INTRODUCTION

TO DATA
WAREHOUSING
By Ernest James Blanza
Problematic Business Scenarios

“"We have heaps of data, but we cannot access it!"

"How can people playing the same role achieve substantially different results?"

"We want to select, group, and manipulate data in every possible way!"

"Everyone knows that some data is wrong!"

What is a Data Warehouse?

The data warehouse is a collection of integrated

subject‐oriented databases designed to support the DSS
(decision support system) function, where each unit of data is
relevant to some moment in time. The data warehouse
contains atomic data and lightly summarized data, it is the
central point of data integration for business intelligence and is
the source of data for the data marts, delivering a common
view of enterprise data.
Key Characteristics of a Data Warehouse

Subject Oriented

the information from across functional departments or business units is

organized in a manner that is subject-oriented, with an enterprise view. This
subject-oriented detailed transactional data allows corporate users to drill down
into the depth of their business operations for data mining and business
intelligence activities.
Key Characteristics of a Data Warehouse

Integrated

Data is integrated as the data moves from operational systems into the
data warehouse. In a data warehouse, the data not only is integrated across
different functional units of the organization but also includes external entities
such as customers and suppliers.
Key Characteristics of a Data Warehouse

Nonvolatile

Data in the data warehouse is nonvolatile. Once the data enters the data
warehouse, it remains unchanged. In an operational system, data can be
changed by deleting or modifying it. The data in the data warehouse is not
updated. Any change to the information is done by adding a new record to
reflect the changed status of the data. The existing records are not modified.
Key Characteristics of a Data Warehouse

Time Variant

The value of the operational data archived in the data warehouse is a

function of time and changes on the basis of time. A data warehouse gives an
accurate picture of operational data for a given time, and changes in the data in
the warehouse are based on the time-based changes in operational data. The
data warehouse consists of snapshots of the operational data taken at intervals
of time. Data can be viewed in the data warehouse across the field of time in
different levels of detail.
Properties of Data Warehouses

● Separation ● Extensibility

● Scalability ● Administrability
 The Value of a Data Warehouse
● Measuring business performance
● Tracking and trending key
performance indicators
● Reporting and understanding
financial results
● Understanding customers and their
behavior
● Identifying high‐value customers
● Attracting and retaining high‐value
customers
● Better selection or development of
new products
● Understanding which products
should be scaled back or eliminated
● Understanding business competitors
● Identifying opportunities to improve
business flow and processes
● Understanding the impact of highly
qualified professionals
 The Promise of Data Warehousing

Since its inception, data warehousing has offered the promise of helping
to improve your business. A data warehouse is expected to provide both of
the following:

• A single version of the truth

• The capability to access all data whenever it is needed

 Applications of Data Warehousing

Data warehousing is applied across many different industries. For example,

industries that have realized data warehousing success include the following:

● Consumer packaged goods ● Insurance

● Financial services ● Healthcare
● Manufacturing ● Shipping and Transportation
● Utilities and ● Educational institutions
telecommunications ● Nonprofit organizations
● Pharmaceutical