What Is a Database? How It Promotes Data-Driven Decisions

You can have data without information, but you cannot have information without data.

Those are computer programmer Daniel Keys Moran's words, not ours. With data being the core of any successful business, we can't deny that either. Data helps companies make intelligent decisions about planning their marketing campaigns, managing finances, and developing new products. However, data can become quite overwhelming when it's not organized correctly. To put it simply, businesses are drowning in data.

There are two major problems with data-rich businesses: a lack of understanding of the value of data and an imperfect way to manage it.

So how do you keep all of this business data in order? Simple, use a database.

Databases are the backbone of any business because they contain information on every aspect of your company. Information, questions, and answers, for the most part, need to be accessed, managed, and updated quickly. Databases allow you to do all that and allow your business to function smoothly. With other tools, such as database monitoring software, companies can keep their database running at peak performance 24/7, 365 days a year.

Without an efficient database, businesses risk losing data that could yield beneficial insights for future growth strategies.

A database stores any type of information, such as financial transactions, daily temperature variations, and even sales records. While it seems simple to store any data, there are specific ways information needs to be stored and entered so the businesses using the system can get necessary information when it's required.

You can consider a database as a giant filing cabinet. It can store vast amounts of information that you can easily refer to. The difference is that a filing cabinet will only store information on related topics, but a database system can handle specific data or information about your business as a whole.

The data organization method may vary by purpose, data type, or other parameters, but at its core, all databases consolidate data into a single digital location.

Another good non-digital example of a database is a phone book. Phone books were used to organize data (names, addresses, and phone numbers) using a unique identifying characteristic (a person's name) to align data. To find information, you’d search the phone book for this unique identifier (referred to as a key-value in databases) to retrieve matching information.

Databases function similarly. By storing data using a defined schema, or logical architecture, users can store, modify, search for, and retrieve data by following that schema. Some databases require more expertise in usage than others. This is essential to keep in mind when searching for a database option.

Who uses databases?

What sets databases apart from other IT infrastructure offerings is the universal value they bring to a company. While most IT infrastructure software are only valuable for special teams in an organization, databases can be used by any group that needs data for its daily tasks.

Typically, a company has a database administrator that creates and maintains the health of the company’s databases. They can also determine which employees can access the data in each database.

Depending on data requirements, anyone in a company can benefit from database access. Here are a few examples:

• E-commerce teams can track transaction data.
• Diagnostic imaging teams for health care providers can access patient information before the imaging process.
• Suppliers can keep a close watch on incoming and outgoing orders and product inventory with a database.
• IT support teams can use databases to follow changes made to data or systems as a part of the troubleshooting process.

Why do businesses need a database?

It’s no secret that for a business to achieve success and stay in the competition, it needs to continuously improve its services. Data is the foundation of all information. And this data can help a business grow, adapt, and evolve.

Whether you own a restaurant that counts the number of guests who stopped by each day, a clothing company with records of how many shirts you sold in a given period, or a construction firm that records all the purchases your team has made, you can benefit from setting up databases.

Databases hold all types of information and allow your employees access to all related data through a single location. The ability to store, retrieve, and sort information can make you more efficient,  and help you compete in the marketplace. Imagine the chaos if you had countless files and folders with every type of information in them. It would be virtually impossible to access that information through numerous filters, especially in complex systems.

With the advent of powerful and efficient database software, businesses can perform many tasks with ease. This includes sending out personalized marketing materials, keeping inventory updated, and minimizing shipping errors that save time and money. Even a small business can use databases to handle their record-keeping, streamline customer service, improve order processing, or create a feedback mechanism that helps employees become more productive.

Businesses can also use databases to gain real-time insights into their customers. For example, if you're in retail, your data can help you look more closely at who is buying products and how often. That kind of information enables you to locate new customers or tailor advertising for current customers.

How do databases work?

Because databases are so critical to the flow of information in a business, it’s essential to understand how they work and benefit your business. A database is an organized collection of data stored on a computer disk at its most basic level.

Databases can be complex with multiple layers of organization, but at their core, they are helpful for managing data across the enterprise.

