Managing data through the lens of an ontology

Ontology-based data management aims at managing data through the lens of an ontology, that is, a conceptual representation of the domain of interest in the underlying information system. This new paradigm provides several interesting features, many of which have already been proved effective in managing complex information systems. This article introduces the notion of ontology-based data management, illustrating the main ideas underlying the paradigm, and pointing out the importance of knowledge representation and automated reasoning for addressing the technical challenges it introduces.