Databases Reference
In-Depth Information
CHAPTER 10
Oracle Data Warehousing and
Business Intelligence
A database is general purpose software and it serves as the basis of a platform that meets
a variety of needs, including:
Recording and storing transactional data
Reliably storing data and protecting each user's data from the effects of other users'
changes
Retrieving data for ad hoc questions (queries) and historical reporting
Providing a consistent and persistent view of the data
Analyzing data
Summarizing and comparing data, detecting trends and data relationships, and
forecasting
The last two capabilities are most often associated with a
data warehouse
, part of an
infrastructure that provides
business intelligence
used in strategic and tactical business
management of the corporation or organization. Such solutions expose valuable busi‐
ness information embedded in an organization's data stores—essentially creating addi‐
tional value from existing data resources. Because of this, data warehousing is the focus
of a great deal of interest from business constituencies.
Data warehousing and business intelligence solutions are widely deployed and continue
to be a focus for further development in many organizations. There is a very simple
reason behind this: such projects and solutions are seen as core to making business
decisions, providing a return on investment that can be grasped by the business
community.
