Get started

Get started

Bring yourself up to speed with our introductory content.

• Integrate structured and unstructured data for better AI outputs

  For AI agents to give the most accurate, informed responses, organizations must provide them with all the facts. Even those that are hidden in an old email or customer claim. Continue Reading

• Business resilience vs. business continuity: Key differences

  Business continuity and resilience go hand in hand and play a role in an organization's disaster recovery plan. Essentially, business continuity is needed to achieve resilience. Continue Reading

• How to get reliable BI insights from AI-augmented analytics

  Before adopting AI-powered BI applications, organizations need stronger business context, trusted workflows and users prepared to assess AI outputs. Continue Reading

• Your AI isn't failing -- your metrics are

  AI doesn't know what matters to your organization. It only knows what the business measures -- and weak metrics become problems when AI treats them as the goal. Continue Reading

• How agentic AI amplifies data management challenges

  AI agents pose new data management challenges and magnify familiar ones. To build a solid agentic foundation, data leaders must plan for these critical challenges. Continue Reading

• Definitions to Get Started

  • What is data visualization?
  • What is customer data integration (CDI)?
  • What is data restoration?
  • What is data analytics (DA)?

  • What is a backup storage device?
  • What is off-site backup?
  • What is an entity relationship diagram (ERD)?
  • What is data as a service (DaaS)?

  View All Definitions

• Data ontologies are foundational for usable AI outputs

  Data ontologies strengthen AI outputs with governed definitions across platforms and departments, helping data leaders boost trust and improve decision-making.Continue Reading

• How to use AI to enforce data governance policies

  AI models and agents can automate data governance policy enforcement for proactive governance in dynamic data environments. But don't forget the human element.Continue Reading

• Isolated recovery environments are critical for modern DR

  There is no room for error in disaster recovery, especially when it comes to backups. To ensure you’re recovering from a clean backup, consider an isolated recovery environment.Continue Reading

• SLAs for disaster recovery: Free template and guide

  Download our free template to create a service-level agreement with the performance and response time requirements that disaster recovery plans demand.Continue Reading

• What zero-trust data protection means for business

  Implementing zero trust at the network level isn’t enough in today’s digital landscape, where critical business data is stored across platforms, applications and devices.Continue Reading

• Big data integration techniques and best practices to adopt

  Data integration in big data systems is even more complex now because of AI. To succeed, it requires a strategy built on new approaches and strong data management.Continue Reading

• Context is the make-or-break layer for AI in production

  Your AI model might not be the reason it fails in production. Missing or unclear context throws off the model, leading to untrustworthy outputs that the business can't act on.Continue Reading

• Choosing the right AWS disaster recovery strategy in 2026

  Organizations unprepared for outages often have a disaster recovery plan that does not match their business needs. These metrics can help leaders choose the best AWS strategy.Continue Reading

• AI tools are making resilience an enterprise-wide discipline

  AI tools that support resilience at the business unit level can enable more personnel across an organization to engage in disaster recovery efforts.Continue Reading

• Power-constrained data architecture curbing AI ambitions

  Rising power demands and grid interconnection delays are hampering enterprise AI efforts and altering data strategies, workload placement and resilience planning.Continue Reading

• Top 10 vector database use cases across industries

  Vector databases have become the standard infrastructure for enterprise AI work. These 10 use cases for vector databases show where the technology delivers practical value.Continue Reading

• Build a data governance team that delivers results

  Regulations, AI and jumbled implementation oversight weaken decision-making. A dedicated team can help bring structure, accountability and consistent outcomes.Continue Reading

• How agentic AI governance tackles data, security challenges

  AI agents promise real gains -- and pose real risks. Enterprises that move fast without first tightening governance controls might struggle to prevent rogue behavior.Continue Reading

• How to develop a data governance strategy: 7 key steps

  A strong data governance strategy enables more effective data use and helps prevent financial, legal and reputational problems. Follow these steps to develop one.Continue Reading

• How to develop an enterprise data strategy: 12 key steps

  Here are 12 to-do items for data leaders developing a data strategy to help their organization use data more effectively for analytics and business decision-making.Continue Reading

• What downtime and data loss really cost the business

  Downtime in the organization spotlights revenue and operational risk. Business leaders can use cost estimates to focus recovery spending where outages cause the greatest loss.Continue Reading

• AI in business intelligence: How to manage it effectively

  AI tools are becoming a key part of BI systems, both to streamline tasks and add new analytics capabilities. Here's how to successfully integrate AI into BI processes.Continue Reading

• Data governance regulations that executives should know

  Growing national and international regulatory compliance demands aim to protect consumer data. Organizations must adhere to regulations or face noncompliance risks.Continue Reading

