What are the advantages of a database management approach to the file processing approach?

As the volume of your data increases, so does the need for a database management system (DBMS), which is a computerized system that helps orchestrate large quantities of information.

A DBMS can improve your data processes and increase the business value of your organization’s data assets, freeing users across the organization from repetitive and time-consuming data processing tasks.

The result? A more productive workforce, better compliance with data regulations, and better decisions.

What is a Database Management System (DBMS)?

A database management system is a software tool used to create and manage one or more databases, offering an easy way to create a database, update tables, retrieve information, and enhance data. A DBMS is where data is accessed, modified and locked to prevent conflicts.

A database management system also provides tools to administer the database schema – which dictates the structure of the database itself. In many cases, the database management system will be seen only by the database developer, because the developer will provide a different front-end for the customer. This front-end could be considered, by the most technical definition, to be a database management system in its own right — however, it is more likely to go by another name, such as a customer relationship management (CRM) tool.

Business Benefits of a DBMS

Since quality data management implies a centralized view of data, teams need a solution that allows them to orchestrate everything, including monitoring who is accessing the system and where they’re accessing it from. A database management system helps improve organizational security, integration, compliance, and performance.

1. Improved data sharing and data security

Database management systems help users share data quickly, effectively, and securely across an organization. By providing quick solutions to database queries, a data management system enables faster access to more accurate data. End users, like salespeople, are able to speed up sales cycles and get more accurate in their sales prospecting.

2. Effective data integration

Implementing a database management system will promote a more integrated picture of your operations by easily illustrating how processes in one segment of the organization affect other segments. What once was done completely manually now can be fully automated and more accurate. The right DBMS will include flexible integration options to standardize data across multiple sources, remove duplicates, normalize, segment, and enrich data sets into custom workflows.

3. Consistent, reliable data

Data inconsistency occurs when different versions of matching data exist in different places in an organization. For example, one group has a client’s correct email, another the correct phone number. By using a proper database management system and data quality tools, you can be sure that an accurate view of data is shared throughout your organization.

4. Data that complies with privacy regulations

Database management systems provide a better framework for the enforcement of privacy and security policies. By orchestrating data in a unified manner, companies can manage privacy and data security centrally, helping unify their systems of record and lower the risk of regulatory violations.

5. Increased productivity

Deploying a DBMS typically results in increased productivity because a good DBMS empowers people to spend more time on high-value activities and strategic initiatives, and less time cleaning data and manually scrubbing lists.

6. Better decision-making

Decisions built on data are only as good as the information used. A database management system helps provide a framework to facilitate data quality initiatives. Better data management procedures generate higher-quality information, which leads to better decision-making across an organization.

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The database approach emphasizes the integration & sharing of data throughout the organization. The database approach offers a number of potential advantages compared to the traditional file processing system. Some advantages of the database approach are as follows:

  1. Minimal Database Redundancy: In traditional no database systems each department maintains its own files for handling its data processing applications. For examples: The university database might have two groups of users e.g. the personnel department & the accounts department. Most of the data is stored twice in the files of each department. This problem can be avoided by having a centralized database. For consistency, a database must store each logical data item: such as students’ names – in only one place in the database.
  2. Improved Data Consistency: By eliminating controlling data redundancy, we greatly reduce the opportunities for inconsistency. Updating data values in greatly simplified when each value is stored in one place only. Finally, we avoid the wastage storage space that results from redundant data storage.
  3. Improved Data Sharing: The data stored at a centralized location can easily be shared by existing applications. The same stored data can be used with the new applications also.
  4. Enforcement of standards: The interchange of data between systems necessitates, standardization of the data representation, with the central control of the database, the database administrator can enforce standards in the representation of data. These standards will include data quality standards and uniform procedures for accessing, updating, and protecting data.
  5. Improved Data Integrity: The database approach provides a number of tools and processes to improved data quality & integrity. Integrity implies the correctness and accuracy of data. Centralized control of the data enables the database administrator to define integrity constraints to ensure the accuracy and correctness of data stored in the database.
  6. Improved Data Accessibility: With a relational database, end-users without programming experience can often retrieve and display data.
  7. Improved Data Security: The Database Administrator (DBA) can be defined as security rules to check unauthorized access to data. Some users may be given the right to only retrieve data. Whereas others may be permitted to retrieve & edit the data. The Database Administrator can formulate different rules for each type of access (retrieve, modify, delete) to each piece of information in the database.
  8. Increased Productivity: A major advantage of the database approach is that it greatly reduces the cost & time for developing new business applications.
  9. Reduce Program Maintenance: Stored data must be changed frequently for a variety of reasons: new data item, types are added, data formats are changed and so or in a database, within limits, we can change the data without necessitating a change in other factors, as a result, program maintenance can be significantly reduced in a modern database environment.

Reference:

  1. Modern Database management, Written by Fred R.Mc Fadden & others (page ―20-33)
  1. Introduction to Database Management System, Written By ISRD Group ( page – 3)

What are some of the advantages of the database approach compared to the shared file approach of storing data?

The database approach is an improvement on the shared file solution as the use of a database management system (DBMS) provides facilities for querying, data security and integrity, and allows simultaneous access to data by a number of different users.

What is the advantage of database approach?

Control of data redundancy In the database approach, ideally, each data item is stored in only one place in the database. This is known as data normalization, and it ensures consistency and saves storage space. In some cases, data redundancy still exists to improve system performance but it is kept to a minimum.