To start with the basics, why do Web sites and databases go together in the first place?
It's all about keeping the information fresh and relevant, says Steve McManus, general manager Asia-Pacific for database vendor FileMaker.
"I think the easy thing today is to get a Web site up," McManus says. "The hard thing is keeping it fresh and maintaining it."
Database-connected Web sites should allow the content to be put together by the people who know the most about it. "It's really down to workgroups to drive the content and the information that's on these Web sites. If you've got to introduce another party that's got to translate it and technically do it, it's inefficient and it slows the whole process up. It can also lead to miscommunication. It's better if the people can do it themselves--that way they can do it quicker, faster, and when they want it."
Nevertheless, these Web sites and databases need to fulfil specific and planned business purposes. "When you put a database in, you have to sit back and look at modules. That means looking at your [business] processes and workflows," says McManus. "Those things come before thinking about whether or not you need a Web site. A lot of companies get that wrong."
"I think it's a natural evolution once you've got processes and systems correctly documented: you've gotten rid of duplication and a lot of that happens because you've had to get a systems person in to database your business."
