Computer require maintenance, and that requires some type of monitoring system that allows for the collection and storage of data regarding its functions and their operations. The computer has built into it, programs and storage spaces for exactly this function. Has your computer software ever crashed and you obtained this little dialog box that asked you to transmit the data to the operating system manufacturer? If not, I think I want your computer. This is part of the maintenance data collection system.

When that box appears if asks if you want to inform the manufacturer of the problem. What is sends is not a “Hi Joe, I crashed, we have a problem,” message. What is transmits is the conditions of the software crash, the information regarding how and when it happened. It collects data on what function was being accessed when the crash occurred. All of this allows the manufacturer to find where the problem is located and what function is causing the problem. The collection of this maintenance data is the goal of a maintenance data collection system. It does it mostly through the internet now and uses a web based data collection system. However, this is tons of data, and the system designed to handle it needs to be sufficient to collect, collate, analyze and store the data for future retrieval and use.

The Internet’s Role in Maintenance Data Collection System in Computing

It used to be when your software crashed you were required to call the software manufacturer and obtain help to get the software working again. While this is frustrating to the user, it is not as helpful to the company as an automated maintenance data collection system. That report gives you everything you need to analyze a problem, without the human interface disconnect. Often the relation of the problem to the tech support is less than fully complete and the recording of all of the data is less than complete. This means that you have failed to obtain the data necessary to fashion a solution. The maintenance data collection system overcomes this issue. The internet has made this so very simple. The report, generated by the computer, obtains the information requested by the manufacturer, transmits it to the manufacturer and you restart your software.

The use of the data obtained by the maintenance data collection system is up to each company. Not every company uses the data to find solutions and not every company finds it useful to address all the concerns raised by the system. However, if the maintenance data collection system shows that a high percentage of the users are all having the same problem, barring addressing each computer’s architecture, the company makes changes, fixes, updates, patches, etc. The value is that you can make an informed choice for the changes, fixes, updates and patches.

An automated data collection system is another phrase for a computer based data collection system. All that means is that some type of technology gathers requested data, organizes it and stores it. We have this type of automated data collection system working around every day of our lives, we just usually do not pay attention to it. The maintenance data collection system in your desktop or laptop computer is such a system. The computer creates and stores the maintenance that occurs on your system, using temp files and other files to do so. This data can be accessed by programs inside the computer operating system to determine what is causing problems with your system. Many other systems besides computer have an inbuilt automated data collection system. What products have automated data collection system built in?

Your car has an automated data collection system, at least cars since the late 1970s. If you have watched a mechanic, anytime lately, you’ve seen him access a data port and connect his computer to your car and find out what information has been stored.

Your oven has an automated data collection system, at least in the last few years, ovens have begun to be able to be programmed for maintenance and food preparation.

Your refrigerator has an automated data collection system, though it has become more complex to monitor different functions inside the refrigerator and alter the conditions for optimal food storage.

Your cell phone has an automated data collection system, and hundreds of other items. It logs changes to its functions, and it phone books, and games. You can save a game and restart it while you are waiting for the mechanic’s computer to speak with your car, and your oven turns on the heat for the preparation of your food.

Accessing that data from all these appliances and electronics to gather it, analyze it and store it, requires an automated data collection system. You cannot go to the home of each person that has purchased one of these items and ask them to allow your to download the information. Likewise, most automated data collection systems require a more systematic and less intrusive method of gathering the information.

With the advent of the new, very micro, technology for information transmittal, many items can now “call” the company for updating information. Your computer does this most often with its setting from the factory, most of which you have to turn off, not turn on. All of this allows for a creative automated data collection system design to gather what a company needs.

A database is the end result of a data collection system, and one of the methods of collection is a computer based data collection system, also called an automated data collection system. When you need data, you want to obtain it in an organized fashion so that it is usable and easily accessible. If the computer or other automation is used to collect the data, and organize it, the data is usually presented in a table or spreadsheet format. From the table or spreadsheet format the data can be manipulated and organized so that it is easy to determine patterns. One computer based data collection system we are all familiar with is the e-mail address book. Every time you send or receive and e-mail, the address is collected and stored in your e-mail address book, organized or sortable by name or e-mail address. The e-mail program is designed and coded to have it find all the addresses and store them in a spreadsheet format. One that spreadsheet is created you may access it. However, you never see the spreadsheet format, because the program has designed and built in an interface which display the information in a dialog box.

