System for accessing business metadata within a distributed network

A method for providing social constructs in combination with metadata management to enhance metadata for insurance business information for an insurance company, the method comprising:

• storing, in a data storage device, business information for an insurance company and metadata related to the business information;
• receiving user input that provides supplemental information related to an instance of a social construct associated with at least one of the business information and the metadata;
• determining the context of the supplemental information;
• organizing the supplemental information in a taxonomy by type using at least one of category or data asset and using pointers to provide non-redundancy of the supplemental information to provide a single definition of the supplemental information, wherein the pointer is used in place of the supplemental information, the pointer pointing to a specific location of the data asset;
• cross-linking the supplemental information to the associated metadata;
• storing the cross-linked supplemental information in the data storage device;
• generating a user interface element that includes at least one of the stored business information and the metadata related to the business information, and the linked supplemental information;
• and
• displaying, on a display device, the user interface element as the definition of the business information for an insurance company.

A system using social constructs in combination with metadata management to enhance metadata for insurance business information for an insurance company, the system comprising:

• a data storage device configured to store business information for an insurance company and metadata related to the business information;
• a processor configured to:
• receive user input that provides supplemental information related to an instance of a social construct associated with at least one of the business information and the metadata;
• determine the context of the supplemental information;
• organize the supplemental information in a taxonomy by type using at least one of category or data asset and use pointers to provide non-redundancy of the supplemental information to provide a single definition of the supplemental information, wherein the pointer is used in place of the supplemental information, the pointer pointing to a specific location of the data asset;
• cross-link the supplemental information to the associated metadata;
• store the cross-linked supplemental information in the data storage device;
• and
• generate a user interface element that includes at least one of the stored business information and the associated metadata related to the business information, and the linked supplemental information;
• and
• a display device configured to display the user interface element as the definition of the business information for an insurance company.