A data architect is a person responsible for ensuring that the data assets of an organization are supported by an architecture supporting the organization in achieving its strategic goals. The architecture should cover database

Database

A database is an organized collection of data for one or more purposes, usually in digital form. The data are typically organized to model relevant aspects of reality , in a way that supports processes requiring this information...

s, data integration

Data integration

Data integration involves combining data residing in different sources and providing users with a unified view of these data.This process becomes significant in a variety of situations, which include both commercial and scientific domains...

 and the means to get to the data. Usually the data architect achieves his/her goals via setting enterprise data standards. A Data Architect can also be referred to as a Data Modeler, although the role involves much more than just creating data model

Data model

A data model in software engineering is an abstract model, that documents and organizes the business data for communication between team members and is used as a plan for developing applications, specifically how data is stored and accessed....

s.

The definition of an IT architecture used in ANSI/IEEE Std 1471-2000

IEEE 1471

IEEE 1471 is an IEEE Standard for describing the architecture of a software-intensive system, also known as software architecture.- Overview :...

 is:
The fundamental organization of a system, embodied in its components, their relationships to each other and the environment, and the principles governing its design and evolution., where the data architect primarily focuses on the aspects related to data.

In TOGAF (the Open Group Architecture Framework) http://www.togaf.org, architecture has two meanings depending upon its contextual usage:

• A formal description of a system, or a detailed plan of the system at component level to guide its implementation
• The structure of components, their inter-relationships, and the principles and guidelines governing their design and evolution over time.

According to DAMA (Data Management

Data management

Data management comprises all the disciplines related to managing data as a valuable resource.- Overview :The official definition provided by DAMA International, the professional organization for those in the data management profession, is: "Data Resource Management is the development and execution...

 Association)http://www.dama.org, , Data Architect is often interchangeable with, but includes enterprise architecture considerations. A DAMA recognized Certified Data Management Professional would have a wide range of such skills.

Translating this to Data architecture

Data architecture

Data Architecture in enterprise architecture is the design of data for use in defining the target state and the subsequent planning needed to achieve the target state...

 helps defining the role of the data architect as the one responsible for developing and maintaining a formal description of the data and data structures - this can include data definitions, data models, data flow diagram

Data flow diagram

A data flow diagram is a graphical representation of the "flow" of data through an information system, modelling its process aspects. Often they are a preliminary step used to create an overview of the system which can later be elaborated...

s, etc. (in short metadata

Metadata

The term metadata is an ambiguous term which is used for two fundamentally different concepts . Although the expression "data about data" is often used, it does not apply to both in the same way. Structural metadata, the design and specification of data structures, cannot be about data, because at...

). Data architecture

Data architecture

Data Architecture in enterprise architecture is the design of data for use in defining the target state and the subsequent planning needed to achieve the target state...

 includes topics such as metadata management, business semantics, data modeling and metadata workflow management.

A data architect's job frequently includes the set up a metadata registry

Metadata registry

A metadata registry is a central location in an organization where metadata definitions are stored and maintained in a controlled method.-Use of Metadata Registries:...

 and allows domain-specific stakeholders to maintain their own data elements.

Some fundamental skills of a Data Architect are:

• Logical Data modeling
  Logical data model
  A logical data model in systems engineering is a representation of an organization's data, organized in terms of entities and relationships and is independent of any particular data management technology.- Overview :...
  
  
• Physical Data modeling
  Physical data model
  A physical data model is a representation of a data design which takes into account the facilities and constraints of a given database management system. In the lifecycle of a project it is typically derived from a logical data model, though it may be reverse-engineered from a given database...
  
  
• Development of a data strategy and associated polices
• Selection of capabilities and systems to meet business information needs

A Data Strategy enumerates the Data Policies each of which commit the organization to codifying a best practice. A policy may specify any one area of data standards; data security

Data security

Data security is the means of ensuring that data is kept safe from corruption and that access to it is suitably controlled. Thus data security helps to ensure privacy. It also helps in protecting personal data. Data security is part of the larger practice of Information security.- Disk Encryption...

 or Information Assurance

Information Assurance

Information assurance is the practice of managing risks related to the use, processing, storage, and transmission of information or data and the systems and processes used for those purposes...

; data retention

Data retention

Data retention defines the policies of persistent data and records management for meeting legal and business data archival requirements. A data retention policy weighs legal and privacy concerns against economics and need to know concerns to determine both the retention time, archival rules, data...

 or data steward

Data steward

In metadata, a data steward is a person that is responsible for maintaining a data element in a metadata registry. A data steward may share some responsibilities with a data custodian....

ship.

Data architects usually have experience in one or more of the following technologies:

• Data dictionaries
  Data dictionary
  A data dictionary, or metadata repository, as defined in the IBM Dictionary of Computing, is a "centralized repository of information about data such as meaning, relationships to other data, origin, usage, and format." The term may have one of several closely related meanings pertaining to...
  
  
• Data warehousing
  Data warehouse
  In computing, a data warehouse is a database used for reporting and analysis. The data stored in the warehouse is uploaded from the operational systems. The data may pass through an operational data store for additional operations before it is used in the DW for reporting.A data warehouse...
  
  
• Enterprise application integration
  Enterprise application integration
  Enterprise Application Integration is defined as the use of software and computer systems architectural principles to integrate a set of enterprise computer applications.- Overview :...
  
  
• Metadata registry
  Metadata registry
  A metadata registry is a central location in an organization where metadata definitions are stored and maintained in a controlled method.-Use of Metadata Registries:...
  
  
• Relational Databases
  Relational database
  A relational database is a database that conforms to relational model theory. The software used in a relational database is called a relational database management system . Colloquial use of the term "relational database" may refer to the RDBMS software, or the relational database itself...
  
  
• Semantics
  Semantics
  Semantics is the study of meaning. It focuses on the relation between signifiers, such as words, phrases, signs and symbols, and what they stand for, their denotata....
  
  
• Data retention
  Data retention
  Data retention defines the policies of persistent data and records management for meeting legal and business data archival requirements. A data retention policy weighs legal and privacy concerns against economics and need to know concerns to determine both the retention time, archival rules, data...
  
  
• Structured Query Language (SQL)
• Procedural SQL
• XML
  XML
  Extensible Markup Language is a set of rules for encoding documents in machine-readable form. It is defined in the XML 1.0 Specification produced by the W3C, and several other related specifications, all gratis open standards....
  
  , including schema definitions
  XML schema
  An XML schema is a description of a type of XML document, typically expressed in terms of constraints on the structure and content of documents of that type, above and beyond the basic syntactical constraints imposed by XML itself...
  
   and transformations
  XSLT
  XSLT is a declarative, XML-based language used for the transformation of XML documents. The original document is not changed; rather, a new document is created based on the content of an existing one. The new document may be serialized by the processor in standard XML syntax or in another format,...
  
  .

See also

• Data modeling
  Data modeling
  Data modeling in software engineering is the process of creating a data model for an information system by applying formal data modeling techniques.- Overview :...
  
  
• Information security
  Information security
  Information security means protecting information and information systems from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, perusal, inspection, recording or destruction....
  
  
• Semantic spectrum
  Semantic spectrum
  The semantic spectrum is a series of increasingly precise or rather semantically expressive definitions for data elements in knowledge representations, especially for machine use.At the low end of the spectrum is a simple binding of a single word or phrase and its...
  
  
• Data Architecture Training Courses