The end result of this, computer based data collection system is a two fold result, a full collection of all e-mail address you have sent to or received from, in a organized format, and the ability to auto-complete the address you start typing.

The Value of a Computer Based Data Collection System

There are several values in using a computer based data collection system, a couple that are not obvious. The first value, is that using a computer to create a computer based data collection system, saves the company from having to have an employee find the data and input it. Thus, for the cost of a computer you can avoid the costs of an employee, but there is a down side. The computer cannot reason and you will have some junk data in your computer based data collection system.

The next value in a computer based data collection system is the computer can process and collect, huge amounts of data without anywhere near the same man-hours. Once again, though, you will have some junk data.

Once you have all of this data, the computer based data collection system can produce it in several formats, and sorted by the criteria you select.

The not very obvious value is that collection of data can be done surreptitiously. A computer can be set to monitor any function that goes through its processor, and can log anything about that function. This allows for a computer based data collection system to produce information about a function, without the operator being aware.

A data collection system is exactly what it sounds like, and can be created in several different ways. Examples of a data collection system is a library book checkout system, a telephone address book, your e-mail address book, a database, an accounting system, a file cabinet and a calendar system or day planner system. A data collection system is any type of system that obtains data and organizes in some fashion so that it is available to be viewed and analyzed. Sometimes the organization is a simple as putting the names in your telephone address book in alphabetical order, and sometimes its as complex as the governments databases of information from the military. However, they all contain the same goal, to organize data in a method that allows you to extract the data you need without having to read every bit of data in file or collection. The system of collection and organization is what the different systems listed above all don’t have in common.

We use the phrase “database” regularly without understanding how different databases can be from each other and how complex they can be. A database is the end result of a data collection system. If you are old enough to remember when library books has a card in them that you had punched or marked when you checked out a book, you remember a data collection system. After you checked out your book they marked in the book when it was due and took the card and marked when it was due. They then filed that card in a file container, usually by date of when the book was due. Now computers are used to check our books so you have a computer based data collection system. So the organization allowed you to know what books were due to be returned on what day. The cards could have been organized alphabetically, as the name of the book was on the top of the card. However, that would be of little use to the library, because you would have to go through all twenty-six letters of the alphabet and look at each card to determine if when the books were to be returned. Therefore, the organization was best suited to be in numerical order from one to thirty-one, allowing the librarian to determine which books were due on any given day of the month.

What Businesses Use a Data Collection System?

All businesses use a data collection system, and in today’s world most of them have a computer based data collection system. The collect and organize the names and addresses of their customers, the maintain the data of sales, receivables and employee time worked. They all organize and use the information differently but the collect it, organize it and use it; that is the essence of a data collection system.

All businesses use data collection systems, they just don’t call them that. They call them accounting programs, e-mail programs, bulk mailing programs and telephone systems. If this list seems a bit strange, think about it. All of these collect data, store it and organize it. Before businesses used computers, they still had in place, at lease one business data collection system; double entry accounting. They usually had more because they had filing cabinets, address and telephone books and a calendar. While the computer has automated many of these systems, it is still a business data collection system.

Collection of data, storage of data and organization of data is imperative to any business. Collection can include obtaining phone numbers from printed phone books, online data collection of those who visit your website, obtaining addresses of business to which you will mail a brochure, and collecting your accounting data to determine your expenses and income. There are many more, but insufficient room to list them all. All of this data is worthless unless you can collect it in one spot.

Collection of data, is not all a business data collection system accomplishes. All this data is most useless if you cannot store it. The man-hours to recreate it, every time you need to view it, would be extensive and wasteful. The storage of the data must be efficient and reliable, again for the same reason.

The last function of a business data collection system is the output of the data. Now if the program simply spit out all the data you input in the same way you input it, there would be no usefulness in its collection or storage. The ultimate goal of an business data collection system is to organize the data in a useful, easy to read and understand format so can have the data you want.

An Accounting Program Can Be Used Online to Gather Data

Many accounting programs today have an online e-commerce interface, which allows for the gathering of data regarding online purchases, made by customers. Name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, purchase choices, taxes paid and shipping address are all just a few of the normal items that are collected by the business data collection system. Additional items can be programmed and tracked by the e-commerce interface, limited only by the law and the programmers imagination in asking questions website visitors will answer.

However a business data collection system tracks the information you want, it may be compromised. Many of the new virus programs specifically disallow cookies to be placed. Those that are placed cannot transmit through some programs.