A database administrator, also known as a DBA, is responsible for gathering, storing, organizing, and processing data. This job is ranked as one of the ten best technology jobs in the world. DBAs frequently work with other data analysts, assuring the right people can access the data they need. They are, in fact, an organization's data gatekeepers. Some of their responsibilities include installing server software, configuring database servers, and backing…

Venture Logistics, a full-service trucking and logistics company, was facing a challenge in communicating data between its transportation management system (TMS) and clients. “We were always behind the eight ball, which lead to our customers telling us that our data failed and we’d missed out on orders or missed out on payments,” said Tom Jeffries, Director of Transportation Systems at Venture. There was a cascading effect on backhauls — the…

Ask the question “How much Data Quality is good enough?” and see some very puzzled and alarmed looks. Data Quality, comprising all activities making data fit for consumption, plays a fundamental role in trust, security, privacy, and competitiveness. Good Data Quality is critical because it fuels a surviving and thriving business. While it would be nice to have 100 percent Data Quality for all data all the time, this goal…

Self-service analytics offers dynamic reports to business users, who can analyze the data by sophisticated, in-built functions. This kind of user empowerment reduces reliance on IT staff. Moreover, self-service business intelligence (BI) capability may additionally equip users with external data access and built-in features to instantly generate finished reports. To use a complete range of analytics or BI functions, users do not need to understand anything of the underlying programming…

Data and business have become inseparable, so if your business isn't using data effectively, you're in trouble. Yet using it effectively can be a struggle. Not knowing how to find the right data, not trusting the available data, and not having confidence in the tools and people providing that data can lead people to conclude that “everything's broken, and it's all horrible,” according to consultant Anthony Algmin. But there is…

Michael Bowers, author and Chief Data Architect at FairCom Corporation, initially set out to research three careers in his presentation titled Data Architect vs. Data Modeler vs. Data Engineer  for the DATAVERSITY® Data Architecture Online 2019 Conference. The process brought him to a wealth of information he would have appreciated much earlier in his career, so Bowers was inspired to expand his comprehensive analysis to eight career positions: data analyst,…