KnowledgeBlog

As the systems are becoming increasingly detailed in terms of the amount of information they carry it has become highly critical for the organisations to understand and realise the importance of metadata. If this is done at the beginning of a KM system implementation it becomes really beneficial in the long run.

So what is really a metadata?, Well it is data about data and provides a way of classifying or tagging a document or a object that enables the users to search for a object(document etc) in a large repository.

Lets take some scenarios where we practically use metadata. A typical example is a library that is a huge database of books and if there is no identifier for a particular book its almost impossible to search for it, and so what is that identifier; Yes, thats what is a metadata. A book in a library has got a ISBN, author, title and these parameters helps us to search for a book. Similarly, imagine a hospital that has got records of thousands of patients and is searchable just by a click of the mouse in the system. How do you think is that possible?, it is because of that metadata that is associated with particular person (either a registration number or a unique identifier)

We also use metadata when we go to a supermarket to buy groceries. You have got aisles marked for a particular types of products and these aisle numbers are a kind of metadata as it provides information about the product you are searching for.

Therefore metadata plays a highly critical role in the any kind of system as it helps in classification and tagging of objects and it is essential that we realise the importance in the very beginning when we think of implementing a system before its too late. Decision on the type of metadata to be introduced should be a planned and well co-ordinated one, as it forms the base for a system.

If you require more information on metadata, please click here