Data is flowing into organizations in greater faster and from more sources and in more formats than ever before. Along with this deluge, there is also a greater appreciation for the fact that is data can be leveraged for faster and better decision-making, connecting more appropriately with customers, creating better products, and avoiding risk.
Today, organizations need to understand how data is being put to use and by whom. Data modeling offers organizations the promise of using data to greater advantage. When databases are built from a well-designed data model, the resulting structures provide increased value to the organization, according to Craig S. Mullins, DBTA columnist and president and principal consultant with Mullins Consulting, Inc.
“An organization that is serious about data will create a data architecture (or data administration) staff whose responsibility it is to understand the organization’s data,” notes Mullins. “The data architect or data administrator (DA) separates the business aspects of data resource management from the technology used to manage data. When the DA function exists in an organization it is more closely aligned with the actual business users of data. The DA group is responsible for understanding the business and translating it into a logical data model.”
Effective data modeling solutions help organizations construct high quality data models, modify existing structures as well as produce detailed documentation. And today, data modeling solutions also help companies visualize and manage business data across more platforms than ever before and extend that data to users with varying job roles and skill levels across geographies and time zones.
Increasingly, data modeling products offer capabilities such as ways to compare models and then synchronize them, reverse and forward engineer systems, leverage visual interfaces for ease of use, allow data assets to be visually documented and reused, provide native support for new and emerging database platforms, as well as see and understand changes before they are implemented to foresee their impact.
HERE ARE THE WINNERS OF THE 2015 DBTA READERS' CHOICE AWARDS FOR BEST DATA MODELING SOLUTION
Winner:
CA ERwin
Winners' Circle by Danny Sandwell, Product Manager
The entire CA ERwin® Modeling team would like to thank the DBTA readers for the “Best Data Modeling Tool” award and their continued support and allegiance. In today’s information-driven economy, data-centric initiatives such as data governance and business intelligence are at the forefront of many organizations’ strategic priorities. We at CA Technologies understand that data is an asset and a key raw material that runs your business—whether it’s making strategic decisions based on quality information—or making data management more efficient to save time and cost...read on.
Finalists:
Dell Software Toad Data Modeler
Embarcadero ER/Studio