management may have no way of knowing who is accessing or even making changes to the organization’s data.

Lack of Data Sharing and Availability

Because pieces of information in different files and different parts of the organization cannot be related to one another, it is virtually impossible for information to be shared or accessed in a timely manner.

The Database Approach To Data Management

Database Management Systems

A database management systems (DBMS) is software that permits an organization to centralize data, manage them efficiently, and provide access to the stored data by application programs.

How a DBMS Solves the Problems of the Traditional File Environment

A DBMS reduces data redundancy and inconsistency by minimizing isolated files in which the same data are prepared. The DBMS may not enable the organization to eliminate data redundancy entirely, but it can help control redundancy.

Rational DBMS

Cotemporary DBMS use different database models to keep track of entities, attributes, and relationships. The most popular type of DBMS today for PCs as well as for larger computers and mainframes is the relational DBMS.

Fig. Relational Database Tables

 

Operations of a Relational DBMS

Relational database tables can be combined easily to deliver data required by users, provided that any two tables share a common data element.

Object-Oriented DBMS

An object-oriented DBMS stores the data and procedures that act on those data as objects that can be automatically retrieved and shared. Hybrid object-relational DBMS systems are now available to provide capabilities of both object-oriented and relational DBMS.

Databases in the Cloud

Cloud computing providers offer database management services, but these services typically have less functionally than their on-premises counterparts.

Capabilities of Database Management Systems

DBMS have a data definition capability to specify the structure of the content of the database. A data dictionary is an automated or manual file that stores definitions of data elements and their characteristics.

Querying and Reporting

Most DBMS have a specialized language called a data manipulation language that is used to add, change, delete, and retrieve the data in the database.

Designing Databases

To create a database, you must understand the relationships among the data, the type of data that will be maintained in the database, how the data will be used, and how the organization will need to change to manage data from a company-wide perspective. The database requires both a conceptual design and a physical design.

Normalization and Entity-Relationship Diagrams

The process of creating small, stable, yet flexible and adaptive data structures from complex groups of data is called normalization. The relationship between the entities SUPPLIER, PART, LINE_ITEM, AND ORDER is called entity-relationship diagram.

 

FIG. Normalized Tables Created From Order

 

 

FIG.  An Entity-Relationship Diagram

 

Using Databases to Improve Business Performance And Decision Making

Businesses use their databases to keep track of basic transactions, such as paying suppliers, processing orders, keeping track of customers, and paying employees. But they also need databases to provide information that will help the company run the business more efficiently, and help managers and employees make better decisions.

Data Warehouses

A data warehouse is a database that stores current and historical data of potential interest to decision makers throughout the company.

 

 Fig. Component Of A Data Warehouse

Data Marts

A data mart is a subset of a data warehouse in which a summarized or highly focused portion of the organization’s data is placed in a separate database for a specific population of users.

Tools For Business Intelligence: Multidimensional Data Analysis and Data Mining

Online Analytical Processing (OLAP)

Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) supports multidimensional data analysis, enabling users to view the same data in different ways using multiple dimensions. OLAP enables users to obtain online answers to ad hoc questions such as these in a fairly rapid amount of time, even when the data are stored in very large databases, such as sales figures for multiple years.

Data Mining

Data mining is more discovery-driven. Data mining provides insights into corporate data that cannot be obtained with OLAP by finding hidden patterns and relationships in large databases and inferring rules from them to predict future behavior.

Text Mining and Web Mining

Text mining tools are now available to help businesses analyze these data. These tools are able to extract key elements from large unstructured data sets, discover patterns and relationships, and summarize the information. Web mining is the discovery and analysis of useful patterns and information form the World Wide Web. Businesses might turn to Web mining to help them understand customer behavior, evaluate the effectiveness of a particular Web site, or quantify the success of a marketing campaign.

Managing Data Resources

Setting up a database is only a start. In order to make sure that the data for your business remain accurate, reliable, and readily available to those who need it, your business will need special policies and procedures for data management.

Establishing An Information Policy

An information policy specifies the organization’s rules for sharing disseminating, acquiring, standardizing, classifying, and inventorying information.  Data administration is responsible for the specific policies and procedures through which data can be managed as an organizational resource. Data governance used to describe many of these activities. Promoted by IBM, data governance deals with the policies and processes for managing the availability, usability, integrity, and security of the data employed in an enterprise, with special emphasis on promoting privacy, security, data quality, and compliance with government regulations.

Ensuring Data Quality

Analysis of data quality often begins with a data quality audit, which is a structured survey of the accuracy and level of completeness of the data in an information system. Data cleaning, also known as data scrubbing, consists of activities for detecting and correcting data in a database that are incorrect, incomplete, improperly formatted, or redundant.

 

Summary

An effective information system provides users with accurate, timely, and relevant information. Accurate information is free of errors. Information is timely when it is available to decision makers when it is needed. A database management system (DBMS) solves these problems with software that permits centralization of data and data management so that businesses have a single consistent source for all their data needs. Using a DBMS minimizes redundant and inconsistent files. Designing a database requires both a logical design and a physical design. The logical design models the database from a business perspective. Powerful tools are available to analyze and access the information in databases. A data warehouse consolidates current and historical data from many different operational systems in a central database designed for reporting and analysis. Data that are inaccurate, incomplete, or inconsistent create serious operational and financial problems for business because they may create inaccuracies in product pricing, customer accounts, and inventory data, and lead to inaccurate decisions about the actions that should be taken by the firm.