Data systems transform raw data into valuable data that can be used for a variety of applications and industries. They encompass all technologies that are involved in collecting data and processing it, storing it, and transferring it. They comprise software, hardware, storage, networks, and interconnection devices and mechanisms. Data systems also contain middleware software that allows disparate operating and administrative systems to communicate with each and each.
The Pandemic-Ready Data Modernization Initiative http://www.virtualdatareviews.com/board-room-software-that-will-be-one-of-the-most-used/ of the CDC is an example. It seeks to improve the system of data in local and state departments of health, allowing them to better respond to public-health emergencies like COVID-19. This initiative is a crucial aspect of President Biden’s plan to prepare for another pandemic. Colleges are essential to this effort because they play a significant role in defining, testing and deploying fundamental elements of a data system.
A data system is essentially any collection of symbols or operations that manipulate symbols. One example is the study of human speech at the phoneme level or an Incan artifact, known as the khipu. Another example is the storage of an image as pixels.
A satellite orbiting the Earth generates a constant stream of data that must be stored, processed and transmitted back to Earth. This onboard data handling is a computer, but not the kind we have on our desktops. Spacecraft onboard data systems have been created and built to handle the unique requirements of space. Radiation in space can rapidly damage microprocessors that aren’t protected. The onboard data systems have to also handle telecommands transmitted to the spacecraft to control it and collect the necessary housekeeping telemetry to downlink from Earth.