Extract, Transform, and Load (ETL) describes the process of integrating raw data from various data sources into a repository such as a data warehouse, with the main purpose of maintaining Data Quality and trust. ETL requires three operations, as described below by Paul Varley: Extract: “Getting a copy of data from a source, which could be […]
What Is Hyperconvergence (HCI)?
Hyperconvergence (HCI) is a software infrastructure that integrates multiple compute, network, and storage resources into one system. Think of it as a closet full of customized, matching outfits. Matching pants, shirts, and jackets hang on one hanger and jeans, t-shirts, and sweaters hang from another. A person can easily pull both from the same place: […]
What Is Kubernetes?
Kubernetes, or K8s for short, is an open-source system for automating, deploying, scaling, and managing containerized applications. Initially internal to Google Cloud Platform, Kubernetes is becoming widely adopted across the industry. It addresses two issues. Resources needed to run an API (Application Programming Interface) development may be spread across different hardware, clouds, and teams in different physical […]
What Is Machine Learning?
Machine Learning (ML) “…explores the construction and study of learning algorithms.” Furthermore, Machine Learning: “…is about building programs with adaptable parameters that automatically adjust based on the data the programs receive. By adapting to previously seen data, the programs are able to improve their behavior. They also generalize data, meaning that the programs can perform […]
What Is Master Data Management (MDM)? Definition, Components, Benefits, Uses
Master data management (MDM) is a set of practices and tools that help organizations define, unify, and manage their most important shared data assets. MDM provides a single, trusted view of key business entities like customers, products, and suppliers, ensuring data consistency and accuracy across all systems and departments. By ensuring master or “golden” records […]
What Is Metadata?
Metadata is information about the data collected. According to the Data Management Body of Knowledge (DMBoK), metadata “includes information about technical and business processes, data rules and constraints, and logical and physical data structures.” Think of it as a wrapper around data that describes it, like how packaging tells what food is in a box or […]
What Is Natural Language Processing (NLP)?
Natural language processing (NLP) describes a branch of artificial intelligence (AI) that automates language recognition and generation so that computers and humans can communicate seamlessly. To interact with humans, computers must be adept at and understand syntax (grammar), semantics (word meaning), morphology (tense), and pragmatics (conversation). These tasks have proven quite complex. Natural language processing […]
What Is NoSQL?
NoSQL describes a “category of databases built on non-relational technology.” Some believe it is more accurate to define NoSQL more about how the data is stored and less about how to query the database. NoSQL Databases usually fall under four main categories: Document: Stores a business subject in one structure called a document instead of breaking […]
What Is Ontology?
Ontology is often considered a subset of taxonomy. An ontology: Is a domain; contains more information about the behavior of entities and the relationships between them; includes formal names, definitions and attributes of entities; and, may be constructed using OWL, the Ontology Web Language from the W3C. Other Definitions of Ontology Include: “A data model […]
What Is Predictive Analytics?
Predictive analytics defines outcomes through models to answer the question “What will likely happen?” By doing so, businesses can move beyond reactive strategies toward positive outcomes, meeting business goals and ameliorating risks. Predictive analytics probability models trigger from historical data, sensor data, and data-in-event streams both specific customer behaviors and global news (such as a […]