A semantic layer is a business representation of complex data into familiar professional terms to offer a unified view. The semantic layer permits consumers to track down and access data by using common business terms like recent purchase, consumer, etc. A semantic layer also presents the data in a human-readable form.
The universal semantic layer is said to be a single business representation of all corporate data. A universal semantic layer retrieves all data through common business terms using Business intelligence and analytics tools. It reduces the complexity of data, improves security, and streamlines data in an efficient manner,
BENEFITS OF A SEMANTIC LAYER:
Semantic layers present the data in a simple manner which makes it easier for the user to analyze it. A universal semantic layer helps to reduce the complexity of data and improves the productivity of the organization in an effective and efficient manner. Some of the benefits of the semantic layer are:
THE SEMANTIC LAYER IMPROVES SECURITY AND GOVERNANCE
Accessibility and security are said to be the greatest threat to data. In case of too much security, data analysts will not be able to perform their job in an efficient way which will compromise the integrity of the data. In cases of little security or no security, the enterprise will be compromised.
A perfect balance between the extremes can be achieved by using the semantic layer. It promotes data security and admins will not have to worry about users corrupting the data.
SEMANTIC LAYER ENHANCES COLLABORATION :
With the help of the semantic layer, teams can collaborate more effectively. It enables users to access data, search and share data easily, which helps to improve collaboration throughout the enterprise. This will also help the teams to make better decisions in less time.
The semantic layer streamlines the data and removes complexity from the process of accessing, finding, and analyzing data. This makes the analyst’s job easier and pushes them to work more efficiently.
SEMANTIC LAYER REDUCES DATA LATENCY :
Some data have a shelf life, if they are not used within a period of time they will be labeled as useless. This is extremely important in an IoT environment like logistics.
A semantic layer takes time into consideration and streamlines the data, it reduces the complexity in accessing data and enables the enterprise to benefit from the data quickly.
SELF-SERVICE REPORTING :
In today’s world, organizations generate data in various shapes and sizes and store them in different depositories. Without a semantic layer, users have to generate IT tickets to request an engineer to acquire the required data for them or they have to become a data architect to access the data. The risks associated with this approach are enormous.
This process is said to be slow, costly, and inconsistent with results. With many BI tools on the market, each tool tends to provide its own semantic layer which has its own business rules and so it provides different results.
This creates chaos and the user has to waste his time trying to figure out the right tool instead of accessing data and gaining value from it.
With a semantic layer, organizations can keep their data secured and standardized. Semantic layers help to obtain the data without any complexity and it yields consistent results.
OTHER USES OF SEMANTIC LAYER :
- Healthcare: Semantic layer provides all the relevant data which can be used to predict patients whose conditions may be deteriorating and more healthcare facilities can be assigned to that individual to improve his health.
- Travel: One of the major setbacks faced by travelers is finding the best price for airfare. Since the semantic layer provides access to data, travel agencies can use it to forecast the best prices and notify the consumers accordingly.
The semantic layer can be said to be the road to future innovations as it greatly influences the organizations by reducing the complexity of data. The benefits of the semantic layer improve the efficiency of the organization and help to increase the effectiveness.