Finance BY: RON STRECKER LET'S GO FISHING for Data Winter is gone and the fish are getting active. Have you ever wondered how a fisherman knows the right bait to use to catch his favorite fish? It takes practice, patience and learning from all those who’ve gone before you. Field guides explain fish behavior and you can learn how to catch the fish you want. There are numerous field guides out there that explain fish behavior, their favorite foods, and their preferred envi-ronment. Keep at it and you’ll learn how to catch the one you want without using trial and error. Now picture all these fish as important pieces of data. Some fish are isolated in PMS Lake, a few more are over in POS Pond. Occasionally, you’ll see a few that look like they came from PMS Lake but later you realize they hatched in S&C Swamp. Look closer and you’ll find time and attendance tadpoles bumping into purchasing poles in all these loca-tions. Small streams between these remote fishing destina-tions allow various species to coexist. Think of this as data from one system being shared with another system through interfaces. In my previous article, I took you on data’s journey from its creation in our front-line systems, through a few twists and turns as daily management information, before it reaches its final destinations – general ledgers and boardroom presentations. The takeaway was to keep that data path free from interruptions by letting interfaces do the work. The data that makes it to the boardroom is only a fraction of what’s being generated constantly by the property management system (PMS), point of sale (POS), and sales and catering system (S&C). 42 Summer 2017 HOSPITALITY UPGRADE www.hospitalityupgrade.com