• Disaster recovery plan checklist: Key steps for a smooth restore

  Disasters are unpredictable, but good planning can mean the difference between total data loss and a swift recovery. Avert potential crises with a disaster recovery plan checklist.Continue Reading

• How big data collection works: Process, methods, challenges

  Before big data can be used in analytics and AI applications, data teams must collect it from various sources. Here's how to create and manage an effective collection process.Continue Reading

• 7 data backup strategies and best practices you need to know

  A strong data backup strategy is not an option; it is a requirement. Here are seven best practices organizations can implement to better protect and manage backups.Continue Reading

• Understanding the layers of the AI‑ready modern data stack

  Data infrastructure and practices need an upgrade for the AI era. A modern data stack takes a layered approach that aligns teams and delivers governed, trusted data.Continue Reading

• How to build an effective big data strategy

  Big data initiatives won't deliver business benefits without a comprehensive strategy to guide data management and analytics work. Here's how to build one.Continue Reading

• SLM vs. LLM: Rightsize data architecture to optimize AI use

  It doesn't need to be a binary choice. Enterprises are warming up to smaller AI models to meet compliance and cost needs while reserving large models for complex jobs.Continue Reading

• Real-time data streaming for AI: invest where it matters

  Don't let batch processing lead to missed opportunities. Build AI systems for continuous data flows that deliver instant decisions, change outcomes and justify the cost.Continue Reading

• How cyber insurance requirements reshape backup architecture

  From immutable backups to air-gapped copies, these requirements reflect the growing need for organizations to prove they can recover from an incident -- or risk losing coverage.Continue Reading

• Experts share practices to overcome AI data readiness

  Enterprise AI ambitions can stumble without strong data fundamentals. Here's how to pick, organize and maintain data so systems behave reliably and projects move to production.Continue Reading

• What is data visualization?

  Data visualization translates information into charts, maps or other graphics to show patterns, trends and outliers in a way that can be grasped quickly.Continue Reading

• SaaS shared responsibility model: What vendors don't cover

  Don't let your organization lose cloud data to misplaced trust and thin vendor protections. Learn what providers don't cover and how to build backups that pass audits.Continue Reading

• 6 essential big data best practices for businesses

  These best practices can help data leaders create an effective big data strategy that meets an organization's analytics needs and delivers valuable business benefits.Continue Reading

• 9 metadata management standards that guide success

  Organizations looking to implement metadata management can choose from existing standards that support archiving, sciences, finance and other digital resources.Continue Reading

• Backup environment evaluation: Verify before you buy

  As backups move toward integrated data protection, this guide explains why recovery speed, environment‑wide visibility and maturing AI features should guide platform choices.Continue Reading

• Choose an enterprise backup architecture that fits risk

  Weigh the trade‑offs among on‑premises, backup as a service and hybrid backup, and use a clear framework to choose the approach that fits your organization.Continue Reading

• How to prevent data loss: 4 strategies for better data protection

  Preventing data loss doesn't start and end with better data backups. An organization's culture, IT strategy and choice of tools all play important roles.Continue Reading

• Modernized big data architecture a must for AI to deliver

  Many enterprises put AI into production in 2025 but found their legacy data stacks stalled progress. See what it takes to modernize big data systems for better AI results.Continue Reading

• 8 ways to use AI for data backup

  Recognize AI-based data backups as a strategic imperative that propels your IT team forward by protecting critical business assets while providing compliance and cost optimization.Continue Reading

• Is cloud backup repatriation right for your organization?

  More and more organizations are making the move to bring backup data back on-site, but the cloud is still a widely-used resource. Is repatriation in the cards for you?Continue Reading

• Big data analytics and business intelligence: A comparison

  BI and big data analytics support different types of analytics applications. Using them in complementary ways enables a comprehensive data analytics strategy.Continue Reading

• How extreme weather events affect data

  As severe weather increases worldwide, organizations must understand the risks to on- and off-premises data and take steps to prevent outages and loss.Continue Reading

• Use the 3-2-1-1-0 rule for better backups

  The 3-2-1-1-0 backup rule addresses modern data protection requirements, such as ransomware protection and cloud backup. Find out how it builds on the 3-2-1 rule in this tip.Continue Reading

• 10 essential roles for a data management team in 2026

  These 10 essential data management roles help leaders design teams that support governance, scale and trusted analytics across modern enterprise data environments.Continue Reading

• How to build a data catalog: 10 key steps

  A data catalog helps business and analytics users explore data assets, find relevant data and understand what it means. Here are 10 important steps for building one.Continue Reading

• 10 dashboard design principles and best practices

  Dashboards are a key tool for delivering analytics data to business users. Here's how BI teams can design effective dashboards to help drive informed decision-making.Continue Reading

• What is customer data integration (CDI)?

