Data format management (DFM) is the application of a systematic approach to the selection and use of thedata formats used to encode information forstorage on a computer.
In practical terms, data format management is the analysis of data formats and their associated technical, legal or economic attributes which can either enhance or detract from the ability of a digital asset or a given information systems to meet specified objectives.
Data format management is necessary as the amount of information and number of people creating it grows. This is especially the case as the information with which users are working is difficult to generate, store, costly to acquire, or to be shared.
Data format management as an analytic tool or approach is data format neutral.
Historically individuals, organization and businesses have been categorized by their type of computer or theiroperating system. Today, however, it is primarilyproductivity software, such asspreadsheet orword processor programs, and the way these programs store information that also defines an entity. For instance, when browsing the web it is not important which kind of computer is responsible for hosting a site, only that the information it publishes is in a format that is readable by the viewingbrowser. In this instance the data format of the published information has more to do with defining compatibilities than the underlying hardware or operating system.
Several initiatives have been established to record those data formats commonly used and the software available to read them, for example thePronom project at the UK National Archives.