How to Learn Data Management: Best Courses to Utilize Data Sources

To learn the fundamentals of data management and reach an advanced level, you will need to put in a lot of effort and time. Every business and organization needs to have someone who understands how to manage its data, so jobs in the field are in high demand. 

This guide will provide you with the best resources available to help you learn about data management. Below, you will find information on the best online data management courses, books, and resources that will help you acquire this skill. 

What Is Data Management?

Data management is the administrative process of acquiring, validating, storing, organizing, protecting, and processing raw data. It is used to ensure that information is stored reliably and is still accessible to all necessary users. Data management is a key part of helping businesses optimize their policies to bring in maximum profits. 

When conducted effectively, data management can be instrumental in guiding corporations, businesses, and executives to make smart decisions. Many organizations use big data to gain insight into customer behavior. There are a variety of data management platforms available to companies that analyze big data in real-time to increase customer engagement. 

What Is Data Management Used For?

Data management is essential to the functioning of all organizations. To properly manage data, an organization needs to have a strategy, reliable methods for accessing its data, and ways to prepare the data for analytics. Below are some of the ways that data management can help your company. 

• To increase productivity. Managing data correctly will make it easier for your employees to access and understand the information they need in order to complete their work. They can also use it to validate the results and conclusions of their work. In addition, a data management system will offer easy ways to structure information so that it can be easily shared. 
• To save on costs. Proper data management can help your organization avoid redundancy. Using correctly organized data, employees can rest assured that they are not doing work that a coworker has already completed.
• To promote data privacy and security. You have most likely heard of many high-profile cases in which data has fallen into the wrong hands. But, through proper management, you can develop measures to prevent cyberattacks.
• To provide disaster recovery. With a secure system in place, you can prevent the loss of vital data. The system will ensure that critical information is backed up and retrievable.
• To make accurate decisions. Organizations and businesses will utilize different types of data to make informed decisions regarding management, finances, planning, and trends. This is the basis for a successful business organization.

Types of Data Management

To achieve optimal customer engagement and relationship standards, you will need to sort through all of the data available to your company. Using this data, executives and owners will be able to make improvements. Below, we’ll look at the four main types of data management systems.

Customer Relationship Management

This type of database contains all customer information, including personal data, sales conversion data, revenue data, new offers, and subscription renewal data. The system also provides information concerning sales calls and event turnout, which can help predict consumer behavior. With the right program, you can easily go through large volumes of data to draw reliable conclusions about customer experiences.

Data Warehouse Systems

This type of system stores data concerning product satisfaction and usage. This data is essential to operational platforms, financial applications, purchasing systems, and marketing and sales systems. Marketers and managers can use this system to discover the purchasing details of a product or service and the reviews of it.

Marketing Technology Systems 

There are many different marketing technology systems, including email service providers and marketing automation platforms. These allow marketers to create and execute campaigns based on customer data. The software can also be used to offer downloads, sign-up sheets, and event registration, and to measure overall campaign engagement.

Analytics Tools

Analytics tools are essential in picking up on generic customer trends, providing insight, and extracting actionable business intelligence.

Are You Ready to Learn Data Management?

Looking for a suitable course or book online to learn a new skill can be overwhelming, but with a bit of research, you can find a data management class that’s right for you. Read on to learn how to get started.

How Long Does It Take to Learn Data Management?

Everyone will have a different experience while learning a new concept or skill. How fast you learn about data management depends on your learning style and educational preferences. There is no time limit on learning, so go at your own pace.

If your schedule is fairly open, you can easily complete a course and start practicing data management in a matter of weeks. However, if you are trying to learn while working full-time, it may be challenging to get the most out of a short-term course. Ensure that you pick a learning style and mode that will suit your schedule.  

How to Learn Data Management: Step-by-Step

You can learn about data management by following the simple steps below.

1. Purchase and install software. If you want to learn more about data management, you will have to download one of the types of data management software available online. You may choose to try out 1010data, Amazon Web Services, Ataccama, or Cloudera.
2.  Watch data management tutorials. You can also gain more information on data management best practices by watching tutorials from data scientists. There are several ways to integrate data from outside sources, and tutorials will help you get a better understanding of these methods.
3. Enroll in data management classes. While attending a class, you will get to learn all about data management and the various storage models. These classes can also help you meet your peers in the industry and make connections. 
4.  Read books. There are many books on data management strategies and best practices. These will help you gain more in-depth insight.  
5. Practice. To get good at managing data, you must continually practice and stay updated with recent developments in the field.  

The Best Data Management Courses and Training

Enrolling in a course in data management is a good idea if you are serious about learning more. These courses are becoming more popular due to the increasing amounts of data that organizations must handle. Today, more businesses are interested in using this data to improve their profit margins. 