A database's data is organized according to a consistent, logical set of underlying principles. The term data model refers to a database's logical structure, which establishes the rules for organizing and manipulating the data housed inside.

A database schema is the implementation of a data model in a specific database. You can consider a schema as a blueprint for a particular database, specifying parameters such as requisite data types, restrictions, and how individuals handle the database. A database's schema is what separates it from a list or a spreadsheet.

Businesses can be confident that a schema will arrange the data in their database according to a set of rules. Several types of databases are generally categorized based on the data models that govern them. For example, the relational data model organizes data into linked two-dimensional tables, whereas the graph data model arranges information into nodes (points) and edges (the lines connecting those points).

Depending on what the business objective is, different data models offer distinct advantages and disadvantages. A relational database will likely work best if a business requires a database with a high degree of data integrity that can grow dynamically; a graph database may be a suitable alternative if a business needs a database that can manage vast amounts of data.

Characteristics of a good database

Let's have a look at some of the qualities of an excellent database:

• The database must be capable of storing all essential data and needs.
• Users should be able to link multiple tables in the database together using relation.
• Various users should be able to access the same database without interfering with the work of the others. For example, teachers can work on a database simultaneously to update students' grades. Teachers should also be able to update the grades without affecting the grades of other students.
• A single database can give distinct views to different users depending on their roles. Teachers, for example, can view the breakdown of students' grades in a school database; however, parents can only see their child's report, making their access read-only. Teachers will have access to all of the students' information and evaluation details at the same time, with the ability to modify them. All of this is possible in the same database.
• The accuracy and consistency of data in a database is known as data integrity. Low data integrity in databases reflects the existence of missing or inaccurate information.
• The separation of data from the application in which it is being used is known as data independence. This allows a user to access the data in the application without restarting the entire application. This characteristic that allows program-data independence and program-operation independence is known as data abstraction.
• The term data redundancy refers to the presence of identical data in several locations within a database. Data redundancy expands the database's size, causes integrity issues, reduces efficiency, and leads to abnormalities. Users should store data in such a way that prevents it from being duplicated in numerous tables.
• The level of data security in a database relates to how effectively the data is safe from crashes, hackers, and unintentional deletion. For example, a physics instructor will be able to view and amend his students' physics grades. He will not be able to examine any other courses. However, the head of department will have complete access to all course scores.
• Data maintenance refers to actions performed on a monthly, daily, or hourly basis to correct mistakes in a database and prevent anomalies. Database maintenance corrects problems and identifies prospective errors, and prevents them from occurring in the future. Businesses use database monitoring tools to monitor and track a database’s performance.

Components of database

Databases are complex systems that have many internal parts.

There are five major components of a database:

1. Hardware: Physical, electronic equipment such as computers, I/O devices, storage devices, and others comprise the hardware. This serves as a bridge between computers and real-world systems.
2. Software: A collection of tools used to monitor and regulate the database as a whole. This comprises the database software, the operating system, the network software used to distribute data among users, and the apps needed to access data in the database.
3. Data: Data is a raw and disorganized fact that businesses must process for it to be relevant. Data can be plain and unstructured unless it’s organized. Facts, observations, perceptions, statistics, letters, signs, pictures, and so on are all examples of data.
4. Procedure: Procedures are a set of instructions and rules that assist users with database management. It’s the process of creating and administering the database using defined procedures, allowing businesses to assist the users who operate and maintain it.
5. Database access language: Database access language is used to access data to and from a database, input new data, change current data, or retrieve necessary data from a database system. In a database access language, the user writes certain instructions and sends them to the database. For example, structured query language (SQL) is a database access language for relational databases.

History of databases

Before the development of databases, people chronicled everything on paper. Lists, notebooks, ledgers, and endless archives of records housed in filing cabinets were all used. When access to one of these records was necessary, locating and physically collecting the record was time-consuming and challenging.

There were also common problems, such as missing documents and fires that destroyed whole archives and the history of society and organizations. Finally, because physical access was generally easy to get, there were additional security concerns.

Scientists created databases to overcome the shortcomings of conventional paper-based data storage. A database's files are referred to as records. Fields are the individual data components of a record.

