Data Management

Simply put, data management refers to the process of collecting and organising data within an organization. Having a data management strategy and systems for managing data is becoming increasingly important for modern organizations as they respond to the increasing volume and variety of data being produced in the world today.

while true founders Adam and Paul have worked on some of the world’s leading data management projects and software. They’ve collaborated with national governments, multinational companies, and global NGOs to design, implement and maintain systems tailored to individual objectives, requirements and budgets. With former titles including CTO and Engineering Lead at the Open Knowledge Foundation (OKF), CEO of the data management company Datopian, and founder of and the The Public Knowledge Workshop (‘Hasadna’), Adam and Paul have been advising organizations on data management since even before it became an established term.

There are various approaches to data management. This is because different organizations have different use cases for their data: governments often use data to drive policy or to publish it for public consumption; private companies tend to use data to help them make smarter business decisions; and nonprofits usually use data to raise public awareness on certain issues and influence government policy. Individual organizations may also have their own unique requirements, such as a need to share data securely with external partners, integrate different access permission layers, or version their data for auditing purposes.

Other factors also affect approaches to data management, such as the amount and diversity of data being collected, the nature of that data (ie. whether it is public or private), and its quality at the point of collection. When designing a suitable system, organizations also have to consider the amount of human and financial capital they currently have in existing systems, as well as taking into account the different levels of technical expertise among key stakeholders. They may face external limitations, such as procurement requirements, interdepartmental dependencies or financial restraints.

Whatever your data use case, while true will work with you to design a data management strategy and/or system that best suits your organization.