These standards are even more important in a large complex environment such as the Commonwealth. Data definition and usage standards are essential to consistent and accurate data reporting and analysis. Data definition standards often encompass standard values for a data field in addition to a standard definition for that piece of information. Support costs are a very significant portion of the cost of ownership in information technology. A well defined set of standards can provide the needed level of flexibility while, at the same time, providing for reduced support costs and economies of scale.
Standards are essential in ensuring that systems can communicate.
Standards such as network protocols and interfaces between applications allow systems on a variety of hardware and even operating systems platforms to share information. An organization must adopt a set of standards that provides some level of flexibility while at the same time ensuring compatibility across the organization. Standards may indicate a particular vendor or even a particular product from that vendor. In other cases the standard may be more generic. The Commonwealth should identify the areas where standards are appropriate.