Semantics inspires a vision in which data carries unambiguous business meaning that can be found, aggregated and used accurately and flexibly without prior knowledge of the data’s specific format. Semantic Information Management (SIM) delivers the benefits of semantics to enterprise IT.

Existing solutions are insufficient. Metadata repositories are important but do not create sufficient value without semantics. Data modeling is usually limited to relational databases treated one database at a time. Data cleansing is an important way to improve a database but does not address the strategic problem of obtaining quality across hundreds of data assets.

Semantic Information Management addresses the problem of incompatible data formats by capturing the precise meaning of data in agreed-upon terms. Key elements of the architecture are:

• Metadata – Data assets must be cataloged if they are to be used for any sort of IT project.

• Information Model - A rich central model of some or all of the business.

• Data Semantics - Semantically mapping data sources to the Information Model to capture meaning.

Semantic Information Management creates value by delivering higher quality business information, providing the flexibility to support business change and making IT costs lower and more predictable. SIM can be introduced gradually to specific projects or applied to an entire enterprise in a comprehensive initiative. With Semantic Information Management, the enterprise can strive for an environment in which everyone speaks the same business language, data carries unambiguous business meaning and the data environment is managed and integrated at will.

To request a copy of our SIM White Paper, visit the Literature Page.