DailyPost 90
DATA INTEGRITY
Garbage in, garbage out is the adage we grew up with since the of the initiation of computerisation in the governmental system. Data is at the centre of IT universe and at the heart of all our decision making. Integrity of data has become a complex enterprise in itself and goes way beyond our regular understanding of correct data. Correct data still remains the most basic input in our workflow. Knowledge based society is dependent on data, its integrity primordial to our existence. Data rules the world.
Physical integrity of data pertains to the correctly fetching and storing the data itself. From correct data, either transactional; real time and dynamic, emanating out of our day or day functioning or from sensors and other inputs, to its proper storage, business rules, protection from data corruption, to true retrieval and at the end of it all, workable data for decision making and analysis has become an major area of concern in the IT field today broadly classified as data integrity.
Data integrity is not synonymous with data security, which deals only with unauthorised access and manipulation / compromise. Data corruption, a form of data loss, is the opposite of data integrity. It might be a loss if single pixel in a pic or non-communication of data as received, leading to a malfunctioning or collapse of a critical infrastructure. Silent data corruption, which is a purely technical issue adds to the complexity of the already complex task.
Appropriate data retention mechanism / rules and it’s honest compliance conspicuously brings down the threat to data integrity. Data integrity rules also specifies the relations a data can have. The said schema facilities better data integrity in an area where zero error is the prized destination.
ASSURED DATA INTEGRITY CAN PHENOMENALLY IMPROVE ENTERPRISE PERFORMANCE.
Sanjay Sahay