Databases, just as applications, are built around the functionality they provide. What exactly does that mean to an organization? It means having the ability to quickly and easily access and develop, manage and utilize all of the information stored in your company’s databases. Whether you are managing information from your ERP, CRM, e-commerce platform or any other source, you need an effective way to organize and access that information quickly and easily in a way that is both effective and secure. One of the best ways to achieve this is through the use of powerful databases, such as ones that can leverage metadata to help you grow and sustain your database strength.

An effective data catalog allows your data analysts, developers and other IT personnel to efficiently search and work with large amounts of structured data in a secure manner. Metadata management tools provide your team with an optimized way to store, search and index all of the data that makes up your database so it can be easily accessed and used by everyone in your organization. A data catalog is basically a metadata management tool specifically designed to assist organizations find and manage massive amounts of structured data across multiple locations and devices such as servers, laptops, desktops and even other applications on the web. One example of a metadata management tool is one called Kistler’s Contiguous Enterprise Database (ECD), which maintains over two billion data rows and provides the ability to index more than three trillion data rows within a single database. The key feature of this tool is that it allows for both data retrieval and indexing to be done in real time, something that traditional metadata tools can never do. Another important feature of the Kistler product is its ability to provide access control – which is a key feature to keep your entire organization safe and secure.

In addition to the above-mentioned capabilities, organizations should also take a look at the various data catalog tools that are available to them. Some of the most popular ones include those provided by Microsoft, IBM and Oracle, all of which have built-in integrity and security capabilities to ensure the data catalog is safe and sound. Organizations should make sure that their data catalog comparison process includes an evaluation of these important tools, as only by having a complete and accurate set of metadata management tools available to them can they effectively manage and secure their databases.