Author: Justin Hesser

Optimization is one of the keys to business efficiency. For companies to be successful in any aspect of their operations, they have to maximize their potential. This principle applies everywhere, including data management. 

Data optimization means collecting all the information at your disposal and managing it in a way that works best for your organization. Your data has to live up to its potential.

A recent Forbes article addressed eight key elements of a "game-changing" big data strategy. One of the main points was optimization of data. John Foley, the article's author, suggests the growth of information volumes has increased the need for optimized data management.

"Data management is the bedrock of corporate IT implementation, but the influx of a thousand times more data has upped the game," Foley writes. "Exponential growth requires IT teams to rethink what's worked in the past and bring in new tools to optimize database workloads that are orders of magnitude greater than before."

The key ingredient of a data optimization strategy in a growing environment is a flexible solution that can scale and adapt to any drastic changes in management operations. If your system cannot naturally expand to handle more information, you won't get the most out of it.

This is why FileMaker development is so valuable. Using the FileMaker platform to build a solution to monitor, analyze, process and store information will give businesses the tools they need to successfully handle their data. A custom database software system can take your information extract the highest possible value.

Databases and spreadsheets are used in companies all across the world. While each of these systems seems like a simple solution, there are a number of ways that individual businesses can implement them and find service providers to partner with. One of the top solutions is FileMaker.

A recent eHow article explained why a number of companies are turning toward FileMaker as their relational database engine software. It features an easy to use interface to retrieve, store and organize data without losing its capacity to handle large amounts of information. The usability is not determined by the user's level of computer literacy but with how easy it can be picked up and mastered.

"Small businesses and other groups, organizations and individuals also have uses and needs for databases," the article reads. "FileMaker Pro's user interface makes it so that these smaller users, with little to no financial resources, can start a database of their own without having to invest too much money or effort."

This means businesses do not need to outsource the construction of a database to an expensive third party but can instead create something more easily that is internal.

FileMaker also has a mobile application version known as FileMaker Go, which allows businesses to use the system and pair it with mobility, another major trend in the corporate landscape.

With the help of an IT consulting firm that specializes in FileMaker development, businesses of any size can implement the database solution and make sure the entire team is on the same page.

Since its inception into the business mindset, big data has been a controversial subject. It's important to separate this from data itself. Everyone knows that information volumes are growing rapidly, but the idea of implementing a big data strategy has not always been met with resounding acceptance. A New York Times piece titled "Is Big Data an Economic Big Dud?" is just a sampling of this antagonistic viewpoint. 

However, media influence and the doubts of industry leaders have not had a negative impact on big data growth. In fact, it has had quite the opposite effect. According to a study conducted by NewVantage Partners, 68 percent of C-suite executives plan on making big data investments of $1 million or more this year. Only 33 percent reported such plans last year. Additionally, 88 percent of survey respondents said they plan on spending more than $1 million annually on big data by 2016.

This means businesses are realizing the importance of big data and the value of investing in strategies and solutions designed to help manage their information. Those who oppose the idea of big data will likely have to reverse their position in the coming years as data grows. In this case, the inability to properly manage a big data initiative could ultimately prove to be a competitive disadvantage.

So how does one get on board with big data? While this can vary depending on numerous factors pertaining to each individual business, having the right technology to process information is a universal need. Building a custom database software solution can help organizations properly manage growing amounts of information.

This blog has recently spent a considerable amount of time covering data governance, its relationship with big data and its impact on information quality. And while we are learning more about it all the time, we are still working to establish a true definition and the official role of those tasked with data governance. 

An article in the online publication Information Management attempts this by declaring data governance as the act of serving and protecting the organization. This makes sense to some extent. Data governance helps identify risk that can have severe consequences for the company and it also processes information in a way that best serves the business. For example, data governance can identify quality metrics to help with the sales and marketing teams.

This sounds simple, but as Michele Goetz, the article's author, points out, there's a bit more to it than that. For instance, one policy doesn't fit all when it comes to managing information. And, in many cases, data governance may only really mean to protect, because service is actually redundant.

Essentially, if there's a data governance plan in place that corrects mistakes and weeds out inappropriate information, there shouldn't be a need to spoon-feed certain individuals or departments with the information they need. Instead, a well orchestrated data governance plan will create an environment where users can extract information as needed. They will be trusted to use appropriate data because it is organized due to governance. 

"In the grand scheme of things for the enterprise, especially as a chief data officer, the responsibility is to executives," Goetz writes. "They need to trust the data. The controls and processes at an enterprise level are tailored to their needs and expectations of information. Yet, in the world of big data, empowerment of the business to outsource IT, the number of increasingly tech savvy business people, and the ability to serve creates a more faceted data strategy — in turn a multi-faceted need for data governance."

