Most organizations maintain and manage large amounts of information. One of the most efficient and powerful information management computer applications is the relational database. Information can be stored, linked, and managed using a single relational database application and its associated tools. In my organization information is one of our most important assets. This information includes customer records, sales and marketing data, accounts receivable, accounts payable and inventory records. The information system that holds those records is a database.
A database is a collection of records stored in a computer in a systematic way, so that a computer program can consult it to answer questions. For better retrieval and sorting, each record is usually organized as a set of data elements (facts). The items retrieved in answer to queries become information that can be used to make decisions. (Wikipedia, 2006)
In our organization, we use two different database platforms ranging in complexity from MS Access to MS SQL.
International Bibliography of Periodical Literatur...
database schema
databaseBecause of its user friendly design and for the fact that it is relatively simple database to learn, MS Access has historically been the choice of my department. Since most of our workers have experienced the appearance of other Microsoft products the 'look and feel' as well as the tight integration of Access was like being at home. The problem that we constantly face with MS Access is the size limitations that can become problematic over time. Larger, more complex applications, such as our analytical chromatography system or our Enterprise Resource Planning system utilize Oracle or SQL as their database engine.
An example of an MS Access application in use at our facility is our asset performance management software, Datastream7i. Datastream7i helps our company incorporate Asset Performance Management into every aspect of our operation and manage assets with unprecedented efficiency. We utilize Datastream7i...