The other popular method to protect an investment in an RMIS is the selection of a vendor that stores its data in one of the computer industry's common formats, such as xBASE, Informix or Oracle. Selection of an open format to store data reduces the risk of losing data, since other software applications can provide access to these formats. Many organizations believe as long as they can access their data, it's not lost-and if the data can be accessed, it can always be transferred to another RMIS vendor. Unfortunately, this couldn't be further from the truth. Just because data is in an industry format doesn't ensure it can be easily interpreted.
Raw data are like words and databases are like languages.
Just because someone knows how to speak English doesn't mean he or she knows the meaning of all English words or can understand the meaning of complex sentences and paragraphs. Open formats do provide some degree of security in that the data is accessible. But they offer little assurance that the data will be able to be interpreted, transferred or used as intended. There are, however, other options. New ways to protect data are beginning to evolve.