Data Business Glossary

Data Business Glossary

Data Business Glossary

Data Storage and Management

Data Storage and Management

Data Storage and Management

Data Lake

A data lake is a centralized repository that allows you to store all your structured and unstructured data at any scale. Unlike traditional systems that force you to structure data before storing it, a data lake accepts raw data in its native format, giving you the flexibility to analyze it in different ways as your business needs evolve.

A data lake is a centralized repository that allows you to store all your structured and unstructured data at any scale. Unlike traditional systems that force you to structure data before storing it, a data lake accepts raw data in its native format, giving you the flexibility to analyze it in different ways as your business needs evolve.

A data lake is a centralized repository that allows you to store all your structured and unstructured data at any scale. Unlike traditional systems that force you to structure data before storing it, a data lake accepts raw data in its native format, giving you the flexibility to analyze it in different ways as your business needs evolve.

Business Advantage:

Business Advantage:

Business Advantage:

Data lakes eliminate the need to predict how data might be used in the future. This means your business can quickly adapt to changing market conditions by analyzing historical data in new ways without time-consuming data preparation. Organizations using data lakes typically reduce time-to-insight by 30-50% and can uncover previously hidden patterns that drive competitive advantage.

Data lakes eliminate the need to predict how data might be used in the future. This means your business can quickly adapt to changing market conditions by analyzing historical data in new ways without time-consuming data preparation. Organizations using data lakes typically reduce time-to-insight by 30-50% and can uncover previously hidden patterns that drive competitive advantage.

Data lakes eliminate the need to predict how data might be used in the future. This means your business can quickly adapt to changing market conditions by analyzing historical data in new ways without time-consuming data preparation. Organizations using data lakes typically reduce time-to-insight by 30-50% and can uncover previously hidden patterns that drive competitive advantage.

Data Warehouse

Crawford McMillan facilitated a comprehensive Product Discovery Sprint to design a solution that would transform how ARDA's research data could be accessed, governed, and utilized:

Business Advantage:

Data warehouses provide a unified view of your business

operations, enabling consistent reporting and analysis across your organization. This eliminates conflicting reports from different departments and builds trust in your data.

Companies with well-implemented data warehouses typically make decisions 5x faster

and with 3x more confidence than those relying on disconnected data sources.

Database

A database is an organized collection of structured information with a defined schema, making it easy to access, manage, and update data. It serves as the foundation for applications that run your business.

Business Advantage:

Databases ensure your critical business information is stored reliably, can be accessed quickly, and maintains its accuracy over time. This translates to more responsive customer service, fewer operational errors, and the ability to scale your business without proportionally increasing administrative overhead.

Data Mart

A data mart is a subject-specific subset of a data warehouse focused on a particular business line or department, such as sales, finance, or marketing.

A data mart is a subject-specific subset of a data warehouse focused on a particular business line or department, such as sales, finance, or marketing.

A data mart is a subject-specific subset of a data warehouse focused on a particular business line or department, such as sales, finance, or marketing.

Business Advantage:

Business Advantage:

Business Advantage:

Data marts give specific departments faster access to the information they need without wading through irrelevant data. This speeds up decision making within teams while maintaining consistency with the broader organization. Teams with dedicated data marts typically reduce their reporting time by 40-60% and can respond to market changes more nimbly.

Data marts give specific departments faster access to the information they need without wading through irrelevant data. This speeds up decision making within teams while maintaining consistency with the broader organization. Teams with dedicated data marts typically reduce their reporting time by 40-60% and can respond to market changes more nimbly.

Data marts give specific departments faster access to the information they need without wading through irrelevant data. This speeds up decision making within teams while maintaining consistency with the broader organization. Teams with dedicated data marts typically reduce their reporting time by 40-60% and can respond to market changes more nimbly.

Data
Repository

Data Repository

Data Repository

A data repository is a general term for a location where data is stored and maintained in an organized way, making it accessible for later retrieval and use.

A data repository is a general term for a location where data is stored and maintained in an organized way, making it accessible for later retrieval and use.

A data repository is a general term for a location where data is stored and maintained in an organized way, making it accessible for later retrieval and use.

