The humble database affects almost every aspect of daily life -- from grocery store inventories and cable-TV subscriber information to marketing mailing lists and issuing payroll checks to employees. Databases aren't just for big business, though. You can create a handy personal or family database to keep track of just about anything, including your video game collection, recipes, contacts, music CDs and books.
Databases for Businesses
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The business world depends on databases 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Inventory, order processing, payroll, accounting, shipping and transportation routing are often tracked within a main database that keeps the company functioning.
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Databases for Education
From elementary schools to colleges, educational institutions use databases to keep track of students, grades, transfers, transcripts and other student data. There are even specialized database packages geared toward schools and colleges.
Databases for Non-Profits
Like businesses and educational institutions, non-profit organizations use systems to track information. Many charities and other non-profit groups use a database to store details of donations, volunteers, hours served in the community, clients helped and other information related to the organization.
Databases for Household and Family Management
The database also has a role in household and family management. Many people use databases to keep track of family birthdays, bills and expenses in the home; addresses of friends and relatives and movie/DVD collections.
Everyday Uses For Databases
Each time you make a purchase and the sales clerk asks for your address or ZIP code, your information is kept and stored on a customer database. These collections of data are used to send mailings of special offers, discounts and other deals.