What is a Data Management System? It’s Function and Purpose

A good data management system (DMS) will normalize the data that is input in your system, create a sole repository for all type of data, govern both the current processes and the generation of the novel data, and most importantly, manage the changes that these methods will bring about in the staff.

Purpose of DMS Systems

Businesses have large amounts of data. A DMS is software tool that makes it possible for the organizations to organize their data.

The standard abbreviation for database management system is DMS, so you will see this more often than the full name. The main purpose of a database management system is to transform and store data into information to make supporting decisions.

A DMS consists of the following main three elements:

The database engine: software that allows to access and modify the content of the database.

Physical database: the collection of the files that contain data.

The database scheme: specification of the logical structure of data stored in the database.

When it sounds rational to have DMS system in place, it is better to think for a moment about the alternative.

What would all that data in the organization look like without DMS solutions? Think yourself as the organization for a moment, all the files on your computer and data. Do you feel it is organized? If you are like normal computer users, you have a lot of files, organized in folders.

You may have presentation files, word documents, spreadsheets, photographs, etc. You find the information that you require based on the folder structure and the name of the file that you have kept. This is called file system and it is typical for individual computer users.

Now think of the challenges that you will come across. Have you ever deleted or lost a file? Have you ever experienced the difficulty of finding a file? Maybe you are using different computers so your files are at different physical locations. And, the most important question you should ask yourself? When was the last time you created a backup for all those files? You do keep backup, right.

So now you probably get the picture. A file system is a simple process, but it works well only if you keep yourself disciplined and organized. Now think of a corporation with around 1000 employees, each with their own computer. Can you see these challenges when using a file system? Do you want your really important financial data roaming around the office on different computers as a normal file? I guess, No!

Functions Of A DMS

So, what does a DMS really do? It organizes your files and important data to give you more control over it.

A DMS system makes it possible for the users to edit, create and update data in database files. Once created, DMS makes it possible to retrieve and store data from those database files.

More specifically, a DMS offers the following functionalities:

•         Security: it has proper security rules to determine access rights of the users.
•       Integrity: database structure and the secure laws improve the honesty of the data
•      Data Descriptions: A data dictionary offers the description of the data. 

Inside an organization, the database development is normally controlled by database administrators, (DBAs) and other specialists. This makes sure that the database structure is reliable and efficient.

Database admins also control the security and access aspects. For example, different people in the organization use the database in different ways. Some employees may only want to view the data and do basic analysis. Other employees maybe actively adding data to the database. This means the database admin needs to set user permissions.

Pros And Cons Of DMS

There are many benefits of using a DMS system.t might take some time in setting up these methods, but once in location, a DMS can make tasks that are tiring a difficult a thing of past.

A DMS reduces inconsistency and redundancy. Have you ever had same versions of one file on your computer? The same thing happens in businesses, a good DMS will lessen redundancy.

A DMS allows different users to access the same file at the same time, each with their own role. Some users only have access to view the data, while some can contribute to it, while others can design or manage it – all at the same time.

A DMS increase reliability and security. Database admins are accountable for controlling access, creating backups of database and making sure that it works in the same way as it is supposed to.

Having one or more specialist work on these tasks is a lot more effective than having every computer user in the organisation worry about the security of their data. A DMS improves the data quality and it is also easy to check any mistakes when entering the data.