I wrote a whitepaper titled: Enterprise Data Management: 7 Mistakes You Can't Aff
ord to Make. In this document I cover the most critical mistakes made by data management professionals and how to mitigate those risks.
This paper is downloadable (registration required) from the Embarcadero website.
From the executive summary:
Today’s information technology professionals are faced with a variety of challenges including legislation, organizational change, and the rate of technological innovation.. In our experience most IT professionals in organizations initiating an enterprise data management program can feel overwhelmed at the scope and complexity of initiating new methods, tools, and techniques. They are eager to deliver the benefits of well-managed enterprise architecture but have concerns about possible missteps along the way. Whether their organization is just starting out or experienced in enterprise data management efforts, there are certain pitfalls that can become obstacles to success.
Before we talk about the pitfalls, though, we should discuss terminology. An enterprise data management program is the management of information in a manner that:
- encourages a practical balance between enterprise and project points of view,
- contributes to the development of an enterprise data architecture,
- enables IT groups to respond more quickly and effectively to business needs,
- delivers information that is the most useful to the business, and
- uses the proper tools and techniques in delivering project outcomes.
Enterprise data management includes the use of logical and physical data models as a key component of enterprise data architecture. These models form a knowledge base of data and information requirements in the context of the business as a whole.
This paper first looks at the benefits of an effective enterprise data management effort. Why, if there are pitfalls, should an organization approach data management with an enterprise point of view? Let’s start first with the reason information technologies exist—to enable businesses to accomplish goals that would be nearly impossible with manual processes. Enterprise architectures allow teams to improve communications, reduce and better align information technology expenditures, and develop better project estimates and plans. However, the most important benefit of an effective enterprise data management program is that it instills a greater confidence in the information technology group’s ability to deliver solutions to the business.
The second section of this paper discusses seven common mistakes that organizations can make in developing an enterprise data architecture. These mistakes each have a cost that negatively impacts projects and the information technology group as a whole.