subject: Why Do Organizations Need Data Warehousing? [print this page] Why Do Organizations Need Data Warehousing?
Data warehouse refers to a set of new concepts and tools that is being incorporated together to evolve into a technology. Where or when is it important? Well, data warehousing becomes instrumental when you want to get information on all the techniques of designing, maintaining, building and retrieving data!
In other words, data warehousing is an organized and resourceful method of managing and reporting scattered data throughout an organization. It is generated with the purpose to support the decision making process within an organization. As Bill Inmon, who coined the term defines "A warehouse is a subject-oriented, integrated, time-variant and non-volatile collection of data in support of management's decision making process."
For over the last two decades, organizations have been confident about the support of data warehousing. Why not? There are solid reasons for organizations to consider a data warehouse, as it comes across as a critical tool for maximizing their investment in the information that is being collected and stored over a long period of time. The salient feature of a data warehouse is that it records, collects, filters and provides with the basic information to different systems at higher levels. A very basic benefit of having a data warehouse is- with a data warehouse it becomes very easy for an organization to counter all the problems faced during providing key information to concerned person without hampering the ongoing production system. It is time saving! Let's have a look at a few more benefits of having a data warehouse in organizational settings:
- With data warehousing, an organization can provide a common data model for different interest areas, regardless of the data's source. It becomes easier for the organization to report and analyze information.
- With data warehousing, a number of inconsistencies can be found. These inconsistencies can be resolved before loading of information, which makes the reporting process much easier and simpler.
- Having a data warehouse means having the information under the control of the user or organization.
- Since a data warehouse is different from operational systems, it helps in retrieving data without slowing down the operational system.
- Data warehousing is instrumental in enhancing the value of operational business applications and customer relationship management systems.
In fact, data warehouses evolved in a need to help organizations with their management and business analysis to meet different demands that could not be met with their operational systems. However, this does not mean each and every project would be successful with the help of data warehousing. Sometimes the complicated techniques and erroneous data employed in the process may cause errors and failure.
Data warehouses came into the picture of organizational settings in the late 1980s and early 1990s and ever since this type of distinctive computer database has been helping organizations in supporting decision-making information for management or departments.
This article was written by Brian May who has worked with companies that offer data warehousing design. He truly understands the value that a data warehouse architecture can offer. To find out more visit us at http://www.datawarehousingconsultants.com