The 1960s – beginnings

The usage of computerized databases began in the 1960s, when computers became a more cost-effective alternative for businesses. The first known Integrated Data Store (IDS) is credited to Charles Bachman in the year 1960.

Two prominent data models were present during this decade: a network model first defined by scientists at the Conference on Data Systems Languages (CODASYL) and a hierarchical model that gave birth to IBM'S Information Management System (IMS). The SABRE reservation system, which IBM employed to assist American Airlines handle its bookings data, was one database system that proved to be a commercial success.

The 1970s – relational databases

In 1970, E.F. Codd wrote a seminal work proposing a relational database model, and his ideas transformed how people designed databases. The schema or logical organization of the database is separated from the physical information storage in his concept, and this became the fundamental paradigm for database systems.

The relational model stores the contents of a database into tables, each of which has entries with fields. The data type for each field is stated, ensuring that there are no inconsistencies and that the output is consistent. Tables in a relational database can have connections between them.

The 2000s – NoSQL

A new word, NoSQL, was coined in 1998. It refers to a new generation of databases that use query languages other than SQL to store and retrieve data. Although such databases have existed since the early 1960s, the Web 2.0 revolution catapulted them to the forefront of technology.

Traditional relational databases had scalability and performance difficulties, but NoSQL was generally faster since it stored data in alternative data structures. They are, nevertheless, more adaptable than typical relational databases since the same constraints don’t bind them.

Types of databases

In the business world, data management is a vital aspect. To maximize your company’s success, you must have the ability to gather and manage data without losing credibility or becoming inefficient. A database is essential for any kind of business. Using databases can help you make informed decisions, keep tabs on what’s going on in your business, and keep records of what you do.

Databases are available in a range of sizes and formats. The best database for a company is determined by how executives utilize the information to make data-driven actions. Depending on your company needs, you may choose from the following database types.

• Relational databases: A relational database employs the relational model, which maintains data in rows and columns to form a database table. SQL is a programming language used to store, modify, and manage data in a relational database. Examples of relational databases include MySQL, Microsoft SQL Server, and Oracle Database.
• NoSQL databases: A NoSQL database is a non-relational database that allows storing and managing unstructured and semistructured data. As the demand for building modern apps grew, so did the popularity of NoSQL databases. Examples of NoSQL databases include MongoDB, CouchDB, and Neo4J.
• Distributed databases: These database systems are connected via communication links. These links make it simpler for end-users to obtain information. Examples of distributed databases include Apache Cassandra, HBase, and Ignite.
• Object-oriented databases: This kind of database can store any type of data. The data in an object-oriented database is stored as an object. These are similar to objects in object-oriented programming languages. Examples of object-oriented databases include IBM Db2 and Versant.
• Data warehouses: A data warehouse is an online analytical processing database designed for rapid query and analysis. It acts as a central data store. It gathers data from many sources inside an organization for reporting and analysis. Examples of data warehouses include Amazon Redshift, AWS Data Pipeline, and Elastic MapReduce.
• Document database: A document database is a type of non-relational database that maintains and queries JSON-like documents. Since they employ the same document-model format as their software code, document databases are more natural and flexible for developers to manage. Examples of document databases include MongoDB and SimpleDB.
• Graph databases: Graph databases use graph theory to store, map, and query relationships. These databases are generally crucial for analyzing relationships. A graph database, for example, may be used by a business to extract information about customers from social media. Examples of graph databases include ArangoDB, TerminusDB, and Amazon Neptune.
• Cloud databases: A cloud database has been designed for use in a virtualized environment, whether in a hybrid cloud, public, or private cloud. One of the most significant advantages of using a cloud database is paying only for storage space and bandwidth. It also provides on-demand scalability and excellent availability. Examples of cloud databases include Google Cloud Platform and Microsoft Azure.
• Multi-model database: A multi-model database is a data processing system that can handle several data models using a single, integrated backend. Multiple data models, such as key-value, relational, document, and graph, can be stored in multi-model databases. Examples of multi-model databases include Couchbase, ArangoDB, and Azure Cosmos DB.
• Open-source databases: An open-source database is one whose source code is freely available for download, modification, and reuse to the general public. These databases can be relational or non-relational. Examples of open-source databases include PostgreSQL, MariaDB, and Redis.
• Self-driving databases: Also known as autonomous databases, these are a new breed of database technology that reduce downtime issues. They are cloud-based and employ machine learning to automate database activities such as tuning, data security, and backups, which database administrators usually perform. Examples of self-driving databases include Oracle autonomous database and Peloton DB.

