What is Metadata? Why is Metadata important and why should you care about your organization’s metadata? Why does Metadata matter?

Metadata is data about data! – I can ear the silent chaos from my reader’s mind following this statement and not the harmonious head nodding I’d like to elicit. Data is usually considered an arbitrary concept to grasp because it is not tangible. However, here we are identifying that there is even more data about this non- tangible entity?

Let me explain……

I recently had a food related conversation with my sister specifically about cake! We attended the same school growing up so naturally have identical experiences. One of the experiences we had was our practicals in home economics every Saturday. Part of the activities we had to perform was to bake cake. It was called cake but was very much like shortbread and it had a unique very tasty taste, we reminisced…. Neither of us could remember the recipe for this cake. We did extensive research to find this recipe. We hoped the school eventually published it on their website. But no, this information about how to make the cake was nowhere to be found. Now, we both wonder if this information and the ability to recreate this cake is lost forever. We are still searching……. If we do eventually come across this recipe, I will be sure to post an update here. We may receive it for free. Alternatively, it could be part of a recipe book we need to purchase. If the information and the recipe details for this delicacy had been stored somewhere, it would become data. This data can be referenced and reused. This is the metadata which has been lost to us as consumers of the product(cake) but hopefully still available somewhere in the school’s repositories – not lost with the teacher of the subject who has long left the school.

It is important to clarify here that each organization will need to identify what level of data abstraction it considers metadata. In the above example, information such as the flour used, measurements of the flour or sugar, temperature to bake are considered as the metadata to produce the same cake.

Metadata is a record of what data an organization has, its location within the organization and its properties. This record enables to organization to generate required outputs such as projections of sales, revenue and development areas. A common and strong example used to explain metadata is “library catalog of books.” It describes how to locate a book by a particular author in a library.

Most decision makers in organizations are reluctant to sponsor a Metadata project. They are not aware of the value of Metadata or its management. Metadata and metadata management are essential for organizations to realize value from their data and be data driven. Having data artifacts such as glossaries, dictionaries, and data models stored in silos is insufficient. These artifacts must be integrated to achieve the results desired from the organization’s data.

Have you ever needed to get data to drive a particular business area forward? However, you could not obtain the data due to a lack of knowledge about where it is stored. An effective Metadata solution can help resolve such issues.

Have you ever purchased an item that needs assembling but comes with inadequate instructions? You proceed to spend more time than you had planned putting this item together. You try to figure out the missing details in the instructions. You go through a trial and error process hoping that you have the pieces in the right place. You may even end up resorting to watching a Youtube video to see how other consumers have assembled the item, such as flat pack furniture. This newly purchased item(application, database etc) lacked the information. The consumer required this metadata to efficiently build the purchased item (BI reports). The additional time spent trying to figure out how to assemble this item is a lost opportunity for the consumer. It may also lead to diminished value for them. This analogy helps show how metadata benefits clients. It aids them in identifying the advantages of metadata for their business operations. Without Metadata, a project that promises to optimize data use might consume more time. It can also use more resources than anticipated.

Metadata can help users to quickly identify required fields for Business Intelligence reporting. It acts as a directory for where business data resides and its characteristics. It helps improves business community understanding of business data. Metadata is collated from various sources such as the data model, data glossary, data mapping, data lineage, source systems, Business Intelligence applications. Often the information in these sources are held locally within their respective business areas or by the designated steward. The information is not shared across the organization. This holds the risk that when the knowledge holder within a business area departs, the data information also departs.

Metadata management facilitates the collection and integration of the various metadata into a repository. This repository is made available to business users. This helps with improving user understanding of business data. It reduces the time required to locate required data. Additionally, it reduces the time to deliver on data projects.

Metadata exists in different locations, systems, and formats across the organization. It is important to manage these metadata in a shared repository. This reduces the amount of research time for business users to understand data. It helps improve the ease of access to data for users.

Metadata must be documented or the organization risks losing crucial information about it’s data when individuals leave. It is therefore a valuable tool in knowledge management, risk and regulatory management.

Without Metadata, the organization does not know what data it has, its sensitivity, what the data represents, where it originates, how it moves through the system, who has access to it or what it means for data to be of high quality – DAMA DMBOK. Metadata should especially be developed alongside a data project because new data definitions can be captured in the Metadata which will ensure smooth adaptation of business terms by business users of the new data platforms. Metadata is an essential part of data management.

If your organization has a gap in Metadata management, reach out today to discuss solutions which will improve your data management and value realization.