Data Management Companies

Data Management Services

At Nicolet Tech, we power your business by continually managing and protecting all your company’s data. We improve the efficiency and reduce the complexity of your storage and data environment while optimizing your existing systems.

Our team will analyze and design storage systems to improve effectiveness, reduce costs, and apply scalability to meet your business’ needs as you grow, all while keeping your data safe.

If you would like to learn more about how professional data management services can help your business, please contact us for more information today!

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What is Data Management?

Data management is a complex process of ingesting data that an organization creates, then collecting, organizing, storing, and maintaining that data so you can easily present and analyze it. This is a critical component of making successful operational decisions and designing business strategies that bring growth and profitability. Managers and executives rely on data to make informed decisions, so this data requires proper management for proper planning.

Different functions work together to ensure that data is accessible and accurate. These functions take time, effort, and other resources, and too many companies neglect this aspect of strategic business planning. This is why you should leave your data management in the hands of the professionals at Nicolet Tech.

The Importance of Proper Data Management

Data is a valuable business asset, as owners can use data for many reasons, such as:

- Identifying ways to cuts costs and adjust the budget
- Making well-informed decisions regarding operations
- Improving relations and marketing campaigns
- Optimizing operations for maximum efficiency

All of these reasons can increase your revenue and decrease your expenses, which means the right data can lead directly to a higher bottom line.

Data alone is not enough to achieve these objectives. This is because data without proper management can be a detriment - not a benefit - to your organization. Problems with data quality and consistency can cause problems with analytics and business intelligence, and they could even mislead leaders into basing business decisions on inaccurate findings.

Proper data management can also assist businesses with compliance issues. There are strict regulations regarding data protection and privacy, and companies need to make sure they are in full compliance as they continue to capture ever-growing amounts of data. These data volumes can be difficult - or impossible - to navigate with regulatory compliance without proper data management assistance.

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How Data Management Works

Data management involves many different components and functions working together across many steps of the complete management process.

These include:

- Designing data architecture involving the proper systems needed for your company’s specific data needs
- Creating data models that help to organize data and identify important data set relationships
- Generating, processing, and storing data in the proper database, cloud storage system, file system, or another type of data repository
- Integrating data from different sources and systems together in a database or data warehouse for business analysis
- Conducting quality checks on data to identify and resolve inconsistencies or errors through data cleansing
- Implementing data governance programs to establish definitions and policies that promote data consistency across different systems

Data Architecture

Developing the right architecture for your data management system is the first step. This is a design for how you will use different data platforms and databases tailored to your corporate needs. Your operations might require unique technology and applications to suit your data needs.

Data blueprints often center around different types of databases, which are platforms that allow us to collect and organize data in the most efficient manner. You want collected data to be easily accessible so you can manage and update it regularly.

Databases and data warehouses can manage all types of data, including sales orders and customer records, as well as consolidated data sets that drive business analytics. The specific data architecture that works best for your organization will depend on the type of data that is key to your business.

Administration of Databases

Simply having a database where your business can store data is not enough to benefit your operations. Another core function of data management is database administration, which ensures that there are favorable response times and accuracy for database queries. Our professionals engage in performance monitoring of databases and other systems, and we can fine-tune your database performance to ensure you are getting optimal results from data queries.

We can also engage in:
- Database design
- Database configuration
- Database installation
- Database updates
- Database security
- Database backup and recovery

Our team uses carefully designed database management systems (DBMSs) to administer databases. This type of software allows administrators, applications, and end-users to properly access data from databases and data warehouses.

Some companies might need alternative data platforms, such as cloud storage systems or file systems, which are less structured in the manner they store data. These alternatives can be more flexible regarding what kinds of data they can store or what format the data can take. These platforms do not benefit every company, however, and this is a key decision our data management professionals make for each client.

Other Data Functions

Some additional key disciplines of data management include:

1. Data modeling - This maps out detailed data relationships and how data moves through different systems.
2. Data integration - This brings together data from different sources so businesses can use the information for analytical and operational purposes.
3. Data governance - This implements policies and procedures that aim to maintain data consistency throughout an organization.

As you can see, a lot goes into data management practices, which are much more complex than they might seem. Each component of data management must be in place and reliable - otherwise, you risk having incomplete or inaccurate data on which to base your business and strategic decisions.

At Nicolet Tech, we provide top-notch and trustworthy data management services that use best practices for each component of your management plan.

Best Practices for Data Management

Having a properly designed and implemented data governance program is critical to having an effective strategy for data management. You also must ensure there is a strong enough emphasis on data quality. Both data governance and quality depend on intricate teamwork between data management professionals, IT teams, data users, and business executives, among other parties. Representatives from your organization will need to provide input on how the data management strategy is working for the business.