What is a database management system?

A database management system (DBMS) is comprehensive database software that links the database and its end-users or apps, allowing them to acquire, update and govern how information is structured and organized. Database management system (DBMS) software allows end-users to create, read, update, and delete (CRUD) data from a database.

The DBMS manipulates the database to meet the needs of the end-users. A DBMS guarantees that an organization's data is clean, consistent, secure, relevant, and enables concurrency. DBMS software offers significantly greater administration features than conventional database functionalities (such as CRUD operations).

These include enhanced metadata visibility and analysis, comprehensive and customized reporting, performance monitoring, usage analytics, and compliance checks. DBMS, which database managers often use, is critical to protecting database quality and integrity.

A general-purpose DBMS will offer application programming interfaces (API) and, optionally, a processor for database languages such as SQL, allowing applications to be created to communicate with the database.

Spreadsheet vs. database

The business landscape is constantly changing, and it's you against your competitors. When it comes to market research, data analysis, and creating business plans, the most significant advantage is having the latest and most excellent tools for turning big piles of numbers into actionable information.

Since the advent of spreadsheets, business executives around the globe have been using them as a way to do everything from simple budgeting to performing data mining operations on massive datasets.

Functionally, spreadsheets and databases are pretty much the same. They're both sets of data organized into records (rows) and fields (columns). That's where the similarities end, though. There are significant differences between them that are important for you to understand before diving headfirst, particularly when making a big decision about choosing one over the other.

Databases

A database is a logically structured collection of data designed in a way so that the information contained within may be retrieved for later use by a software program. A database, like a spreadsheet, may be shown in a tabular format. However, it can also include relational data — data that can be linked across multiple tables.

This relationship allows tables to be linked logically, allowing for more flexible and effective data usage. While a database and a spreadsheet may seem the same at first glance, appearances can be misleading. Databases provide extensive functionality and adaptability, allowing for more complicated use cases while simplifying effort.

Spreadsheets

A spreadsheet is a digital ledger that holds data in cells represented as rows and columns. It's a two-dimensional document designed for data storage and processing. If the "data" in question is numerical, spreadsheets allow users to apply different formulae to the cells to execute predefined operations such as addition or multiplication.

Spreadsheets have been a standard for decades, but they’re now being utilized for activities other than the number-centric use cases for which they were created. Creative spreadsheet users have developed methods to go past its intended restrictions to create content calendars, project trackers, inventory management, UX research, and more.

Not sure which option feels right to you?

Here are some key points to consider while deciding between a spreadsheet and a database:

What type of data are you dealing with?

Most spreadsheets support textual and numerical data, but not necessarily documents, images, or videos. Databases, on the other hand, provide a variety of file formats and bigger file sizes.

What do you intend to do with that data?

A spreadsheet is usually your best choice to track a small amount of data and apply formulae. On the other hand, a database is more successful if you want to isolate specific portions of data or organize data into various views.

How essential is data integrity to you?

By default, a spreadsheet allows users to input anything into a field and even store various data types in the same field. This provides users a lot of freedom, but it can also cause issues if users make mistakes.

Data validation is embedded into databases. If users try to enter something in the incorrect format, they'll receive an error. This preserves the integrity of your data throughout the organization.

How many individuals will require access?

A spreadsheet is simple to share. You can email a link, share it on the cloud, or even print it out. However, spreadsheets are difficult for collaboration. Databases are intended for multi-user collaboration.

Suppose your business utilizes a single central pool of data for various end-uses. In that case, databases allow users to change information in one area without updating the data in all of the downstream sites to which it is linked. They act as a single source of truth.

