ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the issues associated with managing application data across multiple processing platforms. It also describes the evolution of the database environments — from single mainframe to multiple personal computers — and the impact this has had on data proliferation, availability, accessibility, and integrity. Mainframe systems were the main electronic repositories for company information. The database was stored in a centralized system, and users could request information in formats to meet most of their financial needs. Data control in the mainframe environment once meant maintaining and accounting for data elements within the system process. Mainframe systems initially limited the amount of redundancy present in a database, because programmers reporting to the data center manager structured and controlled these systems. Data redundancy began to proliferate in the mainframe environment when programming languages became more sophisticated, and the data was structured to perform within that environment. Quality assurance for mainframe database structuring was initially designated as the data processing manager’s responsibility.