It is also important to give particular attention to selecting the right data platforms to be part of your data architecture blueprints. With such a multitude of database options, our data managers work to ensure the systems implemented for your business can fulfill the intended purpose, which includes delivering the necessary analytics and data processing abilities that your business operations require.

Certain organizations, such as the Data Governance Professionals Organization and DAMA International, work to publish data management best practices to ensure that data management professionals understand the standards and how to sort through data management options available in a given situation. Our professionals stay on top of all updated standards and data management systems that become available to ensure we are following best practices for our clients.

The Evolution of Modern Data Management

When the earliest computing machines came about, IT professionals faced the task of sorting through how data went in and out of these computers. Computers regularly came to inaccurate conclusions due to receiving incomplete or inaccurate data, and this led to the beginning efforts to solve data management problems.

By the 1960s, members of the IT industry began promoting data management best practices, which had a focus on metrics for data quality and training for IT professionals to properly manage data. The first mainframe databases came into existence at this time to assist with data management.

From the 1970s to the 1980s, regional databases took their places at the center of data management processes. Data warehouses emerged in the late 1980s to mid-1990s, and relational data software became the dominant technology when it came to database deployments.

Other large-scale data technologies continued to hit the market in the 2000s. Though relational technologies held a lock on data management industries, new alternatives, including data lakes, now provide more options for solving unique data management problems.

Our data management team at Nicolet Tech utilizes all technologies available, and we know how to tailor a data management blueprint to your company’s specific needs.

The Risks of Inadequate Data Management

There are many challenges for companies that have inadequate data management architecture, including difficulty with the integration and management of various data systems. Finding and accessing data can be difficult even in the best-planned data environments, as data usually spread across databases and other systems. Without the proper catalogs and records that data management teams maintain, processing data can be nearly impossible or even harmful to your organization.

Some companies might believe the easy choice is to shift to cloud-based data storage, and while this might make certain aspects of management easier, it can also bring even more challenges. The initial migration of data to cloud-based databases and platforms from systems on-premises can be a complicated process without the right professional assistance. In addition, cloud systems and services expenses can exceed the budget your business has for data management, as many companies underestimate costs associated with cloud-based data storage and management.

Another major risk of improper data management is a lack of data protection. Data breaches are common, and they open your business up to significant legal liability for inadequate data security.

Data privacy laws are becoming increasingly strict, especially with the implementation of the California Consumer Privacy Act. California’s law took inspiration from the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which most consider the most comprehensive data protection guidelines in the world. As data protection laws continue to evolve and set greater rights for consumers, the pressure on companies to adequately protect data will continue to increase.

The best way to avoid these risks, ensure compliance with data protection laws, and keep costs low is to hire a professional data management team. Look no further than the team at Nicolet Tech.

Benefits of Proper Data Management

A well-designed and executed strategy for data management can have many benefits for companies, often providing a competitive edge over rivals in the industry that do not have such airtight and tailored data management plans.

Data management services can:
Improve the efficiency and effectiveness of your business operations
Enable better and more reliable decision-making by business leaders due to accessible data analysis
Lead to greater agility because properly-managed data can help identify market trends and make the right moves to take full advantage of new opportunities as they present themselves
Avoid data privacy problems, data breaches, and other compliance and regulatory challenges and conflicts that often lead to unnecessary expenses and legal liability, as well as reputational challenges

All of the above benefits combine to provide the possibility for the better overall performance of your business and its operations.

Our Data Management Roles

At Nicolet Tech, our process for premier data management involves many different skills, duties, and roles.

Our team includes:
- Data architects
- Database developers
- Database administrators
- Data governance managers
- Data engineers
- Data stewards
- Data modelers
- Analysts of data quality
- Data integration developers
- Data scientists
- Application developers

We can deploy the necessary professionals to work on your data management project, and they will work closely with your corporate executives, IT technicians, managers, and others to ensure that your data management plan is optimal for your business environment.

Learn More From Our Data Management Professionals at Nicolet Tech

If your company faces data management challenges, you need to enlist the help of a professional team.

Our data management process focuses on:
- Designing the best data management plan
- Ingesting data from your processes and operations
- Storing the data in the most appropriate database or platform
- Organizing your data in the most accessible manner
- Allowing for proper usage of your data in analytics and business strategy

To learn more about how our team can assist your organization with data management, contact us today for a consultation! We have conveniently located offices in Minneapolis at (651) 240-2202 and in Hudson, Wisconsin, at (715) 227-3310.

Outdated Data Management Can Hold You Back More Than You May Realize.

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