Challenges of a database

It’s well-known that one of the surest ways to improve a company's bottom line is to gain market share. As organizations grow, managing their databases becomes more challenging. A company's database can quickly become huge and unwieldy as it increases in size, adding complexity, cost, and risk.

Creating and maintaining such databases is no easy task. It's necessary to make sure that the information you have is accurate and trustworthy. But databases run into challenges that can slow them down, cause inconsistencies between records, or even put you at risk for data loss if not executed properly.

Management and upkeep of the database and infrastructure

Database administrators (DBAs) must constantly monitor the database for issues, implement routine maintenance, and deploy software upgrades and patches. With more sophisticated database structures and ever-increasing data volume, businesses are faced with the costs of recruiting individuals to monitor and adjust their databases.

Data security

The security of data stored in databases has become more critical than ever. Data security is the protection of data against disclosure, destruction, corruption, or unauthorized access.

The following are the most common threats:

• Employees that use database rights beyond their work responsibilities
• Attacks against big-data systems using NoSQL and SQL database injection
• Human errors resulting in data breaches

When working with an existing database, it's good to plan for data security. To do this, DBAs need to make sure the relevant permissions are set so that no one can access other people's data.

It’s vital to be aware of possible threats when reducing vulnerability and attack surfaces in databases and understand how hackers can access your data. Ensuring database security can be complex, but with the proper planning, and by taking advantage of some of the utilities available online, it can be done quickly and in such a way that a business works perfectly and no data is at risk.

Database performance

Performance issues can happen in basically every application on every kind of computer. Database performance can make or break an application and its users. An application's performance can become a severe issue for both the end-users and the business that provides it.

Databases have always had to meet high-performance standards. Although the amount of data you collect is growing, businesses must process it faster to meet the consumer needs without making end-users jump through hoops. Most commonly, database performance issues occur due to a lack of good database design or hardware limitations.

Superior performance requires a solid initial deployment, the ability to detect an operating environment and change automatically, and the capacity to get to a point where excellent performance doesn't require a full-time caretaker. Regardless of the hardware, businesses must develop a database system for high availability and performance.

Benefits of a database

As the amount of data increases, so does the need for a framework to handle it effectively. The quality of data that an organization employs determines its success. With the rising number of apps that rely on data and its importance in making business choices, it's imperative to manage this data efficiently.

Databases can be a massive asset to your organization. Consistently structured and organized data can be a defining factor for business success. Implementing databases is a complex undertaking, but the benefits it delivers are priceless.

Backup and recovery

Backup and recovery are ways for safeguarding against data loss. If a hard disk breaks and the database stored on it becomes unavailable, the only method to recover the database is to restore it from a backup. The recovery subsystem ensures that the database is restored to its original state if a computer system dies in the middle of a complex updating operation.

Database users are not obliged to back up their data regularly since the DBMS software does it for them. Database software has solid mechanisms for data recovery in the event of a failure and automated backups of all business data at predetermined intervals. It also restores the database to its previous state after a crash or system failure.

Reducing data inconsistencies

Inconsistencies in data emerge when multiple versions of the same data exist in different locations within an organization. Disjointed procedures and isolated data are often to blame. Businesses can ensure that an all-encompassing, single, unified picture of their data is communicated throughout the company by using a suitable database system and data quality tools.

Increased flexibility

End-users can see data in the most beneficial way by utilizing multiple views and search queries. For example, the sales team can only access information related to their sales activities, whereas the human resources (HR) team can only see personnel information. This is one of the advantages of having a database that all employees enjoy since they can see all of the essential information.

Data that is loved tends to survive

Working with data is a love-hate relationship. You can't fall in love with data just because it looks pretty. Data has to tell a story and be something you can relate to. It has to be relevant in some context instead of just a random collection of data points.

There are many ways to gather data, and if you don't store it correctly, you can end up with useless, worse, or deceptive data. Improved data management procedures are the only way to get higher-quality data.

All modern organizations that need to store vast amounts of data prone to change rely on databases. Databases are being pushed to newer levels because of technological advancements, improvements in automation, and the cloud.

There's an intruder in your database! Use database security software to ensure the data stored within your database is secure and used properly.