Why Data Management Needs a New Approach

Curt Monash   Today’s Top Stories    or  Other Data Mining Stories  

Driving BI Value with Data Integration: Overcoming the Thorniest Challenges Survey: Business Intelligence Maturity and the Quest for Better Performance BI @ The Speed of Business Sign up to receive Security Resource Alerts

September 19, 2005 (Computerworld) -- Last month, I said there's a database management crisis; the relational model (practical or theoretically pure) won't solve it, and alternative, more pragmatic ways of thinking about database management need to be emphasized.
This month, I'll illustrate the point with several examples of situations in which the inability to access known information has cost large numbers of human lives.
Homeland security 1: antiterrorism. Middle Eastern men, some of a suspicious nature, were discovered seeking flight lessons. Alert FBI agents suspected that they might be planning to take over civilian aircraft. But this data was never combined with other FBI information, or with CIA knowledge of al-Qaeda interest in airplane hijackings. There just wasn't an application that could relate keyword and concept searches across various FBI, CIA and public data banks, let alone factor in connections among various individuals and organizations.
Four years later, this application need still hasn't been met.
Health care records. The potential benefits from solving the health care record challenge are almost incalculable. Tens of thousands of lives could be saved annually, and David Brailer, national coordinator of health information technology, has estimated cost savings in the hundreds of billions of dollars.
The technical challenges are immense as well. Almost every data type is relevant -- character, numeric, date, text, image, time series, genomic, maybe even geospatial. New sources of data are invented every year. The most important data of all -- physicians' and nurses' observations and conclusions -- is subjective, incomplete, inconsistent, commonly illegible. And it's usually missing entirely. (Just how many years of your medical records exist anymore?) Even the rules for evaluating and summarizing patient data change as a result of advances in medicine.
Nontechnical problems are also forbidding, involving cost, privacy, organizational politics and the like. This is especially true in countries that, like the U.S., have private-sector health care, but these issues are no picnic in single-payer countries, either.
Homeland security 2: intelligence analysis. In the run-up to the Iraq invasion, the U.S. loudly trumpeted various pieces of "intelligence" related to weapons of mass destruction that actually turned out to be false, specifically in the areas of mobile bioweapons labs, yellowcake uranium ore and aluminum tubing. Intelligence analysts knew each claim was highly unreliable, yet officials presented each one as a near-certain fact.

Continued...
1 | 2 | NEXT  

Print this Story

Send Us Feedback

E-mail this Story

Digg this Story

Slashdot this Story

"Enterprise search continues to lag behind commerical search because companies lack a "findability" strategy, says one researcher...." Read more... "It's IT Blogwatch: in which we all wonder how much we get paid and Glassdoor.com helps us out. Not to..." Read more... Read more Business Intelligence posts or See all Blogs

Microsoft promises four patches next week Google gives away home-cooked Web application security scanner Expect iPhone, Fourth of July scams, security firm says More top stories...

Microsoft trumpets security additions in upcoming IE8 Apple cuts price of high-end SSD MacBook Air by $500 Ultrathin showdown: Apple MacBook Air vs. Lenovo ThinkPad X300 vs. Toshiba Portege R500

