What are the benefits of database approach?

database approach will:

• Eliminate redundant data;
• Reduce data storage, administration and management cost;
• Improve data quality; and
• Provide better return on information management investment.

Database approach helps us to improve information management. What is it?

The use of a single relational database to store people and organization data. This single database could be accessed and used by any application software from every departments in organizations.

source: http://www.information-management-architect.com/people-information.html

Why is information management important?

People and organizations are involved in many business functions such as:

• Customers place product orders;
• Employees take product orders;
• Products are shipped to customers;
• Vendors provide products;
• Companies send requests for quotes or proposals to companies;
• Employees report time and expenses on projects; and

Organizations and people are involved with contracts and other agreements.

If every application captures and stores people and organization data, then there is a lot of redundant processing. This increases the information management costs e.g.

• There is cost associated with synchronizing data between management information systems;
• There are additional data quality issues and costs as different systems may capture data using different rules;
• There are additional data movement costs as it is necessary to load data warehouses from multi sources and to sort out which data is the correct version and the most accurate version.

synchronization issues is one of the challenge in information system. explain

People information is generally captured in a variety of source applications. This presents some synchronization issues.

Imagine you call your cell phone company and give them a change of address. The customer database may be updated but the next day, a bill is sent to the old address by the billing system, which was not synchronized with the master customer database. This is a common type of data challenge.

Suppose your company gives away free product samples and offers to send them by mail to people who fill out questionnaires at retail stores.

source: http://www.information-management-architect.com/people-information.html

People and organizations share some key information concepts that need to be tracked. Explain

• Relationships. Persons may have relationships with other persons or organizations. A person may have a relationship as employee with one department and then switch to another; a customer may have a relationship as a client with one sales representative and then switch to a new sales territory or sales representative.
  
  
• Addresses. People and organizations both have addresses;
  
  
• Contact method. People and organizations are both contacted via email; web site URL’s, phone numbers, fax numbers; and
  
  
• Contact information. Most companies have a need to track communications such as email, customer contact, etc.

Describe some individual information management system used to store people and organization information

People information is frequently stored in a variety of individual management information systems such as:

• Sales;
• Marketing campaign management;
• Contact management;
• Order entry;
• Billing;
• Invoicing;
• Human resource management;
• Contract management;
• Project time reporting and management;
• Customer relationship management; and
• Enterprise resource management.

source: http://www.information-management-architect.com/people-information.html

Describe typical people and organization information that is captured by information system.

Most companies require information about people and organizations such as:

• Customers;
• Employees;
• Suppliers;
• Vendors;
• Contractors;
• Internal departments;
• Branch offices; and
• Subsidiary companies.

source: http://www.information-management-architect.com/people-information.html