Résumé : The term “database” has long since become part of people’s everyday vocabulary, for managers and clerks as well as students of most subjects. They use it to describe a logically organized collection of electronically stored data that can be directly searched and viewed. However, they are generally more than happy to leave the whys and hows of its inner workings to the experts. Users of databases are rarely aware of the immaterial and concrete business values contained in any individual database. This applies as much to a car importer’s spare parts inventory as to the IT solution containing all customer depots at a bank or the patient information system of a hospital. Yet failure of these systems, or even cumulative errors, can threaten the very existence of the respective company or institution. For that reason, it is important for a much larger audience than just the “database specialists” to be well-informed about what is going on. Anyone involved with databases should understand what these tools are effectively able to do and which conditions must be created and maintained for them to do so.