Summary data indicators are used to dynamically avoid reading the database for parts of the model that are not relevant to the current base entity being read.
By denormalizing the model and providing summary data indicators at the base table level, the system can decide whether it needs to read data from the child tables or not. This summary indicator must be updated whenever a relevant change is made to the data whose summary is being tracked.
For example, an implementation of InfoSphere® MDM might use the party relationship subject area, but relationships might not be present for all parties. When you use Summary Data Indicators, while doing a getParty transaction for a party with no relationships the system does not issue the unnecessary SQL to read from the relationship record.
For information on Smart Inquiries and turning off unused parts of the data model, see Configuring smart inquiries.