With the establishment of Bangladesh Oceanographic Research Institute (BORI), Oceanographic Data Centre has been established as a countries first Oceanographic data centre. Oceanographic Data Centre of BORI (ODCOB) is serve as a ``data-primer'' for students and those in other fields of research who are interested in carrying out research involving the analyses of data in the oceanographic sciences. This ODCOB will describe, in very general terms, the datasets most commonly used to study the ocean system and the formats used for archival. The datasets include observations from conventional oceanographic sources such as stations and ships, from satellites, and analyzed grids produced at operational weather forecast centers. Rather, the focus is upon the broad characteristics of the data sources and the datasets. The characteristics of ODCOB are not only including the observed variables and their spatial and temporal extent but also common problems, data limitations and sources of error of oceanographic data.

A data center is a facility composed of networked computers and storage that businesses or other organizations use to organize, process, store and disseminate large amounts of data. In case of Oceanography "Data" in general refer to digital or analogue records of marine environmental observations; and “information" refers to inventories, catalogues, data products, analyses, selected bibliographies, reports and publications of the data centre or to similar products of other center or organizations.

Advances in marine sciences and technology depend to a significant degree upon the effective flow of data/information from the collectors to various types of users. The principal purpose of an Oceanographic Data Centre is to provide on a long-term continuing basis data/information in a usable form to the so-called "secondary user" community, i.e. to individuals or organizations in the nation which have or will in the future have need for the data, after the primary purposes for which the data were collected have been satisfied.

Key Activity of the ODCOB:

Its primary activity is to manage the data collected from Ocean.

• Collecting Oceanographic Data from National, Regional & International programs
• Verifying the quality of the Data
• Ensuring the long term preservation of the Data & associated information required for correct interpretation of the Data
• Making Data available nationally & internationally according to govt. rules & regulations

Targeted Function of the ODCOB:

National:

• Receiving data from researchers, performing quality control, and archiving.
• Receiving data from buoys, ships and satellites on a daily basis, processing the data in a timely way, and providing outputs to various research and/or to other centers according to the govt. rules & regulations.
• Reporting the results of quality control directly to data collectors as part of the quality assurance module for the system.
• Participating in the development of data management plans and establishing systems to support major experiments, monitoring systems etc.
• Disseminating data on the Internet and through other means (and on CD-ROM, DVD, etc) according to the govt. rules & regulations.
• Publishing statistical studies and atlases of oceanographic variables.

International:

• Participating in the development of international standards and methods for data management through international body (such as IODE and JCOMM);
• Participating in international oceanographic data and information exchange through international body (such as IODE and JCOMM);
• Assisting with data management aspects of global or regional programmes or pilot projects;
• Operating as a data assembly and quality control centre for part of an international science experiment;

Goal of ODCOB:

• Achieve capability to provide Marine Information and Advisory Service (MIAS) nationally & internationally.
• Develop the archive of marine data & National Oceanographic Database (NODB).
• Creating and publishing the General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (Bay of Bengal).
• Become the country’s apex center for Database Management, Data Capacity, Data Analysis & Maintenance on Oceanography.
• Collect Super Computer to develop vast size international standard Data management system & Analysis.