Table of Contents
What is a data warehouse and what are its components?
A data warehouse is typically comprised of several smaller data marts. What is a data mart? A Data Mart may be defined as “a subset of a data warehouse that contains all the non-time-sensitive information from one specific area or functional aspect within the organization.” Each Data Mart covers one specific aspect, like customer interaction, sales performance, inventory management, etc. A data warehouse is a collection of data marts. Each data mart contains information relevant to one or more business areas. The data mart(s) act as repositories for information that is non time-sensitive and/or “below the line”. That is, information that does not change frequently. The data may go up to the data warehouse level if required, but the typical organization will not require that information be moved to the data warehouse level. Each data mart contains a unique combination of data from specific sources and may be managed by a single individual(s) with specific responsibilities and associated reporting requirements. A data mart is often created as an ad hoc process (with the aid of a software package like Enterprise Warehouse™ ) to support one or more business areas within an organization. This process is similar to the creation of a new report from multiple sources. A data mart may be created to:
Achieve operational excellence in one or more business areas;
Support specific business strategies; or
Provide access to more focused information than is available at the data warehouse level.
How is a data warehouse different from other data storage solutions?
A data warehouse is different from other data storage solutions in that the information it holds is not time-sensitive and/or “below the line”. It focuses on information that may be useful at any point in time, and it allows users to access any of its information as needed. In other words, it contains both current data and historical data. It can be used by many different groups of people, not just those concerned with stock trading.
A data warehouse contains many tables, and each table holds information about a specific subject. For example, it may hold information on products, customers, salespeople, and so on. The information in each table is completely independent from all others. There is one table for each subject that the company wishes to collect information on.
Each table contains a set of fields that are related to that particular subject. Some fields represent numeric values (e.g. prices), others represent dates (e.g. when people purchased products), and some may be character strings that are used for searching purposes (e.g. product names).
The warehouse itself stores data and nothing else, so it is necessary to use an interface of some kind to access the data. There are two main types of interfaces: data marts, and flat files.
A data mart is a subset of warehouse data, and it contains just the information required by one particular group of people. It can contain a specific subset of fields from the warehouse table, and have its own set of indexes used to quickly access information.
Why are data warehouses necessary for businesses today?
Today, more than ever before, a company’s success depends on being able to make timely decisions and information to help business and customers run more efficiently. With the advent of the Internet, information has become readily accessible to everyone in the company. As business demand for access to this available information grows, businesses have begun looking for effective ways to model, store and search their data. Quicken, Excel and Oracle are just a few of the traditional data modeling tools. However, businesses realize the need to implement a more efficient and cost-effective way to assimilate, store and access their data.
A data warehouse is one solution to this problem. The data warehouse is designed to provide a central repository for data from many information sources within the company. The information inside the data warehouse can be used by all employees at all levels of the company, including sales, customer service and manufacturing areas. This article will explain how companies are using data warehouses to improve their business processes and how the data warehouses work.
A data warehouse is a large scale central repository of their business’ informational needs. The data warehouse stores data from many different sources and consolidates the information. However, unlike a traditional database, it doesn’t change the data in any way–it just provides access to it.
How can you determine if your business needs a data warehouse or data mart solution?
How much time do you have to wait for the information? If you only have a short time frame to get answers to your business questions, maybe a data mart would be the right solution for you. However, if the answer most likely will not be available before your next monthly report, or after your next quarterly report, you need a data warehouse.
What kind of data do you need? If your business needs information about customers, sales, or other customer-related topics, you will most likely need a data warehouse. If the information is used for business intelligence (BI) purposes, a data warehouse would also be required. However if you need information about your IT services, such as problems with your system and customer complaints; a data mart could answer those questions.
Who will be accessing the information? If your information is used by many different departments and people, a data warehouse would be the best solution. A data mart could give information to a specific department, such as your sales team. Data marts are much easier to modify, so if you need to change some of the information available in your data mart, it can be done with minimal effort on your part.
Do you need historical data? If you need to look at how something has changed over time, such as your sales figures, a data warehouse would be the best solution for you. If the historical data is not that important, a data mart would do because it only contains the current information.
What are the benefits of using a data warehouse or data mart solution for your business?”
A data warehouse is accessible to all company users. This allows all company users to have the same access to information, regardless of their location or department, and makes it possible for them to share information with each other, which helps promote better communication and productivity. A data warehouse can be constantly updated, providing the most up-to-date information for users. With a data mart solution, unlike a data warehouse, the information is limited to one area of the business. A data mart does not have historical data. A data warehouse allows you to consolidate all your company’s information into one centralized location. This makes it easy to segment and track your company’s information.
It is generally easier to work with a data warehouse than with a data mart solution, due to the more extensive tools and software that are available. It is very evident when information is being accessed in a data mart. It is impossible to view all of your company’s information in one place – only limited information can be viewed in a data mart. It requires additional training for employees to fully understand the concept of a data warehouse, as opposed to just knowing about the concepts of a data mart.
