Chapter 15 Flashcards
At what rate is data expanding?
The amount of data being created doubles every two years
What is one of the problems with data and how is it being solved?
In many organizations, available data is not exploited to advantage. However new tools supporting big data, business intelligence, and analytics are helping managers make sense of this data torrent.
What is data and what must be done to it to make it useful?
Data includes raw facts that must be turned into information in order to be useful and valuable.
What is a DBMS?
Databases are created, maintained, and manipulated using programs called database management systems (DBMS), sometimes referred to as database software.
What is a RDBMS?
Relational database management systems (RDBMS) are the most common database standard by far, and SQL (or structured query language) is the most popular standard for relational database systems.
Describe a relational database system? How are files linked?
In relational database systems, several data fields make up a data record, multiple data records make up a table or data file, and one or more tables or data files make up a database. Files that are related to one another are linked based on a common field (or fields) known as a key. If the value of a key is unique to a record in a table, and that value can never occur in that field while referring to another record in that table, then it is a primary key. If a key can occur many times over multiple records in a table but relates back to a primary key in another table, then it is a foreign key.
What is a TPS?
For organizations that sell directly to their customers, transaction processing systems (TPS) represent a source of potentially useful data.
Why might grocers and retailers want you to use a loyalty card?
Grocers and retailers can link you to cash transactions if they can convince you to use a loyalty card which, in turn, requires you to give up information about yourself in exchange for some kind of financial incentive such as points or discounts.
Name 3 data sources and what type of data would be found there.
Enterprise software (CRM, SCM, and ERP) is a source for customer, supply chain, and enterprise data.
Name a type of data that might supplement a firm’s operational data.
Survey data can be used to supplement a firm’s operational data.
What two types of data should be combined to give a firm a competitive edge?
Data obtained from outside sources, when combined with a firm’s internal data assets, can give the firm a competitive edge.
Why are data aggregators important?
Data aggregators are part of a multibillion-dollar industry that provides genuinely helpful data to a wide variety of organizations.
How should third party data from an aggregator be utilized?
Data that can be purchased from aggregators may not in and of itself yield sustainable competitive advantage since others may have access to this data, too. However, when combined with a firm’s proprietary data or integrated with a firm’s proprietary procedures or other assets, third-party data can be a key tool for enhancing organizational performance.
How are data aggregators controversial?
Data aggregators can also be quite controversial. Among other things, they represent a big target for identity thieves, are a method for spreading potentially incorrect data, and raise privacy concerns.
What are the risks of data mismanagement?
Firms that mismanage their customer data assets risk lawsuits, brand damage, lower sales, fleeing customers, and can prompt more restrictive legislation.
What have recent studies shown that raises concerns about privacy issues and identity theft?
Further raising privacy issues and identity theft concerns, recent studies have shown that in many cases it is possible to pinpoint users through allegedly anonymous data, and to guess Social Security numbers from public data.
What might be the result of privacy issues and identity theft?
New methods for tracking and gathering user information are raising privacy issues which possibly will be addressed through legislation that restricts data use.
Name a major factor limiting business intelligence initiatives?
A major factor limiting business intelligence initiatives is getting data into a form where it can be used (i.e., analyzed and turned into information).
What are some problems related to legacy systems?
Legacy systems often limit data utilization because they were not designed to share data, aren’t compatible with newer technologies, and aren’t aligned with the firm’s current business needs.
What is a problem with transactional databases?
Most transactional databases aren’t set up to be simultaneously accessed for reporting and analysis. In order to run analytics the data must first be ported to a data warehouse or data mart.
What is the purpose of a data warehouse?
Data warehouses and data marts are repositories for large amounts of transactional data awaiting analytics and reporting.
What are some challenges to data warehouses?
Large data warehouses are complex, can cost millions, and take years to build.
Describe Hadoop.
The open source Hadoop effort provides a collection of technologies for manipulating massive amounts of unstructured data. The system is flexible, scalable, cost-effective, and fault-tolerant. Hadoop grew from large Internet firms but is now being used across industries.
What are 3 ways to transform data to information?
Canned and ad hoc reports, digital dashboards, and OLAP are all used to transform data into information.
Describe how OLAP reporting leverages data cubes?
OLAP reporting leverages data cubes, which take data from standard relational databases, calculating and summarizing data for superfast reporting access. OLAP tools can present results through multidimensional graphs, or via spreadsheet-style cross-tab reports.
What is a problem with modern data sets?
Modern data sets can be so large that it might be impossible for humans to spot underlying trends without the use of data mining tools.
What are three ways businesses are using data mining?
Businesses are using data mining to address issues in several key areas including customer segmentation, marketing and promotion targeting, collaborative filtering, and so on.
What are 3 ways machine learning and other types of AI are being applied?
Machine learning and other types of AI are being applied in all sorts of ways, including voice and image recognition, enabling self-driving cars, writing news articles and other content, and making scientific discovery.
