METADATA MANAGEMENT: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

摘要

Metadata, the abstraction layer in information systems, is inherently complex, challenging to manage, and insufficiently supported by commercial software tools. While the technical merits of metadata are recognized by IT practitioners, its managerial aspects and its business value are not well understood and rarely discussed in academic studies. This paper calls for more research on metadata and the role that it plays in data warehouses and decision support systems. It examines the benefits and the challenges that are associated with metadata management in a data warehouse environment and presents several future research directions of interest.