A management request is received by a system for carrying out one or more data management operations (including, but not limited to, adding data, merging data or searching for data). The management request is received from a requesting entity. The system comprises a representation database, which comprises at least one secure element. The at least one secure element is a representation of at least one dataset containing confidential data elements stored in at least one database owned or operated by a third party entity. The management request is processed by performing at least one operation, for example by a processing component in the system, on the representation database. In a third step, a processing result is provided, which comprises any suitable information or data content. The processing result is dependent on the contents of the management request.