A digital transformation strategy is a detailed plan to improve and innovate existing business processes using digital technologies. An organization that can refine its operations and leverage automation can better support customers and allow employees to focus on activities requiring a more hands-on approach. Adopting digital technologies must be done in a way aligned with an organization’s […]
What Is a Digital Twin?
A digital twin is a virtual device that contains the exact state, information, and organization of the physical device to which it is connected. Think of it as a test version before proceeding with product development or interacting with a real-world device. Digital twins go hand-in-hand with implementing the Internet of Things (IoT). Industrial companies […]
What Is a Document Database?
Document databases refers to a category of NoSQL that represents data in a tree structure, where paths or branches connect data values or leaves. Frequently, document stores use XML and JSON formats stores. There are few practical limits to the number of paths, fields, values, or types of data that can be added to specific […]
What Is a Graph Database? Definition, Types, Uses
A graph database (GDB) models data as a combination of nodes (vertices) and edges (relationships) with equal importance. Businesspeople query these structures to reveal patterns and insights within the data and their associations. These would be difficult to discern from other data visualizations, such as tables, charts, and documents. Since humans naturally think by associating one concept with another, people […]
What Is a Key-Value Database?
Key-value databases, also called key-value stores, are often considered the simplest type of NoSQL databases. Each unique identifier is stored as a key with its associated value. The value can be any sort of byte array, data structure, or binary large object (BLOB), and works well for storing enormous amounts of data. Windows Explorer and […]
What Is a Knowledge Graph?
A knowledge graph, which can be considered a type of ontology, depicts “knowledge in terms of entities and their relationships,” according to GitHub. An example of a knowledge graph is shown below. Knowledge graphs developed from the need to do something with or act upon information based on context. For example, knowledge graphs help identify […]
What Is a Metadata Repository?
A metadata repository is a software tool that stores descriptive information about the data model used to store and share metadata. Metadata repositories combine diagrams and text, enabling metadata integration and change. The metadata repository’s power lies with the easily accessible way people can view and navigate its contents. Other Definitions of Metadata Repositories Include: […]
What Is a Non-Relational Database?
A non-relational database describes a database with flexible storage and retrieval. While NoSQL databases form a subset of non-relational databases, non-relational databases also encompass any system that deals with high volumes of unstructured data at a lower cost. Many non-relational databases support SQL-compatible queries too. Data lakes and cloud databases can also be considered non-relational […]
What Is a Property Graph?
A property graph is a type of graph model where relationships not only are connections but also carry a name (type) and some properties. A property graph excels at showing connections among data scattered across diverse Data Architectures and data schemas. They provide a richer view on how data can be modeled over many different […]
What Is a Relational Database?
A relational database is a type of structure organizing data into groups through tables, that contain rows and columns. These tables connect by keys associated with each row in other tables. Data in any relational database can be added to, viewed, filtered, modified or deleted through a standard programming interface called structured query language (SQL). […]