  Customer data integration (CDI) is the process of defining, consolidating and managing customer information across an organization's business units and systems to achieve a "single version of the truth" for customer data.Continue Reading

• What is data restoration?

  Data restoration is the process of copying backup data from secondary storage and restoring it to its original location or a new location.Continue Reading

• What is data analytics (DA)?

  Data analytics (DA) is the process of examining data sets to find trends and draw conclusions about the information they contain.Continue Reading

• What is a backup storage device?

  A backup storage device is a hardware component that stores duplicate copies of data.Continue Reading

• What is off-site backup?

  Off-site backup is a method of backing up data to a remote server or to media that's transported to another physical location.Continue Reading

• Master these skills to get the right data scientist role

  Data science offers many professional opportunities. Balance education and experience to present yourself as an adaptable and data-savvy candidate.Continue Reading

• What is an entity relationship diagram (ERD)?

  An entity relationship diagram (ERD), also known as an entity relationship model, is a graphical representation that depicts relationships among people, objects, places, concepts or events in an information technology (IT) system.Continue Reading

• What is data as a service (DaaS)?

  Data as a service (DaaS) is an information provision and distribution model in which data files -- including text, images, sounds and videos -- are made available to customers over a network, typically the internet.Continue Reading

• How to deploy Data Duplication on Windows Server

  Data deduplication is necessary to stay ahead of storage demands and maintain available space. Windows Server Data Deduplication is one tool that can help.Continue Reading

• What is data lineage? Techniques, best practices and tools

  Organizations can strengthen data governance by mapping data lineage across systems. Learn how tools help to simplify tracking, compliance and lifecycle visibility.Continue Reading

• How to use rsync to streamline centralized backups

  The Linux rsync utility is a powerful tool in the hands of a knowledgeable administrator. Learn how an organization might use rsync for backups with this step-by-step tutorial.Continue Reading

• What is data stewardship?

  Data stewardship is the management and oversight of an organization's data assets, which helps provide business users with high-quality, easily accessible and consistent data.Continue Reading

• What is a pivot table? How to use in Excel and Sheets

  A pivot table is a statistics tool that summarizes and reorganizes selected columns and rows of data in a spreadsheet or database table to obtain a desired report.Continue Reading

• What is a standard operating procedure (SOP)?

  A standard operating procedure is a set of step-by-step instructions for performing a routine activity.Continue Reading

• What is a tabletop exercise (TTX)?

  A tabletop exercise (TTX) is a disaster preparedness activity that takes participants through a simulated disaster scenario.Continue Reading

• What is crisis communication?

  Crisis communication is a strategic approach to corresponding with people and organizations during a disruptive event.Continue Reading

• What is disaster recovery as a service (DRaaS)?

  Disaster recovery as a service (DRaaS) is a managed IT service that allows an organization to replicate some of its IT assets off-site in a data center that is owned and managed by a cloud service provider (CSP).Continue Reading

• How to safely and securely back up data

  It's not just about ransomware. Less publicized threats like system misconfigurations, hardware and software failures, and user errors dictate a better approach to data backup.Continue Reading

• What is Microsoft SSIS (SQL Server Integration Services)?

  Microsoft Structured Query Language (SQL) Server Integration Services (SSIS) is an enterprise platform for setting up data integrations and data transformations.Continue Reading

• ESG data collection: Guide and best practices

  Sustainability initiatives won't succeed without quality data. Following an ESG data collection framework and best practices ensures program and reporting success.Continue Reading

• What is an air gap backup? Strategy, benefits and use cases

  An air gap backup, or an air-gapped backup, is an optional data backup practice used to isolate backup storage from the principal network, such as a business local area network or wide area network, protecting sensitive business data from ...Continue Reading

• What is digital resilience? Definition, strategy and use cases

  Digital resilience is an organization's ability to manage risks and disruptions to its infrastructure, services and applications, regaining full functionality as quickly as possible while also learning from the experience.Continue Reading

• What is endpoint data loss prevention? A best practices guide

  Today's mobile workforce puts company data at risk. Endpoint data loss prevention secures sensitive info at the source, reducing breaches, costs, and compliance risks.Continue Reading

• What is cloud-native backup and recovery?

  Cloud-native backup and recovery protects valuable business content, such as data, applications and systems, through services supplied and supported by a cloud provider.Continue Reading

• What is data quality and why is it important?

  Data quality measures a data set's condition based on factors such as accuracy, completeness, consistency, timeliness, uniqueness and validity.Continue Reading

• What is data automation?