This actually puts a heavier burden of responsibility on data governance. Giving users the flexibility to extract information for individual needs can add new layers of operational efficiency, but any issues pertaining to poorly governed data could result in major consequences. Creating a custom database software system to manage information can help companies govern their data and improve the overall quality of decision making.

Data and risk management go hand-in-hand. The ability to process information and identify key components that could potentially lead to future problems for the organization is of the utmost importance.

There will always be an element of uncertainty in business decision making. This is typically related to company financials, but that’s not always the case. While it’s impossible to completely mitigate the risks associated with the unknown, companies can do themselves a big favor by collecting proper information and using it to identify whether it is a risk or not and handling it accordingly.

The question is, how do companies identify risks hidden within their information? There are a few schools of thought regarding this.

The online publication Waters Technology addresses two of them. One is data quality. Having the best, most up-to-date and accurate information will provide major assistance to an organization’s risk management efforts. This can become more challenging as information volumes rise, but having a higher quantity of data can actually give businesses more resources and a greater chance to identify and manage risk.

Data governance also plays a big role in risk management, even if two processes are independent of one another. The reason for this is that data governance impacts a number of departments within the organization and has far more uses than simply helping identify risk. Essentially, ensuring the accuracy of information will certainly help companies trying to identify risk, but it can provide a number of other advantages as well.

As this blog has discussed in the past, data governance and data quality are directly related. According to Fidelity ActionsXchange’s Deborah Culhane, who spoke with the news source, “data quality is being improved by more mature data governance processes.”

Ultimately, building a custom database software system will allow you to concentrate your efforts on data governance and improving quality, which will pay dividends in your risk management initiatives. FileMaker development can play a sizeable role by providing you with the resources you need to discover any potential risks. This system can scale and adjust to the volume of your information, which will allow you to maintain an effective risk management process, regardless of any changes that occur to your data.

Data governance will always trump big data for one simple reason: Information managers have to follow the philosophy of quality over quantity. 

The biggest challenge data managers face is that the more they collect, the bigger the risk for low quality or inaccurate information. Making decisions based on data that is simply wrong can be incredibly costly at an organization, but it can happen if you don't have a system in place to properly review your information and ensure its accuracy and relevancy. 

An ironic twist on the NSA scandal occurred when the U.S. Government was unable to extradite Edward Snowden from Hong Kong earlier this summer due to data errors. The organization with perhaps the most amount of data at its disposal did not have its information in order. As a result, documentation filed by the government lacked crucial data, which allowed Snowden to escape. 

This is a prime example of why having too much information without a proper way to manage it can be an enormous problem for an organization. Of course, this is also an extreme example, and your data management processes will likely be on a smaller scale, but the same principle applies.

You cannot concern yourself with having enough data if you don't even have the right information. Having said that, information volumes will continue to rise over the next seven years, so having the right solutions in place to help sort and organize data is crucial. Building a custom database software system can allow your organization to stay on top of data governance, even as your information grows. 

The importance of proper data management is not exclusive to for-profit companies. In fact, non-profit organizations may have a greater need for data management, considering that many have a responsibility to provide assistance with social issues. Improper data management in the non-profit sector can have consequences that extend far beyond the organization.

However, many non-profits are struggling with handling their information. According to a study conducted by the Washington-based CPA and consulting firm Tate & Tryon, the main obstacle these organizations are facing is missing and inaccurate data. Perhaps most disconcerting is the fact that while the majority of organizations know what their problem is, they don't necessarily understand what's causing that problem. "Without understanding what is truly preventing your organization from fully leveraging your data, you may end up wasting time and money – such as buying new database software – fixing something that wasn't broken," the report says.

While that assertion makes sense in theory, companies shouldn't simply negate the importance of database software. The purpose of the statement is to implore users not to invest anything they don't need, but know that they will still need some way to monitor and track information. Buying a solution for the sake of having one might not be the answer, but if you are able to build a custom database software system that fits your information management needs, you can identify data issues and solve them without having to take any unnecessary action.

FileMaker development is an ideal solution because it allows you to create a system that fits specifically with your organization. You can maximize your data management efforts and alleviate any issues such as lost or inaccurate information.

Tonight marks the kickoff of the 2013 NFL season, as the Baltimore Ravens will begin their Super Bowl title defense against Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos. For people in Maryland and Colorado, this is certainly a big deal, but anticipation for the new season extends well beyond the two local fanbases. Tonight, millions of football fanatics around the world will sit down to watch the game with one particular interest — their fantasy teams.

