Moving Data Is Not the Same as Preserving Meaning
Meaning Matters · Part 1
Moving Data Is Not the Same as Preserving Meaning
Data integration can move information from one system to another. Semantic integration makes sure the meaning survives the trip.
Interoperability problems are not simply about whether your organization can access data, but whether it can recover, test, and trust the same meaning after the data has moved.
Most organizations think they have an interoperability problem.
They have too many systems. Too many dashboards. Too many databases. Too many teams using different words for similar things and the same words for different things. So they buy a platform, build APIs, export data, create pipelines, and declare victory when the data finally moves from one place to another.
But moving data is not the same as preserving meaning.
A spreadsheet can be exported. A JSON object can be passed through an API. A table can be replicated from one system to another. None of that guarantees that the receiving system understands what the data means.
Take something as ordinary as location.
In one system, location might mean where an object was observed. In another, where it is assigned. In another, its last known position. In another, its expected destination. In another, a region associated with responsibility, ownership, service coverage, or responsibility.
Same field name
location
The field name is the same. The meaning is not.