What is a data warehouse?
In simple terms, its a special type of database that is set up to help you answer your main business questions
It adds value by focusing on reporting and analysis and taking reporting workload away from transactional systems
All the data you need in one place
A data warehouse is a central repository of structured data, collected from various internal and external sources.
The internal data is fed from numerous business systems. This would typically include company’s data on areas such as finance, sales, customers and employees.
Typically these sources of data are held in separate systems each of which has a primary job to do, sometimes these systems provide some useful reports. But they never quite satisfy your reporting needs
Example of this could be HR Systems, CRM Systems and so on
A Single Source of the Truth
The aim of the data warehouse is to integrate the data, and transform it into fast querying, designed for reporting and analysis.
It is not be confused with operational warehouses which aim to fulfil transactional tasks. The integration of the sources is based on business rules to effectively work towards a similar concept as the “Single Source of the Truth”.
The warehouse will typically be designed to store historical data, allowing trends to be seen over time.
The addition of external data allows companies understand the context of performance.
Examples of Data Warehouse Solutions
There are numerous software options available for hosting the data warehouse including on premise and cloud-based solutions. The solutions include relational databases such as Microsoft SQL Server and Oracle as well as platforms such as Google Big Query, Snowflake and Redshift.
Data Warehousing is one of our core competencies, not only from a technical point of view, but also from a practical real world use case, data warehouses may sound daunting but the reality is that you can start off small at minimal cost and grow your data warehouse at the right pace for your business needs. We work with clients who typically regret not starting sooner
Further reading
Which Data Warehouse is best for you?
Data Warehouse Integration Benefits
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