Hmm, I wouldn't touch it. Check with Microsoft... But I'm pretty sure cm12 uses that for some of the delta discoveries.
I expect you perhaps have processes from cm07 which used that attribute in the other format, bit I think you will want to change, instead of attempting to change the format in the db (which would be unsupported, and on top of that, possibly detrimental to
how cm 12 works.
You may want to call and confirm though.
Standardize. Simplify. Automate.