Today’s database systems have grown to be large, complex beasts capable of many different components, features and connections. Whether HR, Finance, Donations, Student and Customer Data, there is no shortage of information and accessibility.
Systems today require someone dedicated to owning and managing the system and the data within it. That may not always mean a full-time dedicated person, but without that true “owner”, too many cooks in the kitchen can create a lot of inconsistencies or different configuration settings.
As an example, most database systems have a field for state. However, if you haven’t defined what can be put in, you could either use TX or Texas. While this may not be a big deal at the time, printing out mailing address labels or other reports can result in two different ways the state is sorted in the system. This creates extra work on the back-end to clean this up or re-sort the list appropriately.
A more complex example is where the data is coming from on the front end. Do you have a receptionist or registrar who is keying in data manually from a paper form or spoken word? Or is there an online form that the customer or parent is filling out? Having someone manually key in information can create the opportunity for errors, especially if more than someone is keying it in. Or the digital form often must be reviewed, approved and routed to the correct location in the system.
One of the most difficult parts of maintaining a system is the relationship aspect. Having a relational database and software is important in today’s world, but having someone who understands the relationships and how the software works is important too. Relationships simply mean connected records, and is often used in family situations. This can be schools, donors, doctor’s offices, or many other options. Making sure individuals are connected with the appropriate relationships, and defining the primary data point is critical to success. Without this, data (such as family demographics, emergency contacts, etc.) can get out of control quickly.
Finally, security is a critical component of a system as well. Enabling or disabling employee access or customer access at the right time is very important, especially in the case of employees. Employees who continue to have access to an organization’s database system beyond their time of employment can still pull information for personal purposes or possibly modify it. Many former employees will act appropriately and not use that access, but protecting yourself against the one employee who might act maliciously keeps your customer’s information safe.
Having that system owner that can keep your data and relationships clean, quickly route new data appropriately, and keep people out who don’t need to be there will help you have access to the right data when you need it. LeadershipOne Technologies has the experience with relational database systems to help you get the most from your system. We can serve as your system administrator or simply help get processes in place to ensure your data is clean and safe. Contact us today and let’s have a conversation about making your database the best solution it can be for you!
