Attention to metadata is a must in big data world.

• Position: BIG DATA

According to an article on IT world.com, some 83% of chief information officers (CIO) "have visionary plans that include business intelligence (BI) and analytics," a figure derived from an survey last year. Yet, a separate survey of BI analysts most of them simply cannot find enough of the organizational information they need.

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The article, authored by Irfan Khan, says the best way to ensure that users can find the data they need is to carefully apply a metadata framework. To his audience of IT leaders, Khan emphasizes that metadata organizes information, making it more discoverable and accessible.

He lists a number of attributes about the data that can reveal its relevance. For example, keyword, temporal, and geospatial information can be applied, as well as use constraints, pricing, contacts, and anything else that improves the quality of the information about the data being sought.

A scrupulous use of metadata will save organizations time and make their data more valuable, which makes it more useful to analysts.

Of course, collecting and maintaining metadata can become very complex in very short order. Different types of data require different metadata capture. Some metadata can be captured by...