Databases for Small Business: Essentials of Database Management, Data Analysis, and Staff Training for Entrepreneurs and Professionals

by Anna Manning

Overview

This book covers the practical aspects of database design, data cleansing, data analysis, and data protection, among others. The focus is on what you really need to know to create the right database for your small business and to leverage it most effectively to spur growth and revenue.

Databases for Small Business is a practical handbook for entrepreneurs, managers, staff, and professionals in small organizations who are not IT specialists but who recognize the need to ramp up their small organizations’ use of data and to round out their own business expertise and office skills with basic database proficiency.

Anna Manning—a data scientist who has worked on database design and data analysis in a computer science university research lab, her own small business, and a nonprofit—walks you through the progression of steps that will enable you to extract actionable intelligence and maximum value from your business data in terms of marketing, sales, customer relations, decision making, and business strategy.

Dr. Manning illustrates the steps in the book with four running case studies of a small online business, an engineering startup, a small legal firm, and a nonprofit organization.

Databases for Small Business teaches non-techie entrepreneurs and professionals how to:

• Design a small business database from scratch
• Extract the maximum profit from your data
• Follow guidance on data protection law
• Effectively use data collection and data cleansing techniques
• Train staff to leverage your data

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781484202784
Publisher:	Apress
Publication date:	11/19/2015
Edition description:	1st ed.
Pages:	318
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.25(h) x (d)

About the Author

Anna Manning is a founding director of an engineering startup company, having worked for eight years as a data scientist at Manchester University. A specialist in data mining and data protection, she contributed to the development of software for protecting confidential data now used by national statistics agencies worldwide. She served as a data analyst and database administrator for large and small law firms and for a nonprofit organization. Dr Manning’s papers in the field of data mining have been published in various research journals. She has a PhD in data mining and a Master’s degree in Informatics from the University of Manchester, an honors degree in Law from the University of Law, and a BA Hons. in Mathematics from Trinity College, Dublin.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1. How Data Can Benefit Your Small Business.-
Chapter 2. A Small Engineering Company: Case Study.-
Chapter 3. A Small Law Firm: Case Study.-
Chapter 4. A Small Nonprofit: Case Study.-
Chapter 5. Aligning Your Database With the Goals of Your Small Business.-
Chapter 6. Choosing between Spreadsheets and Databases.-
Chapter 7. Designing Your Small Business Database.-
Chapter 8. Data Protection Laws and Your Data Security and Privacy Policy.-
Chapter 9. Collecting Your Data.-
Chapter 10. Cleansing Your Data.-
Chapter 11. Maintaining Your Database.-
Chapter 12. Searching Your Database.-
Chapter 13. Analyzing Your Data.-
Chapter 14. Reporting Your Small Business Data Analysis.-
Chapter 15. Acting on Reports.-
Chapter 16. Acting on Outside Requests.-
Chapter 17. Archiving and Retrieving Your Small Business Data.-
Chapter 18. Storing Your Database in the Cloud.-
Chapter 19. Searching Online Databases for Your Small Business Needs.-
Chapter 20. Training Your Staff.-
Appendix.-

Editorial Reviews

Well, after reading it, I may say one thing – it is an interesting book, covering many topics around a database … . if you are a manager of a company, and you have never heard about Databases nor you have some IT skills, this is probably the best book in the market to start with – the technical information will really not bother you, and the examples would be understandable. Thus, any grade is really possible for this book.” (Vitosh Academy, vitoshacademy.com, July, 2016)

From the Publisher