First there were megabytes, then gigabytes, and now terabytes, and petabytes. “A petabyte is the equivalent of a stack of DVDs stretching from here to the moon.” -- GigaOM Network and they are coming to an exploration office near you. Geosoft has five suggestions for best practices to help you handle the data explosion and improve exploration data management.
Where to start?
- Clear the clutter. Identify which applications and formats are essential for your business and cull the rest.
- Find your coordinates. Ensure geographic coordinates are accurately recorded in the field, and managed as part of the data.
- Use classifications. Using classifications, such as continent, country, state/region, project name, and data type to organize the data, makes the discovery of data more efficient.
- Add descriptors. Establish and maintain a standard set of minimum required metadata fields for every dataset.
- Make it flow. Streamline your workflows to move the data through the system from collection to collaboration and ensure that all users know where to find existing data and where to put new data.
You can read more on this topic in the latest issue of Earth Explorer – Handling the Data Explosion.
