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Data Configuration Management (DCM) Special Interest Topic

This page provides information about Data Configuration Management and how Nexbridge fits into it.

The Nexbridge core team members have been involved in virtually inventing this discipline in support of highly complex and data-driven applications for more than fifteen years. Also very relevant to major ERP implementations, DCM can offer a significantly increased likelihood of success. The lessons we have learned through building and deploying business and technical solutions for companies needing to improve their time-to-market, including error rate reduction and support efficiency, have led us to unique wisdom in this area.

From this page, you can get to some of the resources available to support your DCM process development. We have included this information for you to examine. Our hope is that you will avail yourselves of our expertise in this area. Please contact us for more information.

What Is DCM?

Data Configuration Management is the discipline of managing the data control permitting your transaction data to operate and be presented. This can include data such as, but not limited to: charts of accounts; project codes; part numbers; and corporate division identifiers.

Data, in an application, is typically divided into two main areas:

Transaction Data, consisting of large volumes of highly transient or accumulating content
Dimension and Configuration Data, consisting of relatively static data controlling how the application functions, including: how reports are presented; source for data lookup-style validations; and processing flow definitions

In the early days of on-line computing, large instruction manuals would be given to installers to manually update their application during software release installation. Today, many tools exist, usually specific to the application, to perform this function. Yet, the discipline is still young and unwashed. Differences between environments, particularly processing flows, still represents major challenges of management and deployment.

As the line between configuration and transaction data has blurred, particularly in on-line transaction processing applications (OLTP), and software has had to detect and operate in diverse conditions and platforms, the management of data configuration parameters has become critical to effective solution deployment. The lack of good DCM discipline is a major exposure to effective ERP deployment. In the future, DCM will be integral to product and solution deployment, SCM, ECM, problem determination and correction, and root cause analysis.