<s>
Data	B-General_Concept
format	I-General_Concept
management	I-General_Concept
(	O
DFM	O
)	O
is	O
the	O
application	O
of	O
a	O
systematic	O
approach	O
to	O
the	O
selection	O
and	O
use	O
of	O
the	O
data	O
formats	O
used	O
to	O
encode	O
information	O
for	O
storage	O
on	O
a	O
computer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
practical	O
terms	O
,	O
data	B-General_Concept
format	I-General_Concept
management	I-General_Concept
is	O
the	O
analysis	O
of	O
data	O
formats	O
and	O
their	O
associated	O
technical	O
,	O
legal	O
or	O
economic	O
attributes	O
which	O
can	O
either	O
enhance	O
or	O
detract	O
from	O
the	O
ability	O
of	O
a	O
digital	O
asset	O
or	O
a	O
given	O
information	O
systems	O
to	O
meet	O
specified	O
objectives	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Data	B-General_Concept
format	I-General_Concept
management	I-General_Concept
is	O
necessary	O
as	O
the	O
amount	O
of	O
information	O
and	O
number	O
of	O
people	O
creating	O
it	O
grows	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Data	B-General_Concept
format	I-General_Concept
management	I-General_Concept
as	O
an	O
analytic	O
tool	O
or	O
approach	O
is	O
data	O
format	O
neutral	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Today	O
,	O
however	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
primarily	O
productivity	B-Application
software	I-Application
,	O
such	O
as	O
spreadsheet	O
or	O
word	O
processor	O
programs	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
way	O
these	O
programs	O
store	O
information	O
that	O
also	O
defines	O
an	O
entity	O
.	O
</s>
