Databases Reference
In-Depth Information
that training can also include the DBMS environment, though that specific need
is usually better met by database administrators. Management personnel need to
understand why the database approach is good for the company and for their
individual functions specifically. Users must understand why the shared data
must remain secure and private. Application developers must be given substan-
tial training in how to work in the database environment, including training in
database concepts, database standards, and how to write DBMS calls in their pro-
grams. These requirements might also include how to do database design, how
to use the data dictionary to their advantage, and in general, what services they
can expect data and database administrators to provide.
Arbitrating Disputes and Access
To introduce the concept of
arbitration,
the act of resolving disputes between
disagreeing parties, we should spend a moment on the question of data owner-
ship. Who in a company “owns” a piece of data or a database? To be technical,
since data is a resource of value to the company, the data “belongs” to the com-
pany's owners or stockholders. In more practical terms, in many companies data
is controlled by its primary user or users. In this case, data and database admin-
istrators act as custodians of the data in the sense of providing security, backup,
performance monitoring, and other such services. Here again the roles overlap,
with it being difficult determine where one set of responsibilities ends and the
other begins. In some companies with an advanced level of data sharing, own-
ership responsibility actually falls to data administration itself.
If ownership has been established in a department other than IS and a new
application requires the use of existing data, it becomes the job of data or data-
base administration to act as an intermediary and approach the owner of the
data with the request for data sharing. Similar issues can arise if one department
in the company simply wants to query another department's database. If there
is a dispute over such data sharing, then the data administration group acts
(in theory) as an arbitrator between the disagreeing parties.
In some cases the issue isn't what you can access, but the speed and qual-
ity of access. The data administration group might find itself acting as arbitrator
between two database users or groups of users who are sharing the same data-
base server, each demanding priority access for better performance. The funda-
mental issue becomes determining what is best for the company. For example,
marketing and sales might argue over access to the same customer sales data. In
this case, it is likely that the sales department's access is more time-critical.
It's important to understand that this role belongs to data administration in
theory, but not always in fact. It depends on your organization and who ulti-
mately is responsible for decisions about data and its use. Just because the log-
ical department to make the decision is data administration, doesn't mean it will
always work that way. For example, decisions about data access might fall solely
