Excellent Custom «Data Storage and Retrieval System» Free Essay

Hotel Information System

An information system is useful in the gathering, storage, processing and dissemination of beneficial information covering all aspects of business. Therefore, it would be valuable in a hotel due to the several interrelated components that avail relevant information useful in the operations and management of the hotel (Walker & Walker, 2012). Some of these elements include dataware, hardware, liveware, and NetWare. The primary goal of a hotel information system will be to deliver the right data to the right people at the right time at minimum cost. It will form the basis of a hotel’s business system with the aim of improving various processes such as planning, performance and management of business operations. Also, its use will enable the organization to utilize various innovations, thus, enhance the quality of services rendered by the hotel. Therefore, the adoption of an integrated hotel information system will lead to a more efficient management process.

Data Storage and Retrieval System

Data is a vital resource that requires proper management in every kind of business. A data storage and retrieval system will ease the management of valuable business information. It will speed up the process of retrieval and usage, which will lead to significant reduction in the time used to locate files manually as well as better productivity and efficiency  (Fitzsimmons & Fitzsimmons, 2013). In addition, the data storage and retrieval system will relieve the hotel staff of unnecessary work, hence, minimize employee stress and create conducive working environment. Also, it will boost the confidence of the customers and other stakeholders in the business as it improves transparency in the operations of the firm. Therefore, increased transparency minimizes the misuse or misappropriation of resources. For instance, the business will be able to use the system to manage crucial information such as tax records in an efficient manner and access it quickly to verify regulatory compliance.

Online Access

The rapid advancements in information technology such as online platforms have a tremendous impact on the competitiveness of business in all industries. Businesses often utilize them to gain a competitive advantage, thus, it is important that the hotel has adequate online access to its data (Fitzsimmons & Fitzsimmons, 2013). First, having comprehensive information on an online medium will be useful for the sales and marketing department. The information will arouse interest of customers who desire specific services that the hotel offers. Also, the online platform will provide useful knowledge to clients as they can access reviews from previous users and know what to expect during their stay. The business will gain profit by creating awareness about sales offers and promotions such as holiday discounts, thus, enhance its ability to achieve its set objectives (Walker & Walker, 2012). Lastly, it will improve the convenience of accessing the hotel services for customers as they can make instant bookings on the system.

Challenges Due To Lack of a Proper Data Storage and Retrieval System

A business that does not have a proper data storage and retrieval system will experience issues with processing large volumes of data  (Walker & Walker, 2012). Previously, the hotel has experienced an increase in the number of errors in room management and guest accounting through cases of multiple room allocations due to the lack of a stable way to ascertain room occupancy status. Moreover, the limitations associated with centralized access to guest data have an adverse impact on the timely delivery of services. The business cannot determine essential information such as booking times, especially when guests made reservations early to take advantage of promotions and other hotel programs  (Fitzsimmons & Fitzsimmons, 2013). Also, the shortcomings of the system have led to the failure to track right customer information, hence, hindering the prioritization of clients’ needs. The shortcomings have barred effective communication and sharing of information with customers seeking the hotel services.

Data Quality Implementation Plan

The plan has to be consistent with the hotel’s vision, mission and values. Its development must focus on the success factors that will ensure excellent data quality. The adoption of the system must incorporate measures to monitor information quality through tracking the progress of its critical factors. The launch of the system should be preceded by a testing stage to determine its usability by seeking user feedback and introduce any changes if necessary (Power, Sharda, & Burstein, 2015). The system should include a consumer satisfaction survey tool to gather feedback from clients who interact with it. The hotel should include improvement measures in the plan to ensure that system continually meets data quality needs (Stair & Reynolds, 2013). The system will achieve long-term success if it fulfills customer needs, is user-friendly, and meets current and emerging data quality needs.

Storage Technology

The data storage and retrieval system will use internal hard drive technology that comes with the computer. The method is convenient because the system will be located on a single machine (Power, Sharda, & Burstein, 2015). Additionally, the storage technology has great read or write speed. It will also incorporate data sharing among multiple computers in the hotel information system. Moreover, network-attached storage (NAS) will help in data sharing at high speeds and file access for numerous customers. NAS will allow for data archiving and backup due to its simplicity of drive mirroring and its high storage capacity (Stair & Reynolds, 2013). Redundant array of independent disks (RAID) will be necessary in the system as the unique technology will provide superior features such as high data availability, fault tolerance, security, and high dependability, which will simplify online data access to the customers.

Electronic Information Preservation

An active electronic information preservation method will enable the hotel to meet its business goals and improve the efficiency of its operations. Emulation and migration preservation methods of electronic information will be ideal for the hotel as they will ensure the maintenance of authenticity and reliability of the stored data (Deegan & Tanner, 2013). Emulation software will mimic a hardware or software thereby preserving electronic records. It will also maintain the original style and appearance of the electronic information. Conversely, migration preservation transfers information records from one generation of software or hardware to the next. The use of migration method coupled with modern technology will guarantee maximum accessibility of the stored information (Deegan & Tanner, 2013). However, it is important to note that migration will require the hotel to invest heavily, especially to adapt to the fast advancements that it will experience.

Search Facility

The hotel information system will have a tool that will allow users to retrieve documents and texts. The search options will utilize software to enhance information retrieval from different databases. Therefore, the search tool will locate relevant information depending on the user input, especially the use of keywords (Larose, 2014). The corporate website will also incorporate a search engine for information retrieval. It will handle queries through searching keywords and rank the retrieved results by their level of relevance. Moreover, the data storage and retrieval system will have the capabilities to perform the keyword search in text retrieval, relevance ranking, similarity base recovery, concept-based querying and indexing (Larose, 2014). The returning of information in document retrieval would rely on the relevance score given by the search engine.

Web Crawling

Web crawling refers to the methodical process of searching for content on the Internet, which allows users to search for various content on the web in an efficient way. Web crawling allows search engines to process indexes of all pages visited by the users (Larose, 2014).  Firstly, the hotel will utilize web crawling to provide current data and facilitate web searching. Then, the information system will employ web crawling in the automation of the maintenance tasks on its website. The web crawler will keep a copy of the visited pages for processing by the search engine before indexing of the same (Deegan & Tanner, 2013). The hotel will use the information seen by the web crawler to determine its relevance to the customers and make any necessary adjustments. It will use parallel crawlers to extract better results in the shortest time possible.

Mining

The hotel information system will execute content mining to react effectively to the customers’ needs. Content mining will enable the management to extract better and more relevant details on the search queries run by their clients (Larose, 2014). It will provide information such as a client’s location, their expenditure on recreation, and preferred vacation times, which will be beneficial in the formulation of marketing strategies. Therefore, the hotel will use content mining to guide important marketing decisions that will improve its business (Power, Sharda, & Burstein, 2015). Also, it will assist the organization to predict behavior trends of its clients. Consequently, the analysis of customer transaction and occupancy data will be useful in strategic market planning. For instance, the information obtained will support the marketing department in making informed decisions on the kinds of incentives that resonate with different categories of the hotel’s clients.