In the list below, we have compiled the best available resources to help you learn the principles of data management. The versatility among these courses will allow you to select the one that is most appropriate for your goals.

Best In-Person Data Management Courses and Training

If you prefer an in-person classroom setting, you should consider one of the following courses. 

Data Management Training

• Provider: DataONE
• Time: 2 days
• Prerequisites: None

In this course, you will learn about data modeling, metadata, publication, and how to use the programming language R, as well as how to understand data visualization and workflows. This is usually an in-person training session, but it is currently being conducted remotely due to COVID-19. 

Data Management and Visualizations

• Provider: Coursera
• Time: 2 days
• Prerequisites: None

After completing this course, you will be ready to tackle all types of data-related challenges. You will learn how to describe variables and the relationships between types of data, as well as how to calculate statistics and make comprehensive data presentations. 

Best Online Data Management Courses

Database Management System from Scratch

• Provider: Udemy
• Time: 12 hours
• Prerequisites: None

This course will help you learn the basic concepts of database management systems. It is a great course for beginners and will give you proper guidance toward getting started in database management. It consists of more than 105 pre-recorded lectures. 

Databases and SQL for Data Science

• Provider: IBM
• Time: 13 hours
• Prerequisites: None

This IBM course is for beginners who are interested in data management and data handling. In it, you will learn how to create and access a database, write basic SQL statements, and access databases created with open-source platforms like Jupyter and the programming language Python. 

Best Free Data Management Courses

One of the best things about the Internet is that it gives you access to tons of information at no cost. These are the best free courses available on data management.

Data management and Visualization 

• Provider: Wesleyan University
• Time: 4 weeks
• Prerequisites: None

This course will give you a deeper understanding of how to use visualizations in data management. You will be able to use Python or the analytics software SAS to manage and visualize your data. 

Data management in the Cloud

• Provider: Arizona State University
• Time: 3 weeks
• Prerequisites: None

By the end of the course, you will have a good grasp of all the essential characteristics of data processing in the cloud. You will also study the key models of Amazon Web Services and how to implement them. 

Database Management Essentials

• Provider: University of Colorado
• Time: 7 weeks
• Prerequisites: None

This course is essential if you want to learn to create databases, write SQL statements, and analyze table designs for redundancy. 

Best Data Management Books

If you prefer a more traditional style of learning, it might be a good idea to check out some of these books that are available online.

Data Management: Databases and Organizations by Richard Watson

This book covers the design and maintenance of computer-based organizational memory. In it, you will read about data visualizations, text mining, computer clusters, and dashboards. Watson has in-depth knowledge of how to handle data and utilize it for business success. 

DAMA-DMBOK: Data Management Body of Knowledge by DAMA international

This comprehensive book outlines the challenges, complexities, and value of effective data management. In it, you will learn about the ethics of data handling, data storage and operations, data security, and metadata management. It is an excellent book for anyone looking to explore data management in depth. 

Master data management and Data Governance by Alex Berson 

This resource will help learners plan and implement data management solutions, develop master data models, ensure compliance with regulations, and deploy data hubs. It is a definitive guide for helping businesses make sure they are using data legally.  

The DAMA Guide to the Data Management Body of Knowledge by DAMA

This text was compiled by over 100 data management practitioners. It is highly recommended for IT specialists, executives, educators, and researchers. It will teach you about data security, data development, data governance, data architecture management, and metadata management. 

Data Management Using Stata: A Practical Handbook by Michael n Mitchell

This excellent book uses visuals and simple language to teach beginners how to perform specific data management tasks. It will also help readers identify common mistakes in data management and how to avoid them. 

Best Online Data Management Resources

There are many resources online that will help you learn more about data management. It is not always easy to find reliable sources online, but we have compiled this list to help you out.

Data Management Skillbuilding

DataONE Education Modules offers a series of PowerPoint slideshows, webinars, and tutorials.

Mantra

This is a free online course from the University of Edinburgh that teaches about data lakes, cloud-based data, and general tips on how to organize, plan, share, and store data.

National Network of Libraries of Medicine

This resource provides listservs, online courses, tutorials, and links to other courses related to proper data management. 

PARTHENOS Training Modules

This website contains a list of resources touching on data collection and how to manage data-driven businesses. It provides a lot of training modules related to research data. 

Should You Study Data Management?

Huge volumes of data are generated every day. Organizations and businesses must have proper data management solutions to process this amount of information efficiently. Luckily, there are now programs that make it easier than ever before to improve productivity and organize data effectively. 

Companies rely on data to make vital decisions. It is a valuable resource for business intelligence.Studying data management will put you in line for some of the top careers that are expected to grow for years to come. In this role, you can help give your company a sense of direction. Data management is a highly sought-after skill with promising prospects, especially as the amount of information available to companies continues to increase due to technology.