Knowledge Accelerators data classes

The Knowledge Accelerators extend the set of data classes provided in IBM Knowledge Catalog with data classes describing types of data commonly found in assets across multiple industries, in addition to data classes based on industry standards such as ISO, FHIR, and CIM. These new data classes describe commonly used information in Energy and Utilities, Financial Services, Healthcare, Insurance, and other Cross Industry data sources.

Data classes describe the type and characteristics of data that is contained in data assets. They are used during IBM Knowledge Catalog metadata enrichment to profile data. The Knowledge Accelerators include industry-specific data classes that use the codes from reference data sets or valid values lists, add regular expressions to identify data patterns, or column name matching criteria.

The Knowledge Accelerators data classes enhance the ability of the IBM Knowledge Catalog enrichment process to recognize industry-specific data. The existing IBM Knowledge Catalog data classes and the new data classes that are provided by the Knowledge Accelerators are all combined in a new category hierarchy based on topics such as Demographics, Finance, and Location. This subcategorization allows them to be selectively included in different metadata enrichments to improve matching accuracy. As the data classes are pre-mapped to terms in the Business Core Vocabulary, metadata enrichment also automatically assigns the business term when it matches data in an asset to a data class.

Data classes that are relevant to personal data also have a classification of either Personal Information (PI) or Sensitive Personal Information (SPI) depending on the sensitivity of the data it describes. This classification helps in the identification of personal data in data assets and supports the application of data protection rules to control data access.

The data classes are fully customizable and if required, can be adjusted to focus on client specific reference data sets or column name matching restrictions.
Note:

The set of data classes that are provided with IBM Knowledge Catalog are held in the top-level 'Uncategorized' category. Importing any of the Knowledge Accelerators creates a copy of these data classes, with PI/SPI classifications added, and placed in subcategories of the new 'Data Classes' category hierarchy, alongside the new Knowledge Accelerators data classes.

The duplicate data classes can be removed from 'Uncategorized' following a review of any existing relationships to business terms or assignments to data assets, which may need to be transferred to the new copies imported with the Knowledge Accelerators.

Table 1. Data classes examples
Industry Data class Description Primary Category Matching Method Reference data set Reference Data Values Business Terms
Cross Industry International Phone Number The collection of information which identifies a specific phone number as defined by telecom services... Common Data Classes Match to criteria in regular expression Regular expression Examples:
  • +14655551212
  • +4402079460111
  • 003530209138764
Phone Number
Energy and Utilities Building Type The type of the building structure that has been constructed. Common Data Classes Match to list of valid values Valid values
  • Detached
  • Bungalow
  • Cottage
  • Ranch
  • Dome
  • ...
Building Type
Financial Services Currency Code A standard code to represent a currency, using either a numeric or alphabetic code. This data class contains content from ISO 4217 Currency Codes. Finance Data Classes Match to list of valid values Valid values
  • USD
  • EUR
  • GBP
  • SEK
  • YEN
  • ...
Currency Code
Healthcare Blood Group Type Classifies blood types according to ABO/Rh status. Health & Biometric Data Classes Match to list of valid values Valid values
  • A+
  • A-
  • B+
  • B-
  • O+
  • O-
  • ...
Blood Group
Insurance Vehicle Type The type or categorization associated with the vehicle model. KAIN - Vehicle Information And Accident Data Classes Match to reference data Vehicle Type
  • Car
  • Pedal cycle
  • Agricultural vehicle
  • Motorcycle over 500cc
  • Goods 7.5 tonnes mgw and over
  • ..
Vehicle type
Note: Many of the data classes listed in the examples above are relevant to more than one industry, so are shared across the Knowledge Accelerators where appropriate.

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