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Archive for the ‘Data Management’ Category

The traditional definition of asset management is that it is a well-organized process of maximizing the utility of assets for a long period of time with the objective of providing benefits to the community. It involves engineering and business concepts in that it maintains the quality and usability of assets through an engineered framework. Today, it has greatly progressed in the way it gets the job done. In this article, you’ll find an overview of the process of managing assets and how it has evolved to meet the public’s needs in the 21st century — a digital age.

Functions of Basic Management of Assets

If you work in the field of managing assets, you’ll be expected to work on an asset from full to zero potential. This means that you are responsible for seeking out the necessity for such an asset based on public demand, initiating and maintaining the operation of the asset throughout the time of its usability, as well as the termination of the asset when it has no more use for any benefits to the community or to the company.

Digital Management of Assets in a Business

Manual management of assets may sound like such a tedious job considering that it must be looked after from beginning to end. With that in mind, one of the many brainchilds of the digital age is digital asset management. It has become a useful tool especially for big and branched out organizations that have resorted to electronic management of data and files for a more efficient time schedule in the workspace.

This doesn’t mean that only multi-national corporations and worldwide franchises can use the digital process. Even small businesses can utilize this kind of software to cut on labor costs and other expenses that are unnecessary and take up a lot of time. After all, what’s a digital age without adhering to the times?

In the context of a business, for example, DAM or digital asset management essentially includes uploading and storage of files, backing up files for safety, and renaming and organizing files in folders for easy retrieval. They’re easy for computers but tedious and somewhat boring for people to do all day.

There are different kinds of software that businesses and organizations employ for DAM, but are too complicated to explain here without needing computer software jargon. The most important thing to know is that DAM is one of the necessary business strategies to utilize considering the increasing demands of consumers today.

DAM helps a company run more smoothly with automated protocols and quicker responses. They are able to incur, maintain and dispose of assets at a faster and more efficient pace. Press kits, sales kits, marketing and advertising data, presentations and videos are easier to get by with DAM because of its archiving features and multimedia libraries.

Having DAM to sort out all the data files mentioned previously can cut off a big chunk off the company’s time. Now there is more time for businesses to focus on brainstorming for marketing and advertising, optimizing profits and community benefits, among others.

Essentially, DAM helps not only to set the wheels in motion but also to set the pace at full speed, thanks to the continually developing software in cyberspace. More and more businesses, regardless of size or sector, are beginning to see the advantages of investing in digital asset management software for a better and more efficient approach to data management.

The method data warehousing vendors use to provide their service is a key issue. Vendors who let you run your own server’s license or those who host software tools on their servers are common options.

There are multiple options related to the architecture of the data warehousing system. The most popular is the hub-and-spoke architecture, which is a centralized data warehouse with dependent data marts. It is a sort of corporate information factory.

One other choice in data warehousing architecture is the data-mart bus architecture linking dimensional data marts, or a centralized data warehouse with no dependent marts and last but not least, a federated architecture.

Some organizations develop their own data marts, which are independent from one another. However, they have inconsistent data definitions and different dimensions, which make it difficult to analyze data across marts.

Data mart bus architecture implies building a first mart that uses dimensions and measures that will be used with the other marts that are developed, in order to obtain logically integrated marts. The data is organized in a star schema and this provides a dimensional view of the data.

The hub-and-spoke architecture focuses on building a scalable and maintainable infrastructure. It is developed in iterative manner. Dependent data marts obtain data from the warehouse and they can be developed for different departments or special purposes.

A similar data warehousing architecture is used for centralized data warehouses but without dependent data marts. Queries and applications access data from relational data and dimensional views.

Federated architecture allows data to be accessed from sources such as operational systems, data marts and data warehouses. It is logically or physically integrated by use of shared keys, global metadata, and distributed queries. It is an adequate solution for companies that have a complex decision support environment.

When deciding on a data warehousing solution, you may need to assess the following advantages of different architectures:

The level of information interdependence and the ability to share and integrate information

Senior management needs regarding information from lower levels

Urgency of the need for capabilities of data warehousing architecture

Non-routine tasks, the need to analyze data in novel ways

The availability of IT personnel, the technical skills of IT internal staff, successful experiences with similar projects and the level of confidence

Constraints on monetary resources, cost and time benefits derived from implementing a solution compatible with existing systems

The need for a point solution for a particular business unit, or a decision support infrastructure which can support a range of applications

The ability to integrate metadata, scalability in terms of number of users, volume of data and query performance, ability to maintain historical data and adapt to changes related to source systems

Depending on your organization, these factors may be considered to have a lower or higher priority. A lack of resources may prevent some organizations to implement a better architectural data warehousing solution. The centralized data warehouse architecture is faster and easier to implement since it does not require dependent data marts.

The design of user interface has an important impact on the decision to choose a certain vendor. A tool that is uncluttered, intuitive will be better used by intended users. Data warehousing solutions assume that users are trained in data management and analysis techniques.

The support offered by data warehouses comes in two different forms: technical and functional. While technical support focuses on hardware, application of software patches and updates, functional support includes user manuals, training sessions, and client services.

