Success is when data becomes knowledge. Part 3: Where to store the data?

Whether it’s a database or individual files, a local drive, a server or the cloud – when it comes to where you store your data, the most important thing is that it is secure – protected against data loss and unauthorised access – and accessible at all times. More important than the choice of storage medium is ensuring that the data can be found. This can be achieved using an appropriate data structure; in the case of file-based storage, for example, through a consistent file-naming and folder structure. However, this approach only fully covers analyses that are always the same. If the focus changes or different connections need to be established, it is advantageous for the data to be tagged with as much detailed metadata as possible, which can then be linked in different ways on a case-by-case basis. Whether it involves meta-tagging everything from measurement files to graphics files or implementing data models in databases – there are numerous examples of this in the applications developed by us.