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All of us are
constantly being challenged to make the best use of time money
and other resources. A great part of this task involves having
the information to make the right decisions quickly. Larger
companies use Database Applications to help with this process.
The terms
Database, Data Repository and Data Warehouse permeate the
Information Technology landscape. The question is? What is the
real value of all of these tools? This article discusses and
describes the “real world” value of data collection and data
analysis for the purpose of providing useful information. This
information can be used to make better decisions, save money and
in general improve the quality of one’s business and personal
effectiveness.
A business
example is used in the article; however, it is clear that that
data collection and analysis is equally important in personal
situations. If we measure effectiveness by the number of tasks
we can execute in a day and the speed of execution, it is
quickly apparent that anything that helps in that process is
extremely valuable.
In business there are always many questions to answer. Answering
these questions correctly makes the difference between “profit
or loss”; “success and failure”. Quick and timely answers will
increase sales and ultimately revenues. In fact companies like
Wal-Mart continuously acknowledge that there success is driven
by superior information technology capabilities.
This is a vast
topic, so rather than writes about the details on how this
works; let’s look at an example that shows the value of tools
that transform data into Information. This tool can be used to
learn more about data collection, analysis and how to get
questions answered quickly and accurately. An access database
will be used in this example because it’s widely used and many
people already have it on their PCs. The example is an accounts
payable application.
Let’s start
with the data that we are going to keep in the database. Fields
will be created for Name, Address, Phone Number, email address,
payment amount, payment due date and balance. Other fields can
be added where needed. One of the great attribute of a database
is that it can be modified easily as new requirements arise. In
addition to the database, a simplified command language called
SQL (Structured Query Language) will be used to get answers to
questions. Let’s start with the following set of questions and
requests:
- Who are
the customers owing the company money?
- Provide a
list of customer email addresses.
- What is
the total amount owed to the company?
- Provide a
list of customers with past due balances.
- Provide a
list of customers who are doing greater than X amount of
business with the company.
- Provide a
list of customers with payment due dates in the next 10
days.
The numbers of
questions that can be asked are limited only by the data that is
kept
and once the
database is in place, new capabilities can be added easily.
Applications such as the one in the demo can be created for
desktop use or website applications where man users can have
simultaneous access to the same information.
Check out the
example at
www.hiltronics.com/data/Data_App_Control.aspx. Note that
this application runs from the web, however, there is a desktop
copy that you can download and run from your computer.
Happy Computing
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