Category Archives: information

From Data to Knowledge and Beyond

Posted on June 27, 2023 by craig@craigsmullins.com

The basic building block of knowledge is data. Data is a fact represented out of context and with no relation to other facts. Examples of data are: Without additional details, we know nothing about any of these three pieces of … Continue reading →

Posted in data, information, metadata | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Everybody Lies!

Posted on May 7, 2018 by craig@craigsmullins.com

I was walking though the airport in Las Vegas after the IBM Think conference this year when I saw a book with the intriguing title of: Everybody Lies: Big Data, New Data, and What the Internet Can Tell Us About … Continue reading →

Posted in analytics, Big Data, book review, information | Leave a comment

The Lifecycle of Data

Posted on September 29, 2015 by craig@craigsmullins.com

Most data is not static. No, data has a life in which it changes, is used for perhaps multiple purposes, and gets moved all over the place. So it makes sense to think about the lifecycle of your data at … Continue reading →

Posted in archive, compliance, data, database design, information, operational, reference data, tools | 1 Comment

A Meta-Trip to IBM Information on Demand 2013

Posted on November 9, 2013 by craig@craigsmullins.com

Many of the readers of this blog know that I also maintain another blog that focuses primarily on IBM DB2 (http://db2portal.blogspot.com). If you read that blog, too, then you know that last week I was at the IBM Information on … Continue reading →

Posted in Big Data, data, DB2, IBM, information | 2 Comments

The Proper Approach: Developing Systems Based on Models

Posted on May 7, 2013 by craig@craigsmullins.com

A big challenge facing organizations today is ensuring the appropriate information reaches the right people so that data is used appropriately and accurately. Information is the key to business success and its proper care and treatment should be of the … Continue reading →

Posted in data, data modeling, DBA, information, metadata | 6 Comments

Inside the Data Reading Room

Posted on April 23, 2013 by craig@craigsmullins.com

With today’s post I am beginning a recurring series on the books that I am reading and using as a data professional. The goal of these posts is to introduce you to new and classic books on data technology and … Continue reading →

Posted in books, business intelligence, data, database design, information | 7 Comments

What is Metadata?

Posted on January 21, 2013 by craig@craigsmullins.com

The past two posts I’ve made to this blog have been about metadata, but I realized this morning that I haven’t really defined the term metadata here yet. I know, many of you understand the term, but I thought it’d … Continue reading →

Posted in data, information, metadata | Leave a comment

Challenges to Managing Metadata

Posted on January 12, 2013 by craig@craigsmullins.com

In this posting we will continue to discuss  metadata management, taking a little deeper look at metadata and examining some of the challenges of successful metadata management. Consider the following questions: How do you ensure that you are exploiting the … Continue reading →

Posted in data, DBA, information, metadata | 6 Comments

IBM Information on Demand – Day One – Monday, October 22, 2012

Posted on October 22, 2012 by craig@craigsmullins.com

I spent my first full day of this year’s IOD conference going back and forth between sessions on big data and analytics – and sessions on down in the weeds DB2 for z/OS issues. And I enjoyed the heck out … Continue reading →

Posted in Big Data, books, data, DB2, information | Tagged | 5 Comments

Advanced Analytics

Posted on September 27, 2011 by craig@craigsmullins.com

A large wireless phone service provider was concerned with the number of customers it was losing. Every customer lost costs the company $53 in monthly revenue. Although the revenue looks small on a customer by customer basis, with a large … Continue reading →

Posted in analytics, business intelligence, data, information | 6 Comments