Database Reference
In-Depth Information
Most of the processing in the data warehouse environment for strategic infor-
mation is analytical. Four levels of analytical processing are possible:
1. Running simple queries and reports against current and historical data
2. Performing “what if” analysis is many different ways
3. Querying, stepping back, analyzing, and then continuing the process to any
desired length
4. Spotting historical trends and applying them for future results
Data Warehouse: Underlying Principles
A Simple Concept
In the final analysis, data warehousing is a simple concept. It
is born out of the need for strategic information; it is the result of the search for a
new way to provide strategic information. The old methods using the operational
computing environment, all through the last two decades, were unsatisfactory. The
new concept is not to generate fresh data but to make use of the large volumes of
existing data and to transform the data into forms suitable for providing strategic
information.
The data warehouse exists to answer questions users have about the business, the
performance of the various operations, the business trends, and about what can be
done to improve the business. The data warehouse exists to provide business users
with direct access to data, to provide a single unified version of the performance
indicators, to record the past accurately, and to provide the ability to view data from
many different perspectives. In short, the data warehouse is there to support deci-
sional processes.
When everything is said about data warehousing, you will realize that it is really
a simple concept. Take all the data you already have in the organization, clean and
transform the data, and then provide useful strategic information. What could sound
simpler than that?
An Environment, Not a Product
A data warehouse is not a single software or hard-
ware product you purchase to provide strategic information. It is rather a comput-
ing environment. It is an environment where users can find strategic information.
It is an environment where users are put directly in touch with the data they need
to make better decisions. It is a user-centric environment.
Let us summarize the characteristics of this new computing environment called
data warehouse created for the users:
•
An ideal environment for data analysis and decision support
•
Fluid, flexible, and interactive
•
100 Percent user-driven
•
Very responsive and conducive to ask-answer-ask-again pattern
•
Provides ability to discover answers to complex, unpredictable questions
A Blend of Many Technologies
Although a simple concept, data warehousing
involves different functions. It involves the function of data extraction, the function
of loading the data, the function of transforming the data, the function of storing
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