Reuse of defined data elements can streamline systems design and development. Provides current information on registered data standards. Thus, the oWR supports the data standards development process. Helps users know the meaning of an application's data and access rules. The oWR documents the registered data elements, permissible values associated with each data element, and the office responsible for the data.
Public users can find contact or source information for the data in which they are interested.
Supports information systems professionals by inventoring the information managed across organizations, by identifying redundant data collections, and by providing information needed to streamline data collection and integrate information stores. The oWR enables users, data administrators, document managers, and systems managers to register and retrieve the metadata that describe the full meaning and connotation of individual terms and data elements used and accessible from their database and document management systems. It maintains information about each registered term or data element so users can find out whether data elements in different systems, and terms used in different documents, refer to the same things or concepts. In addition, this data semantics management facility enables analysts to evaluate and document the degrees of similarity and difference that exist between similar or closely related concepts.