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Choosing the Right Data Modeling Tool

The need for an effective data modeling tool is more significant than ever.

For decades, data modeling has provided the optimal way to design and deploy new relational databases with high-quality data sources and support application development. But it provides even greater value for modern enterprises where critical data exists in both structured and unstructured formats and lives both on premise and in the cloud.

In today’s hyper-competitive, data-driven business landscape, organizations are awash with data and the applications, databases and schema required to manage it.

For example, an organization may have 300 applications, with 50 different databases and a different schema for each. Additional challenges, such as increasing regulatory pressures – from the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) to the Health Insurance Privacy and Portability Act (HIPPA) – and growing stores of unstructured data also underscore the increasing importance of a data modeling tool.

Data modeling, quite simply, describes the process of discovering, analyzing, representing and communicating data requirements in a precise form called the data model. There’s an expression: measure twice, cut once. Data modeling is the upfront “measuring tool” that helps organizations reduce time and avoid guesswork in a low-cost environment.

From a business-outcome perspective, a data modeling tool is used to help organizations:

  • Effectively manage and govern massive volumes of data
  • Consolidate and build applications with hybrid architectures, including traditional, Big Data, cloud and on premise
  • Support expanding regulatory requirements, such as GDPR and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)
  • Simplify collaboration across key roles and improve information alignment
  • Improve business processes for operational efficiency and compliance
  • Empower employees with self-service access for enterprise data capability, fluency and accountability

Data Modeling Tool

Evaluating a Data Modeling Tool – Key Features

Organizations seeking to invest in a new data modeling tool should consider these four key features.

  1. Ability to visualize business and technical database structures through an integrated, graphical model.

Due to the amount of database platforms available, it’s important that an organization’s data modeling tool supports a sufficient (to your organization) array of platforms. The chosen data modeling tool should be able to read the technical formats of each of these platforms and translate them into highly graphical models rich in metadata. Schema can be deployed from models in an automated fashion and iteratively updated so that new development can take place via model-driven design.

  1. Empowering of end-user BI/analytics by data source discovery, analysis and integration. 

A data modeling tool should give business users confidence in the information they use to make decisions. Such confidence comes from the ability to provide a common, contextual, easily accessible source of data element definitions to ensure they are able to draw upon the correct data; understand what it represents, including where it comes from; and know how it’s connected to other entities.

A data modeling tool can also be used to pull in data sources via self-service BI and analytics dashboards. The data modeling tool should also have the ability to integrate its models into whatever format is required for downstream consumption.

  1. The ability to store business definitions and data-centric business rules in the model along with technical database schemas, procedures and other information.

With business definitions and rules on board, technical implementations can be better aligned with the needs of the organization. Using an advanced design layer architecture, model “layers” can be created with one or more models focused on the business requirements that then can be linked to one or more database implementations. Design-layer metadata can also be connected from conceptual through logical to physical data models.

  1. Rationalize platform inconsistencies and deliver a single source of truth for all enterprise business data.

Many organizations struggle to breakdown data silos and unify data into a single source of truth, due in large part to varying data sources and difficulty managing unstructured data. Being able to model any data from anywhere accounts for this with on-demand modeling for non-relational databases that offer speed, horizontal scalability and other real-time application advantages.

With NoSQL support, model structures from non-relational databases, such as Couchbase and MongoDB can be created automatically. Existing Couchbase and MongoDB data sources can be easily discovered, understood and documented through modeling and visualization. Existing entity-relationship diagrams and SQL databases can be migrated to Couchbase and MongoDB too. Relational schema also will be transformed to query-optimized NoSQL constructs.

Other considerations include the ability to:

  • Compare models and databases.
  • Increase enterprise collaboration.
  • Perform impact analysis.
  • Enable business and IT infrastructure interoperability.

When it comes to data modeling, no one knows it better. For more than 30 years, erwin Data Modeler has been the market leader. It is built on the vision and experience of data modelers worldwide and is the de-facto standard in data model integration.

You can learn more about driving business value and underpinning governance with erwin DM in this free white paper.

Data Modeling Drives Business Value

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erwin Expert Blog

A New Wave in Application Development

Application development is new again.

The ever-changing business landscape – fueled by digital transformation initiatives indiscriminate of industry – demands businesses deliver innovative customer – and partner – facing solutions, not just tactical apps to support internal functions.

Therefore, application developers are playing an increasingly important role in achieving business goals. The financial services sector is a notable example, with companies like JPMorgan Chase spending millions on emerging fintech like online and mobile tools for opening accounts and completing transactions, real-time stock portfolio values, and electronic trading and cash management services.

But businesses are finding that creating market-differentiating applications to improve the customer experience, and subsequently customer satisfaction, requires some significant adjustments. For example, using non-relational database technologies, building another level of development expertise, and driving optimal data performance will be on their agendas.

Of course, all of this must be done with a focus on data governance – backed by data modeling – as the guiding principle for accurate, real-time analytics and business intelligence (BI).

Evolving Application Development Requirements

The development organization must identify which systems, processes and even jobs must evolve to meet demand. The factors it will consider include agile development, skills transformation and faster querying.

Rapid delivery is the rule, with products released in usable increments in sprints as part of ongoing, iterative development. Developers can move from conceptual models for defining high-level requirements to creating low-level physical data models to be incorporated directly into the application logic. This route facilitates dynamic change support to drive speedy baselining, fast-track sprint development cycles and quick application scaling. Logical modeling then follows.

Application Development

Agile application development usually goes hand in hand with using NoSQL databases, so developers can take advantage of more pliable data models. This technology has more dynamic and flexible schema design than relational databases and supports whatever data types and query options an application requires, processing efficiency, and scalability and performance suiting Big Data and new-age apps’ real-time requirements. However, NoSQL skills aren’t widespread so specific tools for modeling unstructured data in NoSQL databases can help staff used to RDBMS ramp up.

Finally, the shift to agile development and NoSQL technology as part of more complex data architectures is driving another shift. Storage-optimized models are moving to the backlines because a new format is available to support real-time app development. It is one that understands what’s being asked of the data and enables schemes to be structured to support application data access requirements for speedy responses to complex queries.

The NoSQL Paradigm

erwin DM NoSQL takes into account all the requirements for the new application development era. In addition to its modeling tools, the solution includes patent-pending Query-Optimized ModelingTM that replaces storage-optimized modeling, giving users guidance to build schemas for optimal performance for NoSQL applications.

erwin DM NoSQL also embraces an “any-squared” approach to data management, so “any data” from “anywhere” can be visualized for greater understanding. And the solution now supports the Couchbase Data Platform in addition to MongoDB. Used in conjunction with erwin DG, businesses also can be assured that agility, speed and flexibility will not take precedence over the equally important need to stringently manage data.

With all this in place, enterprises will be positioned to deliver unique, real-time and responsive apps to enhance the customer experience and support new digital-transformation opportunities. At the same time, they’ll be able to preserve and extend the work they’ve already done in terms of maintaining well-governed data assets.

For more information about how to realize value from app development in the age of digital transformation with the help of data modeling and data governance, you can download our new e-book: Application Development Is New Again.