Security of the data warehousing services refers to the physical and electronic aspects. Physical security involves restricted access to the servers which store data and off-site emergency backups. Electronic security involves limiting access to data and use of software to identify unauthorized attempts to access the data.

The legislation regarding data ownerships is not keeping the pace with the advance in technology and business practices. You have to take this into consideration and spend time on analyzing any issues that can arise from this incompatibility.

The reputation and history of vendors of data warehousing services should be investigated thouroughly. References and people in the industry can be a valuable source to assess the quality of customer service offered and the integrity of the vendor. A visit to the physical space is also helpful in assessing the quality of the organization.

Once the selection is made, the exact services to be provided, expectations related to customer service, contact information and payment will take priority.

You will benefit from a better return on investment and higher quality of service once you reach an informed decision.

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Timely responses to litigation scanning and copying requests have never been more critical to law practices and litigation specialists today. But as the costs, frequency and risk associated with the discovery process continue to rise, many organizations struggle to contain their trial preparation expenditures.

Document management tools are available to help you review hard copy records; locate and digitize relevant documents; and securely store them so your records are easily accessible and always ready to retrieve. High-volume scanning technology and quality control measures must be deployed to create a comprehensive and legally defensible document management program.

Defining and consistently enforcing records management policies based on a good retention schedule, coupled with a dynamic document preservation strategy, is crucial to the integrity of all businesses.

Working with a knowledgeable litigation copying and scanning partner that provides the right balance of litigation support software, services and expertise can guarantee a much stronger, defensible records management program than one you could create on your own.

Here are some best practice tips for containing the cost of litigation preparation and response, while minimizing your legal practice’s exposure to potential risk:

Audit Your Records — Online & Off – Companies of all sizes (and within all industries — not just litigation) are creating and storing more documents in more formats than ever before. Controlling your information has always been a mainstay of business operations. But given today’s increasing regulatory and compliance pressures, it’s never been more important to serve as an active gatekeeper of your information.

Know Your Records’ Lifecycles – Every document has a lifespan, some longer than others. The first step toward records management is knowing just how long to keep each one. Reduce your data storage needs by disposing of certain items on schedule. Refer to your state, local and Federal representatives for guidance.

Trust Certified Experts for Outside Help – Records management tasks that were once traditionally performed by outside counsel, like conversion of physical records to digital for review purposes, can be more efficiently handled by a locally-owned and managed litigation scanning and copying services partner. These providers can achieve greater cost savings and deliver consistent service versus larger national vendors. If the provider already duplicates, scans or shreds your physical records, all the better. A tighter chain of custody assures you always know where your information is.

Digitize and Dispose – Many organizations have begun digitizing their physical records to streamline storage and access processes. The benefits of data management vs. paper shuffling are better management, greater levels of compliance and less risk — not to mention faster access to information. Again, an outside firm with specialized experience in litigation support and document management can speed up the process of digitizing your records.

Your business runs on data. There is no question about it. From accounting and inventory to payroll and customer orders, the information stored on your computers keeps your business going. It only stands to reason that it is vital for you to keep a current back-up of your data at all times.

When considering a data management plan for your business, the list of “what ifs” is very long. What if a natural disaster strikes? What if user error causes your systems to lose data? What if your equipment is stolen or damaged? And on, and on and on.

Prevention is always better than a cure and the best way to prevent data loss is to maintain a back-up system.

By far the cheapest way to back up your data is to do it yourself on removable media, i.e. CD/DVD, Zip, tape or several other formats. While this can be very cost effective as far as the actual back up media, it can be very expensive in terms of the time it takes to produce and maintain these back up solutions.

This is not the way a modern business should be backing up their data.

The best solution all around for most businesses is to maintain an off site back- up. The cost of creating and maintaining a private off site data backup can be very expensive, but there are a handful of companies that provide affordable, disaster proof data storage services.

When using a full-service, business class data back-up service, your data is sent electronically to a completely secure facility that is guarded around the clock and certified to protect your information in the event of a flood or other catastrophic event. Sometimes called electronic vaulting or e-vaulting, sending back-ups off site ensures systems and servers can be reloaded with the latest data in the event of a natural disaster, accidental error, or system crash. This also insures that a copy of pertinent data is maintained at all times in a remote location, safe from harm that may occur at your facility. Typically these systems are encrypted, making this a convenient, secure and cost effective solution to the problem of data loss.

When you are searching for a data back-up company, it is important that you look for a company that follows the guidelines of the National Institute of Standard and Technology (NIST) that mandate the protection of data.

One of these major data back-up companies is Accurate Data Storage. ADS provides secure, reliable and affordable online data back-up storage that is available to businesses 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. ADS consultants provide you with software to connect to their remote servers, as well as assist you in setting up a back-up schedule and choosing the amount of back-up storage space that is specifically optimized for your business.

Accurate Data Storage uses a 128-bit encryption to protect your files during the transfer. Your data is then stored in a password-protected vault at a World Class, disaster proof data center, protected by biometric locks, full-time security professionals and long-life diesel generators.

Regardless of which remote data back up company you choose, keep in mind that your business relies on the safety and security of your data. Make sure to ask questions about NIST compliance and the features of the site where your provider data servers are located.

Your business data is too important to risk being improperly backed-up or stored in a location that is less than secure.