For many people, the beginning of the NFL season is only important because it means the start of a new year of fantasy football. The industry itself is worth over $1 billion, according to a 2012 report from Fox Business.  Many analysts say that fantasy football has surpassed actual sports like basketball and hockey on the list of America's most popular pastimes. It seems every year fantasy football gets bigger and bigger, which is one of the primary reasons why the NFL is the most profitable sports league in North America.

So what does all of this have to do with your business? Probably more than you think. Fantasy football, much like your organization, is increasingly being driven by data.

In fact, data has blurred the lines between fantasy football and business to a degree that companies traditionally involved in business technology and data management tools are starting to produce solutions for fantasy football owners.

Recently, Intel sponsored a panel discussion about the relationship between fantasy football and business technology, and Vice President Boyd Davis used the forum as an opportunity to praise fantasy football for its educational value. 

"Big data is a huge buzzword in my industry right now, but it's hard for people to get their heads around," he said in a post-discussion interview with the San Francisco Chronicle. "Fantasy football was for us a vehicle to bring home that rather complex, rather boring topic and then translate it into something the average person could understand."

Fantasy football is supposed to be a fun, leisurely activity, but its basic concepts are just as applicable in the business realm. In both areas, you need accurate, real-time data to help you make smart decisions on the fly. You need the best analytical tools and a way to view your information in a user-friendly format. 

FileMaker development can be used to create a custom database software system that will provide your company with the resources you need for both fantasy football and business.

How much time does your organization spend managing data? How much of that time is unnecessarily wasted? Without the proper information management software in place, the answer to the latter could be shockingly high. 

According to the McKinsey Global Institute, data volumes are growing at a rate of 40 percent per year. Between 2009 and 2020, the amount of information at the average company will increase 4,400 percent. This means, standard practices regarding the processing, evaluation and storage of information will no longer be viable unless businesses have the tools to accommodate growth. While a lack of proper tools may sound like a problem typically experienced by smaller companies, large enterprise-level organizations aren't exactly off the hook. In fact, their challenges could be even greater, because Forrester Research suggests these companies experience information growth at a rate of 76 percent each year.

The growth of information has made it even more difficult to manage it, which is why best practices must be administered at all times. If they are not, companies can spend an excessive amount of time just trying to find their data. According to Google's Enterprise Search Manager Binesh Lad, 25 percent of a data manager's time is spent just trying to find information. As data grows, that number will increase. In fact, employees could spend as much as 50 percent of their time looking for information if it's stored in five more more silos. 

Worst of all, Lad says that 38 percent of the time, workers don't even find the information they are looking for. Imagine spending all that time trying to find the data you need, only to come up empty. This inefficient use of time can be extremely detrimental to your company's profits, and if you are unable to make changes to your data management processes, you could ultimately wind up buried in a sea of your own information. 

That's why having the right processing solution is so crucial. Building a custom database software system designed to track data and expand as volumes grow will not only eliminate wasted time immediately, it can set your organization up for long-term viability. FileMaker development can allow businesses to create a flexible and scalable system that will effectively help manage information, regardless of how big it gets. 

Small businesses have an advantage over their larger counterparts for one reason — it is far easier to adopt innovative technologies in the former's environment, which gives it much greater operational flexibility.

Consider a large corporation with hundreds, if not thousands of workers. They show up to the office and all follow a fairly standard pattern. Investing in new technologies or implementing new strategies requires countless meetings between executives. One employee could mention a new idea to his or her boss, who in turn mentions it to their superior, who then goes up the ladder to the person in charge of them, and so on and so forth. 

At small companies, there is much more flexibility. Lower level employees have more of a say. The smaller the company, the more this is true. Self proprietors can essentially do what they want as long as their practices stay within the confines of their industry's regulatory measures. Meaning, they can work on the go and use their own personal devices — whether that's a smartphone, tablet, laptop or any other portable machine — to get the job done. They may lack the resources of traditional large companies, but if they utilize their resources to the best of their ability, they will put themselves in position to succeed in their industry. 

According to a study conducted by BIA/Kelsey, mobile payments and social media are two areas in which small businesses can excel. Owners can create personal interactions with customers via social channels on their devices. They can use their smartphones and tablets to process payments in a number of different ways, which will likely be a conducted much faster than at a larger company. 

"Mobile continues to make impressive inroads into the SMB market, as both a marketing vehicle and as an element of the business infrastructure," Steve Marshall, director of research at BIA/Kelsey, said in a statement. "A closer look at the data shows adoption of mobile and social varies across SMB industry sectors. The LCM data reveals professional and home and trade services are embracing mobile in a big way, with service providers essentially becoming walking POS terminals."

While the flexibility to use mobile devices for a number of operations is certainly a benefit for small businesses, they must be able to properly manage all the data they obtain via their mobile activity. Building a custom database software system can help small businesses maintain their flexibility without compromising the integrity of their information.