Data management describes the process of collecting, storing, and analyzing data. Organizations use data management to process business transactions, measure day-to-day operations, and for future decision-making. As a result, decision-makers can rely on data to make choices and take actions that benefit the organization. This unit will cover data management and the overall practice of accessing, collecting, and using data securely, efficiently, and cost-effectively. Data management aims to optimize data use within organizations and other agencies within the bounds of policy and regulation.

Completing this unit should take you approximately 9 hours.

A database is a collection of related data. Think back to the definition of database management (DM) in Unit 1. It was defined as an essential administrative function within an organization. DM describes how to acquire, store, protect, validate, and process related data. Organizations utilize software to effectively manage data.  Database management systems (DBMS) are types of software used to manage data. This software allows an organization to store and retrieve data from a database. Thus, a DBMS is a collection of interrelated data and programs to readily access data.  This unit will cover database information and how it is organized for easy access, managing, and updating. Also, we will review DBMS, which is system software for creating and managing databases in a systematic way.

In Unit 2, you learned that database design is a process to facilitate the construction, development, implementation, and maintenance of database management systems. Unit 3 will add to your knowledge of database design. This unit introduces data models. Your ability to understand and explain data models is the first step to designing a database. Data models are abstract models that organize data elements and define the logical inter-relationships between different data elements. The purpose of data models is to represent "what data are required" and "what format to use" in business practices. Data models facilitate organizational communication and development. Therefore, data models are used to accurately represent requirements by designing responses needed to answer those requirements.

Completing this unit should take you approximately 8 hours.

What is "big data?" Big data is usually defined as a substantial amount of unstructured and structured data that is so large it is difficult to process using traditional methods. The amount of data is either too big, received too quickly, or exceeds available processing capacity. This requires organizations to have advanced systems to manage big data. Big data processing consists of a set of techniques and computing models that access large scales of data. This process extracts useful information that supports or provides evidence for decision-making. However, this can require a lot of space, and purchasing hardware can become costly. Cloud computing allows for the delivery of different services through the internet. For example, resources can include tools and applications like data storage, databases, and software. Cloud computing systems stores and grant access to data over the internet instead of on a local server or hard drive. This unit will cover big data and cloud computing.

Completing this unit should take you approximately 7 hours.

Structure Query Language (SQL) is a communication programming language that has been around for decades. It is the standard language for relational database management systems. Organizations cannot have an effective data management program without SQL. Therefore, organizations seek to hire personnel who understand basic SQL concepts. This unit will cover SQL, which is a database query language used for storing and managing data in relational database management systems (RDBMS).

Completing this unit should take you approximately 6 hours.

The growth of the internet has led to an increase in e-business and e-commerce. An E-business is any organization that conducts business over the internet. E-commerce is the transmission of funds or money over an electronic network, primarily the internet. Both e-business and e-commerce may occur as business-to-business (B2B), business-to-consumer (B2C), consumer-to-consumer (C2C) and consumer-to-business (C2B)  The internet gives us instant access to millions of IP addresses. It digitally connects us to numerous networks with the click of a key or touch of a screen. Advancements increased the use of the internet for business, data is easily collected and used for business growth.  Websites collect and store vast amounts of data on each consumer. Organizations determine what is relevant and irrelevant to the consumer. Data abstraction is a process that delivers only necessary information while concealing background details. So far, you have learned that database systems (DMBS) are made of complex data structures. To improve user experience and ease user interaction on the internet, developers hide internal irrelevant details from the user. This is the definition of data abstraction. This data is used to conduct marketing and increase growth for B2B and B2C sales.  This unit will cover data over the internet and growth, which has been immense in the past few years, and it is growing faster than ever. Also, the unit will review data integration and information retrieval, such as structured queries over the web.

Completing this unit should take you approximately 3 hours.

Data sharing is the ability to distribute exact information throughout multiple applications for users. Data sharing is important because it promotes the cross-flow of information and builds partnerships between researchers and organizations. Data sharing allows others to further investigate previous research or reveal new insights about an event from previously collected data. This unit will cover data sharing between multiple applications or users, review data issues with storing information on one or more servers, review terms and obstacles associated with data sharing, and address the overall benefits and disadvantages of data sharing.

Completing this unit should take you approximately 3 hours.

In the last unit, you learned about data sharing, including the benefits and disadvantages. During your reading, you were given the knowledge to explain the continuous efforts by institutions and publishers to improve policies and guidelines for data sharing. Because of data sharing, researchers can investigate or reveal more information on an event through open access and data methods. Next, you will learn the final step in data management. This step covers the importance of data warehousing and data-driven systems. Business intelligence (BI) propels the evolution of data. Data warehouses exist to allow decision-makers the ability to understand and improve organizational performance. Data warehouses first entered the business arena in the 1980s. The purpose was to assist with data flow from an organization’s operational system into decision-support systems. Data-driven is a business term that describes using data to inform or improve processes, performance, revenue, and decision-making. Data-driven systems are specialized software used for acquiring, managing, and presenting information. Therefore, data-driven systems use information from data warehouses to support business decisions, actions, and policies. This unit will cover how data warehousing and data-driven systems can support organizations through real-time feeds and the ability to retrieve historical data. Also, the unit will review each element and how they assist in the overall scheme of a business.

Completing this unit should take you approximately 5 hours.