Christopher Bradley, information strategist at DMA Advisors, says the “main purpose of a data model is actually not to design a database – it’s to describe a business.” However, many professionals lack a solid grasp of the data modeling concepts needed to effectively represent their business operations. This knowledge gap comes at a steep cost. A recent […]
Book of the Month: Data Models for Banking, Finance, and Insurance
Welcome to the first “Book of the Month” for 2025. This time, we’ll be going over “Data Models for Banking, Finance, and Insurance” by Claire L. Frankel. This book arms the reader with a set of best practices and data models to help implement solutions in the banking, finance, and insurance industries. Right at the beginning […]
Granularity Is the True Data Advantage
Commerce today runs on data – guiding product development, improving operational efficiency, and personalizing the customer experience. However, many organizations fall into the trap of thinking that more data means more sales, when these two factors aren’t directly correlated. Often, executives will become overzealous in their digital transformations and cut blank checks for data collection, […]
A Brief History of Data Modeling
Data Modeling is the “act” of creating a data model (physical, logical, conceptual, etc.) and includes defining and determining an organization’s data needs and goals. The act of Data Modeling defines not just data elements, but also the structures they form and the relationships between them. Developing a data model requires the data modelers to work […]
Data Observability: What It Is and Why It Matters
As a process, data observability is used by businesses working with massive amounts of data. Many large, modern organizations try to monitor their data using a variety of applications and tools. Unfortunately, few businesses develop the visibility necessary for a realistic overview. Data observability provides that overview, to eliminate data flow problems as quickly as […]
Fundamentals of Metadata Management
Metadata powers effective action on information by providing context, content, and structure. When this information is managed well, data consumers can find and get the correct data they need. As Atlan Prukalpa Sankar states, “Metadata is the glue that can bind the modern data stack together, the layer that will allow increasingly diverse, siloed tools and people to collaborate effectively.” Grasping the […]
Achieving Smoother, Quicker Data Modeling
When the Navy SEALS embraced its motto, “Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast,” they may as well have been discussing building data models in the same breath. The SEALS chose the phrase to remind its participants not to rush but to act thoughtfully and deliberately. Data Modeling does the same thing by helping businesses design and update data architectures […]
Trends in Data Governance in 2023: Maturation Toward a Service Model
Companies increasingly want to mature their Data Governance, the formal Data Management capabilities around its value as a service, in 2023. That way, organizations can respond to an uncertain business environment quickly and flexibly. While Kelle O’Neal, founder and CEO of the data consulting firm First San Francisco Partners, first identified this need for Data Governance as a […]
Types of Data Models and Their Uses
Businesses can benefit from Data Modeling in a variety of important ways. Data models serve two primary purposes. They can be designed to represent the organization’s current data system, providing an understanding of how the data flows through an organization, or be developed to show a new desired data system. The model can be used […]
Data Modeling Trends in 2023: A Refresh
Data Modeling, the practice of diagramming Data Architecture and aligning core business rules with data definitions, will go through a refresh in 2023. Organizations will assess and make over their data fabrics, which describe distributed Data Management systems. Furthermore, managers and project teams will use data models to optimize business processes with their data assets and allocate resources to achieve […]