Database Applications
Millions of years ago people live in a Stone Age, because they mainly used stones in their routines. Bronze Age was named so because people used bronze. Now we live in the Information Age, because we derive, store, and exchange information on an ongoing basis. Both businesses and individuals in developed (and hopefully developing) countries now have computers for storing crucial data. Business meetings, schedules, contacts, bookkeeping, meals,  - we store all the different kinds of data available out there. Hence, there is a necessity to keep and store this data in an accurate and accessible way. Databases are those methods that become handy whenever we encounter such a necessity.
As defined by Lexico Publishing Group, a database is a “large structured set[s] of persistent data, usually associated with software to update and query the data” (Dictionary, 2006). In other words, a database is a collection of data organized in a convenient way for quick retrieval. Typically, databases are used in any business, and our organization is not an exception. 
As many other businesses, our organization stores crucial data in a database on a web-server. In addition to the most important database, which will be discussed later in the paper, we also use smaller databases integrated in e-mail clients such as Mozilla Thunderbird and Microsoft Outlook Express, which are both widely used in our organization. The integrated address books or lists of contacts are in fact very convenient databases that are capable of storing very much useful information about an individual or a group of individuals. Often underestimated, address books in reality are very helpful in businesses and jobs that require much contacts and networking. Moreover, an advantage of using an address book as a database is that you do not have to spend time and money buying and installing separate software application. Mozilla Thunderbird for example, offers very many predefined fields for one contact and even several custom fields for further additional data. The types of data Thunderbird address book can store include 4 separate input fields in Name section, 4 fields in Internet section, 5 fields in Phones section, 7 fields in the Address section, 10 fields in Work section, 4 fields for custom inputs, and a huge text area for additional notes. In is important to note that all this is free, since its available for free download at Mozilla web-site. Microsoft Outlook Express, on the other hand, is proprietary software application and it offers more options. Its address book offers 8 fields in the Name section, 9 fields in Home section, 14 sections in Business section, 5 fields in Personal section, 3 fields in NetMeeting section, a huge text area for Other, and some more options for Digital ID’s. Thus, address books of both Microsoft Outlook Express and Mozilla Thunderbird can serve as very convenient and easily accessible databases for storing information about individual business people, and organizations. 
The small address book databases are typically private, and differ from one another depending on the position and the person. The primary database of our business, however, is one for all. It is stored on the web-serer, thus an access to the Internet is required to view, modify, or search entries. We currently use 4.1.14 version MySQL database. Standard level access users - most employees – access the database through our web-site; advanced users – supervisors and managers – access the database via web-site and through phpMyAdmin interface. Standard level users can only view, modify, delete, and search for data entries. Advanced level users, on the other hand, barring the same opportunities have additional privileges and they can alter the intrinsic structure and properties of the entire database.  
What differs MySQL databases from the aforementioned address book databases is that MySQL databases are unlimited. In other words, in address book databases there is a fixed predetermined collection of input fields, regardless of whether they are empty or not. MySQL databases on the other hand, are blank by default. The administrator of the database has to set up the data fields him/herself. This way, there is literally no limit for the quantity of input fields, their maximum length or type, which is the main advantage. Another advantage is that data in MySQL databases is sorted as a matrix. These matrices, or relational tables, sort the data in a convenient manner, having a certain parameter value along every column, and a single unit (with various parameters) in a row.
In addition to address books and the primary MySQL database, some employees use MS Excel depending on the position. They use it both as a database, and as an advanced calculator for financial data.   
Ultimately, databases have become an inseparable part of today’s businesses. Organizations of all sizes and industries use databases to store and exchange crucial business data because databases (or data banks) are currently the most convenient methods of storing information.  
Bibliography
1.	Database. (2006). Dictionary.com. Retrieved December 8th, 2006 from http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=database
2.	Thunderbird. (2006). Mozilla. Retrieved December 8th, 2006 from http://www.mozilla.com/thunderbird/