OVERVIEW OF ADMINISTRATION FUNCTIONS - Database Design and Development: An Essential Guide for IT Professionals - page 419

Practitioners Users

Application Interfaces

Procedures

Application
Software

Query/Reporting
Front-end Tools

Data
Repository

Data
Dictionary

DBMS

Systems
Software

Hardware

ADMINISTRATION

Figure 14-1 Administration in the database environment.

dian for corporate data. This custodian must develop procedures to manage and
control the data asset of an organization. A specialized group or person must assume
direct responsibility for the organization's data resource.

Protection of Data If data is a significant corporate asset, then they must be safe-
guarded from unauthorized access. Authorized users must be given the necessary
access privileges to the applicable data elements. Only authorized users must be
permitted to access the database. The organization must establish a clear and reli-
able security policy. The policy must be carefully reviewed and put into practice. In
a large establishment, this is an extensive responsibility. Such a responsibility can
be entrusted only to people with knowledge of the data needs of every user group
in the organization.

Uniform Standards Consider the definitions and naming of data elements in an
organization with a database system. Assume that there is a data element called
account in a bank's database. Now this data element, being part of the database, is
shared and used by the bank's staff in the various departments. What does the data
element account mean? Does it refer to savings accounts, checking accounts, or loan
accounts? Does it denote the balance amount in the account? If so, how large is the
account field?
Because the data elements in a database are shared among various departments,
it becomes all the more necessary to standardize data names, data definitions, and
data types. You need someone responsible for instituting corporate-wide standards.

Sophisticated DBMSs The sophistication of commercial DBMSs continues to
increase as the organization's database expands to serve new information needs.
DBMS enables an organization to set up the database, to define the structures, to
incorporate constraints and rules, to grant access privileges to authorized users, to