Database

A database is defined as an organized and systematically arranged information or data that has been stored with the aim of facilitating its retrieval, manipulation and use. Databases are tools that help in storing of information and at the same time help one get real information when required. Normally, a database consists of tables where tables are made up of records that are displayed in rows and columns. This structure assists in the management of data and enables one to carry out a number of tasks for instance, to search, update or report.

The Role of Databases in Organizations

It is impossible to overemphasize the importance of databases in the present world where many organizations ranging from business firms, financial institutions, health sectors, learning institutions, and even governments rely on databases among other things. They are used to deal with large volume of data necessary for carrying out business transactions, making decisions and gaining insights into the business. Databases are of great importance to organizations due to the fact that they contain data in a manner that is structured, thus enabling organizations to run their activities efficiently, increase the accuracy of data and assist in decision making.

Types of Databases

There are several kinds of databases which are used in different situations and for various purposes. The most common types include:

• Relational Databases: These databases arrange data into tables and these tables can be interconnected or related by the use of keys. This is because Relational databases are very useful in business and transaction processing systems since they are capable of handling structured data. Some of these are MySQL, PostgreSQL and Oracle.
• NoSQL Databases: While the relational databases are built to store structured data, NoSQL databases are built to store unstructured or semi-structured data. They are mostly applied in the cases where data is highly volatile or in cases where there is a need for a large scale solution. Some of the types of NoSQL databases are document oriented such as MongoDB, key value such as Redis and column family such as Cassandra.
• Object-Oriented Databases: These databases store data in the form of objects, that is similar to the way data is treated in object-oriented programming languages. This type of database is especially important in the applications which have the complex data structures like CAD systems and multimedia applications.

The Growing Importance of Databases

Databases have become very significant particularly in the analysis of big data and other forms of analytics. As data have become a valuable asset in today’s business environment, databases are used for more than storing information but for analyzing it. In particular, Relational databases have proved useful in handling transaction processing and business analytics where organizations are able to store and retrieve huge volumes of structured data.

But as the data is getting more and more diverse and complex, there are also other types of databases which are required like NoSQL and object oriented databases. These databases provide more flexibility and scalability as they are suitable for today’s applications that require dealing with huge data coming from different sources.

Conclusion

A database is an essential part of today’s information systems that allow organizing data in a particular manner and offering ways to manage and retrieve it. A relational database for instance is useful for transaction processing, a NoSQL database is useful for unstructured data, while an object-oriented database is useful for complex data structures; each of the database types is important in different contexts. It is for this reason that the importance of databases in the management of business information as well as in the provision of information for decision making and business innovations cannot be overemphasized especially with the increase in the volume and complexity of data.