Business Advantage:

Business Advantage:

Business Advantage:

Well-organized data repositories ensure your business information remains findable and usable, preventing the all-too-common scenario where valuable data exists but nobody can locate it. This translates to less duplicated work, faster onboarding of new team members, and preservation of institutional
knowledge even as staff changes.

Well-organized data repositories ensure your business information remains findable and usable, preventing the all-too-common scenario where valuable data exists but nobody can locate it. This translates to less duplicated work, faster onboarding of new team members, and preservation of institutional
knowledge even as staff changes.

Well-organized data repositories ensure your business information remains findable and usable, preventing the all-too-common scenario where valuable data exists but nobody can locate it. This translates to less duplicated work, faster onboarding of new team members, and preservation of institutional
knowledge even as staff changes.

Cloud Storage

Cloud storage provides on-demand data storage capacity over the internet, eliminating the need to buy and manage physical data storage infrastructure.

Business Advantage:

Cloud storage dramatically reduces upfront capital expenses while providing virtually unlimited scalability. Your business can start small and expand storage as needed without disruption. This pay-as-you-grow model typically reduces storage costs by 30-50% compared to on-premises solutions while eliminating
maintenance headaches and providing built-in disaster recovery options.

On-Premises Storage

On-premises storage refers to data storage systems physically located within your company's facilities rather than in remote data centers.

Business Advantage:

On-premises storage gives you complete control over your data infrastructure, which can be essential for businesses with strict regulatory requirements
or unique security needs. It also provides consistent performance without dependency on internet connectivity and can be more cost-effective for stable, predictable storage needs over multi-year periods.

Hybrid
Storage

Hybrid Storage

Hybrid Storage

Hybrid storage combines both cloud and on-premises storage solutions, allowing businesses to keep sensitive data local while leveraging the cloud for other information.

Hybrid storage combines both cloud and on-premises storage solutions, allowing businesses to keep sensitive data local while leveraging the cloud for other information.

Hybrid storage combines both cloud and on-premises storage solutions, allowing businesses to keep sensitive data local while leveraging the cloud for other information.

Business Advantage:

Business Advantage:

Business Advantage:

Hybrid approaches give you the best of both worlds—the security and control of on-premises systems with the flexibility and scalability of the cloud. This allows your business to optimize costs while meeting varying requirements for different types of data. Organizations with hybrid storage typically achieve 20-40% cost savings compared to pure on-premises solutions while maintaining compliance with data sovereignty requirements.

Hybrid approaches give you the best of both worlds—the security and control of on-premises systems with the flexibility and scalability of the cloud. This allows your business to optimize costs while meeting varying requirements for different types of data. Organizations with hybrid storage typically achieve 20-40% cost savings compared to pure on-premises solutions while maintaining compliance with data sovereignty requirements.

Hybrid approaches give you the best of both worlds—the security and control of on-premises systems with the flexibility and scalability of the cloud. This allows your business to optimize costs while meeting varying requirements for different types of data. Organizations with hybrid storage typically achieve 20-40% cost savings compared to pure on-premises solutions while maintaining compliance with data sovereignty requirements.

Data
Archive

Data Archive

Data Archive

A data archive is a repository for storing data that is no longer actively used but must be retained for future reference, compliance, or historical value.

A data archive is a repository for storing data that is no longer actively used but must be retained for future reference, compliance, or historical value.

A data archive is a repository for storing data that is no longer actively used but must be retained for future reference, compliance, or historical value.

Business Advantage:

Business Advantage:

Business Advantage:

Proper archiving reduces your active storage costs while ensuring you maintain access to historical data when needed for compliance audits or business analysis. This approach typically reduces primary storage costs by 60-80% while still preserving your ability to mine historical data for insights or respond to regulatory inquiries without penalty.

Proper archiving reduces your active storage costs while ensuring you maintain access to historical data when needed for compliance audits or business analysis. This approach typically reduces primary storage costs by 60-80% while still preserving your ability to mine historical data for insights or respond to regulatory inquiries without penalty.

Proper archiving reduces your active storage costs while ensuring you maintain access to historical data when needed for compliance audits or business analysis. This approach typically reduces primary storage costs by 60-80% while still preserving your ability to mine historical data for insights or respond to regulatory inquiries without penalty.

