What is metadata? Simply put, it is data about other data. There is business metadata and there is technical metadata. Now, if you have undertaken an informatics initiative, you will have technologists all over you telling you how important metadata management is! Well, here is where I am going to draw the wrath of all technologists! "We created this problem"!!. Yes, time to own up to it. Technologists, like us, decided that we were going to call a part numer "part#" in one database and "part_number" in another! Now, when you are creating a warehouse and analytics platform, this becomes an issue. Data mapping ensues. Other smart technologists decided that they can make money "fixing" this problem and created "metadata repositories" and voila! Millions of dollars out of your pocket!
So, is there a way out of this mess? Well, not really. But don't lose heart. There are things that you can do, to not break the bank. First, decide what metadata you really care about. Apply the same thinking you used to decide on what to measure. Again, the more you plan, the better off you are. Don't worry about the technical metadata right now. Define the business metadata you care about. Let the technologists figure out how to get the supporting technical metadata. Basically what you have done here is reduce the amount of metadata that you want to store for your informatics initiative. Downstream effects? Less mapping, faster delivery and "CHEAPER"!
Now that we have established that you, as the business owner, should care about your metadata (because it has a direct effect on your wallet, if you still don't believe me), there is one more thing you should care about. How do you "use" the metadata that you have collected? Here is where some old fashioned "discipline" comes handy. Ingrain into your informatics team that any and all data elements that are considered candidates for your data mart, first be rationalized with this metadata repository. In simple terms, check to see if this is something you really need.
Now that you have defined your metadata and had that talk with your informatics team, boldly go where no business owner has gone before...choose the technology! (Not so fine print: strongly suggest involving your technology team here ). There are expensive repositiories out there and there are inexpensive ones. If it makes senses, use your existing database platform as a repository. Your smart data modeler/architect can design you one in no time.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Tools & Technologies for Informatics
Now that you have defined your measures and know exactly what data you need (if you haven't done this already, read my previous posts), how do you go about a "tool/technology" selection. I am putting those words in parantheses, because it might just end up being a new IT department that you just bought! Be careful!
1. Define your SLA (Service Level Agreements)
You know your measurements. You know what data you need. Now do you know how "fast" you need it? This is a common mistake people make. Everyone wants their data now. But does it really make sense to have all of it "now"? For example, if your measure is "quarterly revenue" or "physician performance", do you really need your data now? If you are only making decisions based on that data once every quarter, why do you need it now? So, define your service level agreement for each of your measures. For some measures, you will need your data faster than others. Understanding your SLAs early on will help you spend your money wisely without spending too much money on esoteric technologies that you may never use.
2. Evaluate your technology as it pertains to your business need
In 1998, I had a business that did staffing services and built custom applications for customers. Whenever a customer approached me with a problem, looking to build a new solution, the first thing I would do is search for a product that is already in the market that fit his/her need. If there was one that satisfied his/her need, I would simply point them to the product. The point being, if you can utilize existing technology and resources to satisfy your need, why spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on new technology? So if all you need is to have one data file loaded every month, SQL Loader or other existing technology might do the job. You don't need AbInitio or Informatica for that. Again, understanding your need, SLAs etc will help you make better decisions.
3. Cheaper options are here!!
You wouldn't go buy a Ferrari to take your three kids to school, now would you? First of all, there won't be any room to fit everyone in, second, it would cost you a small fortune and by the time your kids are done with it, your heart, wallet and pride all will be broken. While some technology vendors have reigned supreme in the DW/BI market, there are cheaper options out there who perform just as well as the big boys. Expressor is a promising newcomer in the ETL market. So are Talend and Jitterbit. Pentaho, BIRT, Jaspersoft etc. are all viable BI options. And if your argument is that open source has no support, think again! They don't cost you a fortune and do their jobs well. Some even outperform the big ones, as rumor has it.
1. Define your SLA (Service Level Agreements)
You know your measurements. You know what data you need. Now do you know how "fast" you need it? This is a common mistake people make. Everyone wants their data now. But does it really make sense to have all of it "now"? For example, if your measure is "quarterly revenue" or "physician performance", do you really need your data now? If you are only making decisions based on that data once every quarter, why do you need it now? So, define your service level agreement for each of your measures. For some measures, you will need your data faster than others. Understanding your SLAs early on will help you spend your money wisely without spending too much money on esoteric technologies that you may never use.
2. Evaluate your technology as it pertains to your business need
In 1998, I had a business that did staffing services and built custom applications for customers. Whenever a customer approached me with a problem, looking to build a new solution, the first thing I would do is search for a product that is already in the market that fit his/her need. If there was one that satisfied his/her need, I would simply point them to the product. The point being, if you can utilize existing technology and resources to satisfy your need, why spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on new technology? So if all you need is to have one data file loaded every month, SQL Loader or other existing technology might do the job. You don't need AbInitio or Informatica for that. Again, understanding your need, SLAs etc will help you make better decisions.
3. Cheaper options are here!!
You wouldn't go buy a Ferrari to take your three kids to school, now would you? First of all, there won't be any room to fit everyone in, second, it would cost you a small fortune and by the time your kids are done with it, your heart, wallet and pride all will be broken. While some technology vendors have reigned supreme in the DW/BI market, there are cheaper options out there who perform just as well as the big boys. Expressor is a promising newcomer in the ETL market. So are Talend and Jitterbit. Pentaho, BIRT, Jaspersoft etc. are all viable BI options. And if your argument is that open source has no support, think again! They don't cost you a fortune and do their jobs well. Some even outperform the big ones, as rumor has it.
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