This old laptop: Revitalizing an aging notebook on the cheap All it takes is a couple hours and about $125 to breathe new life into an old laptop. Here's how. Bill Gates moves on Is Microsoft's Golden Age over? What are Gates' most memorable quotes? Find out in Computerworld's complete coverage of the end of the Bill Gates era at Microsoft. Five things you should never tell your boss There are some things your CIO definitely doesn't want to hear. Also don't miss the flipside, Five things you should always tell your boss. Hands-On: Firefox 3 fixes what's broke and keeps what's right With its latest version, Mozilla's browser continues to raise the bar for what Web browsers should be. Windows Vista A to Z Reviews, analyses, how-tos, visual tours, hot issues and predictions about Microsoft's new OS. More Continuing Coverage After 9/11: Homeland SecurityAsk a Premier 100 IT LeaderBlackBerry Legal BattleData Security BreachesElectronic VotingFirefoxH-1B VisasHP's Boardroom ScandalHandheld DevicesHurricane Katrina AftermathMicrosoft Legal IssuesMicrosoft's VistaOpen SourceRFID TechnologySCO's Linux FightSarbanes-Oxley ActSpamVoice Over IPWi-FiWindows Meta File VulnerabilityWindows XP Service Pack 3 IT Careers 2010 Four years from now, the IT field will be a vastly different place. Will you be ready? More Special Reports Premier 100 IT Leaders 2007 Best in Class2006 Computerworld Horizon Awards2006 Premier 100 IT Leaders2006 Salary Survey2007 Best Places to Work in IT2007 IT Forecast2007 Premier 100 IT Leaders40 Years of ComputerworldASPs, Take TwoBest Places to Work in IT 2003Best Places to Work in IT 2004Best Places to Work in IT 2005Best Places to Work in IT 2006Business Intelligence Home RunsBusiness Intelligence: Smarter BIBusiness Intelligence: The Future of BICRM Goes VerticalCRM: Sober CRMCareer Planning Guide 2005Careers: IT Profession 2010Computerworld Horizon Awards 2005Data Management: Mining for GemsData Management: Taming Data ChaosDevelopment: Hard-Workin' Web SitesDevelopment: New Tools New ChoicesDevelopment: The New World of Application DevelopmentDevelopment: The Web Services TsunamiDevelopment: Web Services HurdlesDisaster Recovery: Preparing for the WorstE-commerce Grows UpE-mail/Groupware: Big DecisionsFaces of Mobile ITForecast 2006Global MobileHardware: Multiple Cores, Multiple ChallengesHardware: On-Demand Un-HypedHardware: The Shape of Things to ComeHorizon Awards: 10 Cool Cutting Edge TechnologiesIT Management: Guide to Managing VendorsIT Management: Navigating Global ITIT Management: Recovery AheadIT Management: The Future of ITIT Management: The Resourceful Project ManagerInnovative Technology Awards 2004Management: Reinventing ITMicrosoft in TransitionMobile/Wireless Leaders and LaggardsMobile/Wireless: The Untethered WorkerMobile/Wireless: Tiny Gadgets, Huge CostsNetwork Management: Taking ControlNetworking: Turbulence Ahead!Networking: VoIP Goes MainstreamOperating Systems: In the Slow LaneOperating Systems: Linux Goes GlobalOperating Systems: Should You Nix Unix?Outsourcing: Offshore Buyer's GuideOutsourcing: Outsourcing DangersPremier 100 IT Leaders 2004 Best in ClassPremier 100 IT Leaders 2005 Best in ClassROI: Do the Math!Salary Survey 2003Salary Survey 2004Salary Survey 2005Security Action PlanSecurity: Compliance HeadachesSecurity: Proactive SecuritySecurity: Risk and RewardSecurity: Tips From Security ProsSouped-up SecurityStorage: Battling ComplexityStorage: Cheap & Secure Data StoresStorage: Stretching Your Storage DollarsStorage: The Lean Storage MachineStorage: The New Rules of StorageStorage: The Ultimate Backup GuideSupply Chain: Missing LinksSupply Chain: RFID Reality CheckThe Business of SecurityWeb 2.0 SecurityWireless: Wireless At Work All Zones Application Performance Zone Business Continuity Zone Data Center Management Zone Enterprise-Class Security Zone The File Data Management Zone Grid Computing on Windows Zone Security Management Zone ITIL Best Practices Zone The SAS Zone Storage Virtualization Zone Business Intelligence and Analytics Zone See your link here

Speeding the time to intelligence Get this Computerworld report free for a limited time, compliments of SAS. Time To Intelligence -- a concept defining how long it takes to get accurate and timely information into the hands of workers who need it most. Do it slower than your competitors and your company is toast. Do it faster, you scorch them. Business Intelligence is the key to optimizing Time To Intelligence, and success there is a combination of people, policies, and technology. Download this executive briefing  Web Security SaaS: The Next Generation of Web Security Download this whitepaper, free for a limited time, compliments of Webroot Software. (Source: Webroot Software) The Web is the new threat vector of choice for hackers and cybercriminals to distribute malware and perpetrate identity theft, financial fraud, and corporate espionage. This paper outlines the challenges facing many SMBs and provides solutions for overall security effectiveness and reducing the burden on IT departments. Download this white paper  Long Tail Supplier Collaboration - What's In It For You? Long Tail Supplier Collaboration - What's In It For You? Download this webcast, free, compliments of Sterling Commerce Go to the webcast  White Papers Read up on the latest ideas and technologies from companies that sell hardware, software and services. Deploying Virtualized NetWare on Linux Whitepaper Toward More Flexible, Next-Generation Collaboration Solutions Driving Business Success Through Workgroup Choice and Flexibility View more whitepapers

• Microsoft promises four patches next week
• Google gives away home-cooked Web application security scanner
• Expect iPhone, Fourth of July scams, security firm says
• More top stories 

Understand Messaging Archiving Email storage is growing at an average rate of 35% annually - three out of five decision makers cite the growth of messaging storage as their leading messaging-related problem. This Osterman Research white paper discusses the several reasons to implement a messaging archiving system and provide an overview of Sunbelt Software's offering focused squarely on the archiving space. Download this white paper now!

Intercept Spam & Viruses With MessageLabs MessageLabs is offering a complimentary 30 day trial of its managed Anti-virus and Anti-spam security solutions. MessageLabs guarantees complete protection against all know and unknown email threats. By providing 24 hour support, your business can increase productivity and decrease risk. Register for a complimentary trial and receive a free datasheet. Download this white paper now!