Helping You Understand What Informatics Are

In the business world, the term “informatics” is generally used synonymously with computer science. While they are certainly quite similar, they are also quite different. What exactly does the field of informatics pertain to, and how can knowing this help your business prosper in the years to come?

Defining Informatics

Informatics itself is a difficult term to pin down, as it is most often used in the healthcare industry. Medical informatics, according to Merriam-Webster, is “the collection, classification, storage, retrieval, and dissemination of recorded knowledge.” It’s easy to see how this kind of definition can be applied to other contexts, and sure enough, others have already gone ahead and applied this definition in more flexible terms.

That said, the definition of informatics has shifted along this more abstract line of thought. The most generalized definition we can explain is that informatics refers to the study of any system, artificial or natural, and how it shares or processes information of some sort. Taking a step back, you can see how this might apply to certain processes in the natural or biological world (neuroscience and the study of the brain is a fine example of this), as well as computing systems that rely on technology and algorithms. Let’s explore some ways that informatics can be used in computing.

Informatics in Computing

In computing terms, informatics is essentially the way that your data is shared across an internal network or across multiple networks, like with the Internet. Data is spread out across your network, collected, classified, stored, retrieved, and distributed to your workstations as needed. On a day-to-day basis, this happens on a micro level, but the scale and scope can be quite variable.

Here’s an example to consider for how informatics can be applied to computing. Maybe you’ve heard of big data? Traditionally, big data has referred to the large mass of data that is so massive and expansive that it cannot be analyzed through traditional data analysis tools, but it can be used for interpretation and extrapolation. Businesses can learn a lot from looking at their big data, such as trends that can be used for growth over time.

How Can Your Business Benefit?

More often than not, businesses are not properly utilizing their biggest asset—their data—to their best advantage. SCW can help you make the most of your data by giving you the tools needed to properly store, analyze, and disseminate it. To learn more, reach out to us at (509) 534-1530.