Data management comprises all the disciplines related to managing data as a valuable resource. The official definition provided by DAMA is that “Data Resource Management is the development and execution of architectures, policies, practices and procedures that properly manage the full data lifecycle needs of an enterprise.” This definition is fairly broad and encompasses a number of professions which may not have direct technical contact with lower-level aspects of data management, such as relational database management.

Database management, which is also known as Data Administration is the total process of managing, controlling, protecting, defining and organizing of all the data and entries in the database. It is programmed to generate desired information or to be given access to the gathered and protective data of a company, identity or organization. The types vary from the company, identity and organization it is applied to.

A database management system (DBMS) is a system or software designed to manage a database, and run operations on the data requested by numerous clients. Typical examples of DBMS use include accounting, human resources and customer support systems. DBMSs have more recently emerged as a fairly standard part of any company back office.

The DBMS accepts requests for data from the application program and instructs the operating system to transfer the appropriate data.

When a DBMS is used, information systems can be changed much more easily as the organization’s information requirements change. New categories of data can be added to the database without disruption to the existing system.

Organizations may use one kind of DBMS for daily transaction processing and then move the detail onto another computer that uses another DBMS better suited for random inquiries and analysis. Overall systems design decisions are performed by data administrators and systems analysts. Detailed database design is performed by database administrators.

Database servers are specially designed computers that hold the actual databases and run only the DBMS and related software. Database servers are usually multiprocessor computers, with RAID disk arrays used for stable storage. Connected to one or more servers via a high-speed channel, hardware database accelerators are also used in large volume transaction processing environments.

DBMS’s are found at the heart of most database applications. Sometimes DBMSs are built around a private multitasking kernel with built-in networking support although nowadays these functions are left to the operating system.