  Data automation is the use of software tools and infrastructure to streamline data management tasks. Data automation techniques intentionally limit human interaction with data-related jobs.Continue Reading

• Risk assessment matrix: Free template and usage guide

  A risk assessment matrix identifies issues with the greatest potential for business disruption or damage. Use our free template to prioritize risk management plans.Continue Reading

• Build IT resilience to avoid paying ransomware demands

  No one wants to pay the ransom after a cyberattack, but many organizations feel like they have no choice. Explore the benefits of investing in resilience over making payments.Continue Reading

• Automated backup: How it works and why you should use it

  Automated backup tackles complex data backups in concert with other automated workflows, minimizing human errors while ensuring regulatory compliance and business continuity.Continue Reading

• What is PL/SQL (Procedural Language/Structured Query Language)?

  In Oracle database management, PL/SQL is a procedural language extension to Structured Query Language (SQL).Continue Reading

• Is cloud data backup and recovery right for you?

  Still not sure if cloud data backup and recovery is the best choice for your organization? Here are six questions for IT managers to consider when making the move to cloud.Continue Reading

• Top business continuity risks to plan for and monitor

  The key to mitigating business continuity risks is identifying them early. Here are 10 top risks concerning business continuity pros today. Is your organization ready for them?Continue Reading

• What is a distributed database?

  A distributed database is a database that consists of two or more files located in different sites on the same or different networks.Continue Reading

• What is MySQL?

  MySQL is a popular, scalable, user-friendly, open source and free relational database management system (RDBMS) that uses Structured Query Language (SQL) to store, manage, and manipulate data.Continue Reading

• Why you need a payroll disaster recovery plan

  Payroll data is critical, and the consequences of losing it are steep. Learn how to create a strong payroll disaster recovery plan to protect employee data.Continue Reading

• Crisis communications plan: How to build one, with template

  Don't overlook crisis communications when you are disaster recovery planning. Use these tips and our free template to build a thorough crisis communications plan.Continue Reading

• What is data orchestration?

  Data orchestration is the process of automating, coordinating and organizing the movement of data across an enterprise through business intelligence (BI) and other analytical tools.Continue Reading

• What is database as a service (DBaaS)?

  Database as a service (DBaaS) is a cloud computing managed service offering that provides access to a database without requiring the setup of physical hardware, the installation of software or the need to configure the database.Continue Reading

• What is business continuity software?

  Business continuity software is an application or suite designed to make business continuity planning/business continuity management (BCP/BCM) processes, metrics and compliance more efficient and accurate.Continue Reading

• What is a pandemic plan?

  A pandemic plan is a documented strategy for how an organization plans to provide essential services when there is a widespread outbreak of an infectious disease.Continue Reading

• What is change control?

  Change control is a systematic approach that includes the various steps needed to process changes made to a product or system.Continue Reading

• What is stream processing? Introduction and overview

  Stream processing is a data management technique that involves ingesting a continuous data stream to quickly analyze, filter, transform or enhance the data in real time.Continue Reading

• Organizational vs. operational resilience

  Organizational and operational resilience are two critical components of BCDR. Learn the differences between the two and how to establish them for peak resilience.Continue Reading

• What is risk mitigation?

  Risk mitigation is a strategy that helps businesses prepare for disasters and other issues and decrease the effects of threats they face.Continue Reading

• Clear, Purge, Destroy: NIST media sanitization 101

  NIST SP 800-88 outlines how to responsibly destroy data and keep confidential information out of the wrong hands. Learn more about the NIST guidelines for media sanitization here.Continue Reading

• 4 types of simulation models used in data analytics

  Combining different types of simulation models with predictive analytics enables organizations to forecast events and improve the accuracy of data-driven decisions.Continue Reading

• The importance of a data destruction policy

  Data destruction policies increase backup efficiency, ease data management and help organizations meet compliance requirements for data storage.Continue Reading

• What is an emergency notification system?

  An emergency notification system is an automated approach to crisis communications that contacts people within an organization and distributes important information during a disruption.Continue Reading

• What is image-based backup?

  Image-based backup creates a copy of an operating system (OS) and all the data associated with it, including the system state and application configurations.Continue Reading

• What is PeopleSoft?

  PeopleSoft is an enterprise resource planning (ERP) software suite owned by Oracle Corporation.Continue Reading

• What is data recovery?

  Data recovery is the process of restoring data that has been lost, accidentally deleted, corrupted or made inaccessible.Continue Reading

• What is data transformation? Definition, types and benefits

  Data transformation is the process of converting data from one format -- such as a database file, Extensible Markup Language (XML) document or Excel spreadsheet -- into another format.Continue Reading