What is a Data Repository?

Types of Data Repositories

A data repository could be a large-scale server, hard drive, or Desktop folder. All of the company’s data relating to its clients, products, and employees are kept in this location. Information regarding the origins of data is kept in metadata repositories, along with information about the data’s storage method, and intended use. Data repositories are generally categorized in the following ways:

Data Warehouse

A data warehouse is a system used to analyze and report on structured and semi-structured data from a variety of sources, including point-of-sale transactions, marketing automation, customer relationship management, and more.

Data Lake

A data lake is a centralized repository that enables you to store all of your structured and unstructured data at any scale. Data is typically stored in its raw formats, such as object blobs or files.

Data Mart

A data mart is a subset of a data warehouse that focuses on certain areas of a business, such as a branch, department, team, or a specific job role.

Metadata Repositories

A metadata repository is used to store information about the physical data structures. The purpose of metadata is to ensure that data is FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Re-usable).

Data Cubes

A data cube is a data structure that is essentially a multi-dimensional array of values. While many data professionals feel that data cubes have a better user interface than traditional data warehouses, they are generally used because they speed up data queries. That said, creating and modifying data cubes can be a time-consuming process and requires advanced data modeling techniques.

Advantages of Using a Data Repository

Data is essential for business decisions. In contrast to depending solely on gut feelings or anecdotal evidence, it can be used to make informed choices. Storing data in a repository makes it easier to report on and evaluate because the data is grouped together. Because of the partitioning and segregation in data repositories, database managers can more easily trace issues.

Disadvantages of Using a Data Repository

Database management systems must be scalable to keep up with the expansion of data. All of the data stored in a repository might be impacted by a system crash. Likewise, if all sensitive data is kept in one place, it will be simpler for hackers to access it. In order to minimize potential damages in the event of a crash or security breach, you will need to back up and isolate access to the data.

How Can Lepide Help to Secure Your Data Repositories?

While data repositories are great for creating a centralized space for your data and making it more available for analysis, you will still have limited direct visibility into how data stored in your repository is being accessed and used.

The Lepide Data Security Platform is designed to simplify the process of auditing your critical assets and provides real-time alerts that can be delivered to your inbox or mobile phone.

Using Lepide, all important changes are summarised via a centralized dashboard, where you can see who made what changes, when, from where, using what device, and so on. It uses machine learning models to establish a baseline of typical user behavior, which can be used to identify anomalous activity.

The platform also has “threshold alerting” capabilities, which, amongst other things, can be used to detect and respond to ransomware attacks.

Finally, the Lepide Data Security Platform comes with a built-in data classification tool that will scan your repositories for sensitive data, and classify the data as it is found. You also have the option to classify data that pertains to the data protection laws that are relevant to your industry, thus making it easier to monitor and assign the appropriate access controls.

If you’d like to see how the Lepide Data Security Platform can help to secure your data repositories, schedule a demo with one of our engineers or start your free trial today.