The Open Database Model (ODBM) is an initiative to build very large database models like those of the major enterprise information systems, then make them publicly and freely available as open-source tools. When an organization builds a database or a large data warehouse, a large part of the effort is spent reinventing common data records like names, phone numbers, addresses, product catalogs, charts of accounts, etc. Len Silverston, Bill Inmon (the father of data warehousing), and Kent Graziano have tought us that data modeling is both expensive and demanding, whether done in-house or with hired consultants. (See their Data Model Resource Book.) A standard open-source schema design will save small enterprises a great deal of time and money.
ODBM design will take advantage of the latest theories in logical data modeling and data warehouse designs. Major sections of the database - persons/parties, products, orders, workflow, human resources, schedules/calendars, content management, etc. - will be based on industry standard practices that are the result of many millions of dollars of corporate research, development, and practice.
An Open Database Model will allow independent developers to create programs to run special functions like data cleansing, archiving, and staging, or provide sophisticated analytical tools at modest cost. ODBM-standard tables encourage the exchange of common datasets like state tax tables, calendars (national, religious, industry, etc.), time-zone/daylight saving rules, financial statements.
Code re-use is the holy grail of modern object-oriented programming. The Open Database Model will facilitate public and private data re-use, greatly reducing operating costs and providing timely online information now prohibitively expensive for all but the largest companies.
The Open Database Model needs several things:
- A unique naming convention for tables, records, and fields that allows the entire structure to be added to an existing model with no conflicts. This allows incremental deployment alongside, even inside, legacy systems.
- A review process to manage naming conventions for new entities/tables in the model, as well as attributes/fields and field types/sizes.
- An easy way to add attributes to records without altering the standard model.
- A request/proposal system with peer review to add new tables, records, and fields to an ODBM standard database.
- A "ODBM-certified" mark for programs that use only ODBM standard tables.
- An "ODBM-compliant" statement to indicate programs with non-standard (but non-interfering) tables in their database.
- Data conversion tools to upgrade an ODBM database as newer versions are released, and to migrate data to larger, more scalable, databases (from desktop databases to enterprise tools).
- Data transfer tools that export and import data structures - especially easy for transfers between ODBM databases. XML-data exchange for A2A transfers between organizations, replacing the older electronic data interchange (EDI) standard.
- Blank (definitions only) and partially filled ODBM databases available online in all the major relational database formats (from low-cost Microsoft Access, Filemaker Pro, and MySQL to expensive Oracle, Microsoft SQLServer, and Sybase).
- SQL scripts to generate ODBM tables and the entire database.
- An open-source license that guarantees free usage for private and commercial purposes. A copyright statement that stays in every instance of an ODBM database.
- Online interest groups (with leaders to function as virtual product managers) for the major database functional areas - People/Organizations (including Human Resource data), Products/Orders/Inventory, Financial/Accounting, Project Management(Work/Task Flow), Calendars/Scheduling, Communications/Mail/Lists, Content Management, Web Publishing.
Small enterprises cannot afford the hundreds of thousands of dollars that go into sophisticated database model designs. The ODBM initiative will give them a model proven to work in very large organizations, a clean design with great potential to handle all their needs, and a tool which scales well with organization growth. An ODBM database will protect their significant investment in data entry, since it provides a clear migration path for a growing organization.
