Think Globally
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Data Centre Development |
Do you sometimes feel frustrated and smothered by paper? You are not alone. Most professionals are restricted in the performance of duties by the inability to access and retrieve data and information in a timely manner, often waiting days for the arrival of requested hard copy data.
The costs associated with these delays are difficult to calculate, but examples of personnel being unable to complete their assigned tasks within a given time frame due to a lack of complete and reliable information are not uncommon. Although direct costs are difficult to calculate, we all know they are significant in their own right albeit insignificant when compared to indirect and lost opportunity costs.
This difficulty in accessing information has been compounded in recent years by an explosion in the volume of information and related hard copy data acquired through the use of new exploration technology and increased productivity levels.
Data Centre Facilities
When the annual increase in data volume is added to information obtained in previous years, it becomes imperative that these valuable resources are managed efficiently and reliably to ensure their safe custody. Of equal importance is the need to provide the professional with a current catalogue of all available data and information, and to respond to user's requests for information in a timely and reliable manner. Hence the need for Data Centres.
GCI began to establish Data Centre Facilities in 1985 and has since been involved in facility design, development and management thereof. Facility design includes both the selection and design of storage and data processing systems.
Information Systems
Following the implementation of an effective data management system, delivery of information to the user can be accomplished in as little as one hour. With the ready availability of powerful personal computers, the tools to develop databases to provide organized listings of available information is now within the reach of companies large and small. However, the production of a database is really the final result of much hard work and effort involved in the assembling and recording of information using standard procedures and terminology
The associated training of staff who are involved in assembling information, populating the database, and in providing reliable and enthusiastic service to the user, is considered to be an equally important function of any data management implementation strategy.
Policy, Procedure and Practice
Well designed data management systems are only part of a total system solution. In addition to automated data management systems, related policy and procedures must be established to provide consistency in identification and recording of information in the database. Similar routines are established to assist in retrieving data speedily and accurately in response to user requests for information, while maintaining accurate records of all transactions. So a data centre template must consider all related issues such as data models, work flow, storage systems, corporate structure etc.