information architecture

That’s where we’re headed, inexorably – you’d like to know what’s going on with your systems, what your customers or constituents need, or perhaps the latest metrics concerning device utilization trends during business events. And, you’d like this information (all of it, or lots of it) right now, in an easily consumable, visual, semantically-relevant way – to share with your community and to be automatically (or easily) ingested by your other systems or analysis tools. Secure & compliant, fast, portable, standardized if necessary, high quality.

But most of all, you’d like to pay only for the data and the way it’s delivered to you – not for a bunch of information technology products and services, hardware and software. You want data-as-a-service, as a consumer; i.e. explicit data units delivered via affordable service units. (Note the service deployment method might include Database-as-a-Service, i.e. DBaaS).

Or – you’re on the other side – you want to actually build the DaaS capability, to offer DaaS (or, perhaps a better term is a “Data Sharing Service” ) to your constituents or customers – as a provider.

There are three primary and distinct roles to consider, whether you’re building or buying DaaS – regardless of the type or characteristics of data that’s being exchanged; big data, open data, fast data, IoT/IoE data, metadata, microdata, multimedia content, structured, non-structured, semi-structured…ALL DATA.

• The DaaS Consumer – who needs not only to acquire data from somewhere (in a way that shields them from the underlying technology concerns), but also then may use it to develop information apps and services, or repackage the data to share further with others.  The consumer assigns and realizes value from the service.
• The DaaS Provider – who actually builds, markets and operates the business service and categorized storefront (or catalog), and brokers or stewards the data quality & availability, data rights, licenses and usage agreements between the consumers and the original data owners.  The provider creates, shapes and deploys the opportunities for value-enablement of specific data assets.
• IT Services Management  – who design, implement and operate the information and data management infrastructure the DaaS Provider relies upon – and manage the IT component and services portfolio this infrastructure includes. For example the databases, virtualization technologies, data access services, storage and middleware capabilities. (Note that “IT Services Management” may be a wholly 3rd-party role, as well as a role within the DaaS Consumer or Provider organizations – there may be 3 or more IT Services Management domains).

There’s also a less distinct, more broadly relevant role – the DaaS Enabler. a.k.a. the “Enterprise Architect”, which can be a person, a role, or an organizational capability. The EA scope includes a heavy focus on enterprise “universal” information management and governance, infused (particularly in the Public Sector) with the currently vogue philosophies of SOA, Open Data, Mobility, Privacy-by-Design (PbD) and Cloud Computing. (Note that DaaS does not have to be delivered via a “cloud” deployment model – it’s equally-applicable delivered as a private data services virtualization platform, for example).

Information management includes the entire lifecycle of “information as an asset” capabilities in an enterprise, and into the stakeholder ecosystem – from the data sources, their ingest and “staging/data quality”, to storage in various repositories and access via information & data services, user interfaces and ultimately information-sharing and digital engagement services.  (See more of Oracle’s “Enterprise Information Architecture” ).

The DaaS Enabler (as a person) might be known by other titles, like Chief Data Officer, Chief Information Officer, DaaS Architect, Information Architect – maybe even Chief Innovation Officer (focusing on data assets); regardless of the title, the experience and scope of attention is as mentioned above, coordinated across all three service roles.  EA skills are essential, because DaaS enablement includes people, processes, technology and information concerns.

Each service role (Consumer, Provider, IT Management) benefits from the DaaS Enabler, particularly given the fact that the maximum value to be realized by each role’s investment in effort and resources – is collaboratively dependent on the others, and dependent on acknowledgement of proven, trusted, pragmatic enterprise architecture principles.

Oracle is an example of a DaaS Provider  – empowering businesses and public sector organizations (i.e. DaaS Consumers) to “use data as a standalone asset and connect with partner data to make smarter decisions. Oracle DaaS is a service in Oracle Cloud that offers the most variety, scale, and connectivity in the industry, including cross-channel, cross-device, and known and anonymous data.” 

Oracle is also a DaaS Enabler – as an organizational capability, for DaaS Consumers, Providers and IT Services Management.  This includes people (Enterprise Architects, supporting organizations and communities), processes (DaaS engineering, deployment and operations models, case studies, tools and business services), technology (DaaS information and device technologies, tools and platforms, hardware and software) and information (data assets, reference architectures, knowledge capital).

Creating or using Data-as-a-Service (DaaS), Big Data-as-a-Service (BDaaS), or any other DaaS initiative, exposed to the public or entirely within your enterprise?  Identify your DaaS Enabler(s).