It seems that companies are becoming more and more "data rich" all the time, with many new and varied ways of collecting data into their SQL Servers. In fact, most of us as DBAs would consider ourselves "data-wealthy" given the growth in database all around the world.
But do we really have a lot of information?
There's a fundamental difference between data and information. I could give you data like 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything unless I can use it. anyone recognize that sequence?
I saw a great blog post that talked about being data rich and information poor from someone working with utility companies. These companies collect a tremendous amount of data, on all aspects of their business and their customers, but they don't necessarily have insight into what the data means. In other words, they're information poor.
I think there are probably lots of companies that are in a similar situation, with lots of data, stored in disparate systems and disparate formats, and aren't taking advantage of this information because it's just data. There isn't a system in place and people aren't ready to transform it into information.
This is where a Business Intelligence system comes into play, and it can really provide huge benefits. Almost everyone that I've talked to who has worked on the development of a BI system talks about the huge benefits and real dollars created in the company (either in increased revenue or reduced costs) using the BI system. A few of the case studies linked from the blog point this out.
The problem is, and it's the big reason I've never been a big fan of the "BI wave" is that these systems are complex. They're hard to build, they're expensive, and they take time. There isn't a quick fix, and it's something that you have to spend resources on without a lot of return until it's nearly completed.
And I don't think most companies are willing to make those investments.
In many ways this reminds me of the early days of OOP development, where there was a lot of overhead in building classes and developing those high level objects from which you inherited functionality. Until you had enough built, there wasn't a lot to show for your time spent at the keyboard.
I keep hoping this will change, and I think it slowly will at many companies, as people become more skilled at working platforms like SQL Server and all it's built-in BI capabilities.
Steve Jones
The Voice of the DBA Podcasts
The podcast feeds are now available at sqlservercentral.podshow.com to get better bandwidth and maybe a little more exposure :). Comments are definitely appreciated and wanted, and you can get feeds from there.
or now on iTunes!
- Windows Media Podcast - 34.4MB WMV
- iPod Video Podcast - 26.5MB MP4
- MP3 Audio Podcast - 5.4MB
Today's podcast features music by Everyday Jones. No relation, but I stumbled on to them and really like the music. Support this great duo at www.everydayjones.com.
I really appreciate and value feedback on the podcasts. Let us know what you like, don't like, or even send in ideas for the show. If you'd like to comment, post something here. The boss will be sure to read it.