Data Backup

Data backup is the process of creating and storing copies of data to protect against data loss due to equipment failure, accidental deletion, corruption, or disaster.

Business Advantage:

Robust backup strategies dramatically reduce business risk by ensuring you can recover quickly from data disasters. Organizations with comprehensive backup solutions typically reduce downtime costs by 70-90% when incidents occur and maintain business continuity that preserves customer trust and prevents revenue loss during recovery periods.

Master Data Management (MDM)

Master Data Management is the process of creating and maintaining a single, consistent set of identifiers and attributes that define your key business entities (like customers, products, or locations).

Business Advantage:

MDM eliminates costly inconsistencies across your business. When everyone agrees on what constitutes a "customer" or "product," you eliminate duplicate records, conflicting information, and the manual reconciliation that drains productivity. Companies with mature MDM report 15-25% higher marketing campaign effectiveness, 20-30% reduction in order errors, and significantly improved customer experiences through consistent recognition across touchpoints.

Data
Catalog

Data Catalog

Data Catalog

A data catalog is an organized inventory of all data assets in an organization, including information about where data is located, what it means, and how to access it.

A data catalog is an organized inventory of all data assets in an organization, including information about where data is located, what it means, and how to access it.

A data catalog is an organized inventory of all data assets in an organization, including information about where data is located, what it means, and how to access it.

Business Advantage:

Business Advantage:

Business Advantage:

Data catalogs transform data from an overwhelming mass into a navigable resource. They dramatically reduce the time employees spend searching for information (typically by 30-50%) and enable self-service analytics that reduce IT bottlenecks. Organizations with comprehensive data catalogs report that new analytics projects start 2-3x faster and deliver more reliable results.

Data catalogs transform data from an overwhelming mass into a navigable resource. They dramatically reduce the time employees spend searching for information (typically by 30-50%) and enable self-service analytics that reduce IT bottlenecks. Organizations with comprehensive data catalogs report that new analytics projects start 2-3x faster and deliver more reliable results.

Data catalogs transform data from an overwhelming mass into a navigable resource. They dramatically reduce the time employees spend searching for information (typically by 30-50%) and enable self-service analytics that reduce IT bottlenecks. Organizations with comprehensive data catalogs report that new analytics projects start 2-3x faster and deliver more reliable results.

Data
Inventory

Data Inventory

Data Inventory

A data inventory is a detailed listing of all data assets owned by an organization, often including metadata about sensitivity, ownership, and usage.

A data inventory is a detailed listing of all data assets owned by an organization, often including metadata about sensitivity, ownership, and usage.

A data inventory is a detailed listing of all data assets owned by an organization, often including metadata about sensitivity, ownership, and usage.

Business Advantage:

Business Advantage:

Business Advantage:

A complete data inventory provides visibility into your information assets, helping identify redundancies, security risks, and opportunities for consolidation. This typically leads to 15-25% reduction in storage costs, improved compliance posture, and the ability to quickly assess exposure when new regulations emerge.

A complete data inventory provides visibility into your information assets, helping identify redundancies, security risks, and opportunities for consolidation. This typically leads to 15-25% reduction in storage costs, improved compliance posture, and the ability to quickly assess exposure when new regulations emerge.

A complete data inventory provides visibility into your information assets, helping identify redundancies, security risks, and opportunities for consolidation. This typically leads to 15-25% reduction in storage costs, improved compliance posture, and the ability to quickly assess exposure when new regulations emerge.

Cold Storage

Cold storage refers to systems designed for data that is accessed infrequently but must still be retained, optimized for low cost rather than retrieval speed.

Business Advantage:

Implementing cold storage strategies can reduce storage costs by 60-80% for infrequently accessed data while still maintaining availability when needed. This allows businesses to retain more historical information for longer periods without proportionally increasing costs, enabling deeper long-term trend analysis and compliance with extended retention requirements.

Hot Storage

Hot storage systems are optimized for data that requires frequent, rapid access, prioritizing performance over storage cost.

Business Advantage:

Strategic use of hot storage ensures your most critical business operations run at peak efficiency. By identifying and properly provisioning systems for high-velocity data, businesses typically see 30-50% improvements in application responsiveness, translating to better customer experiences, higher transaction throughput, and more productive employees.

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