As the world becomes more digital, organizations are looking to database technology to help identify and respond to real-time business opportunities. By enabling faster decision making through data-driven analysis, database technology has the power to transform businesses, while preserving their culture and heritage.
What is a Database?
A database is a structured collection of data organized and stored in a manageable, accessible format. It is a key tool in business and human communication because it allows data to be stored, searched, and analyzed in an organized fashion. There are many types of databases: physical, relational, and object-relational. In this book, we will focus on physical and relational databases.
How to Build a Database
To create a database, first decide what information you want to keep in your database. Then determine how to build that information. The building blocks of databases are called data items. A data item can be a word, a number, an image, a sound, or any other type of information. You can link data items together using links called fields. A setting called the context can also link data items, making the data accessible to users across organizational boundaries.
Benefits of databases
There are many benefits of databases, including the following:
Increased business insight – Data stored in a database can be used to improve customer service by providing a history of past interactions. This allows you to identify opportunities for future growth and improve the overall customer experience.
Improved collaboration – Data can be used to help build products that improve collaboration between teams. This can include collaboration of data with other types of content such as visuals, audio, and in-line comments.
Improved productivity – Data can help you understand your customers better so that you can respond more effectively to their needs. This can include providing recommendations, tracking time, and cost, and much more.
Improved security – Data in a database can be used to protect your business by preventing unauthorized access. This can include access by non-staff members, data deletion rules, and more.
Which Technologies to Use with Databases?
There are a variety of technologies that can be used with databases, including the following:
Data Types – Data types are the building blocks of databases. They allow you to store and retrieve data. Types can include numbers, letters, words, pictures, sounds, and other types of information.
Internal Structuring – Internal data structures help you organize data. There are many types of internal structures such as tables, charts, graphs, and Adams-Cases.
External Structuring – External data structures are used to link data items within your database. There are many types of external structures such as file paths, URL paths, and paths to other databases.
Conclusion
With more and more organizations moving their data and business logic to the cloud, distributed computing, and other online environments, there is a growing demand for centralized data storage. Organizations are also looking for new ways to collaborate and share information, with the goal of expediting decision making and achieving greater business outcomes.
Data storage is an important part of this equation. Traditional database technologies such as those supported by Microsoft SQL Server and Oracle are unable to meet these demands. This book provides an in-depth look at how these technologies can be used in a hybrid fashion with the most popular open-source databases.