ECONOMIC Data MANAGEMENT at the IMF

1. ECONOMIC Data MANAGEMENT at the IMF

2. Data Management Environment • Country Desk Data are usually stored in Excel workbooks and/or AREMOS (proprietary third party software) banks • Manipulations are done using Excel formulas and macros, or through functions written in AREMOS • Analysis is done in EViews or other Econometric packages • Charts and tables are generated using Excel tools and AREMOS

3. So, what’s the problem? • Excel Workbooks are large and contain years of historical data • Cross-linking between worksheets/workbooks is error-prone and inefficient • Time series functions do not exist in Excel • Seasonal adjustments need to be performed outside of Excel • Spreadsheets are poorly documented • Economists and Data Managers do not want to give up Excel

4. Migration to Structured Databases • Capital project aimed at adoption of data management guidelines to support the IMF’s goal of moving economic data to structured databases • IMF IT developed DMX (Database Management for Excel) system • Status • IMF’s Area Departments are migrating their Excel databases to DMX • One Department fully completed migration • The IMF’s Economic Data Management Initiative have decreed DMX as the de-facto standard for country desk data management • Organization-wide deployment in April 2011 • Other departments have already set up concrete plan to migrate their data to DMX over the next two years

5. Database Management for Excel (DMX) • Tool for desk economists and research staff: • to manage effectively their data using Excel, and • to overcome the limitations of Excel as a time series database management system • Developed by IMF IT, in consultation with representatives from Area and Functional departments • DMX is a TOOL and it facilitates data storage, data manipulation, and time series management

6. DMX: The Best of Both Worlds! USE EXCEL, but in addition... • Store data as time series in a database (MS Access now, SQLServer underway) for easy retrieval, manipulation, & sharing • Use Excel to view and retrieve data in the database • Automatically perform frequency conversions • Access functions for manipulating time series from within Excel: seasonal adjustments, smoothing, and extrapolation • Create derived series usingformulas, which are automatically updated when the component series are modified (e.g. NXM = NX_R – NM_R) • Tracks changes made to the data • Facilitates documentation of data through use of metadata, such as scale, units, and sector

7. Key Features of DMX Today • User interface with its own ribbon in Excel • Common navigation across multiple data sources: • DMX • Fund Economic Data Warehouse • Economic Outlook Suite (future) Datastore (A Prognoz Developed System for the IMF) • Usability • Summary statistics for one or multiple series • Rescale and transform data, as needed • Graphical representation of your data • On-the-fly calculations and frequency conversions • Advanced features: cloning, tables, linked series

8. Benefits of Migration to Structured Databases • Improved data management at the country desk • Reduced learning costs of moving from one country desk to the another • Consistency across cross country databases • Reduced workload on data requests • Ease of Finding Data

9. DMX Technical Information • A Visual Studio for Office (VSTO 3.0) Excel 2007 COM Addin • Requirements • Excel 2007 • MS .Net Framework 3.5 SP1 • VSTO 3.0 SP1 • Infragistics .Net Controls • Component One .Net Controls • Database • Access • SQL Server 2008 (in the works)

10. DMX outside of the IMF • Currently, DMX is used as a Data Management tool in some of the member countries of the IMF • Brunei Darussalam • Iran, Islamic Republic of • Libya • Papua New Guinea • and others

11. DMX • DEMO • Questions?