Understanding What Data Warehouse is About A data warehouse involves fusing data from several sources. The data usually emanates from different sources. These are correlated into a single database. Some of the warehouse systems used today include reporting, analysis and queries. Benefits This system allows you to organize data from various sources into a coherent whole. It allows you to sort and manipulate the information easily. There is also no limit to the number of sources you can use. Companies use this system to evaluate trends over a specific period of time. It also permits long term planning based on an assessment of the data. Aside from trends, projections, forecasts and business models may be configured. Data Configuration and Updating The data is typically read-only as they are used for evaluation. To update the data, a new query will have to be set up. For the data to be relevant, frequent updating is necessary. This is necessary to make accurate long term projections. The gathered data can be used in various ways. For large companies, it is usually for enterprise. The smaller organizations often resort to data marts. This can provide accurate information. The information one has clusters made up of smaller data. This setup allows a company to have a data warehouse and data marts. One or both may be used depending on the situation. Types Several tools are included in a warehousing information package. However, they are usually divided into four types: data integrity, query management, table management and data extraction. However, the actual data will vary depending on how the company is set up. For instance, scientific research projects will gather volumes of data for review and basement. A company involved in sales may also use this system, but with different types of data. Working with the Data Organizations employ skilled individuals to set up, organize and handle the information. These individuals have to be skilled in computers, relational databases, processing logic, statistics and mathematics. Knowledge in computer science may be necessary in some cases. Time and effort are required to create complex databases. ETL ETL stands for extraction, transform, and load tool. It is used for inputting data into the warehouse. The ETL is a software program. It is capable of identifying computer system data. A user can put up a set of criteria.
In some cases, the data may have to be modified to fit with the warehouse structure. This step is crucial so data integrity is not lost. Conformity with the structure ensures the database relationship is kept. If this isn’t maintained, the system tools cannot be used. No matter what the data warehouse set up is, it will have numerous database tables. These work together in a systematic manner. These tables have to be maintained for the system to work. References: http://www.tech-faq.com/data-warehousing.html http://www.tech-faq.com/enterprise-data-management.html