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2.2 Background
For years information technology has been about processes and data. The focus
and energy have been on the building of systems and the business operation
of those systems. But after a lot of systems have been built and the case for
integration of information is made, it becomes apparent that another important
element of information has been neglected—metadata.
As long as there were only a few systems, programs, and databases, meta-
data was a subject that could be shuffled to the side. In this case, the people
involved are often able to manage the metadata through formal or informal
social groups. How many times have you heard ...