Data-Warehousing: Get The Edge Over Competitors!
The level of competition that exists in the world today is simply mind-boggling. Businesses all over the world have started thinking out-of-the-box and are feverishly planning and implementing various innovative and often trend-setting measures to get an edge over the competition.
The amount of data that these business houses collect in this regard is almost always huge and it is vital that it be stored in a safe and easily retrievable environment. This data contains a wealth of accurate and integrated information that is crucial in not just planning the future activities of a company, but also in analyzing the effectiveness of the activities done till date, with up-to-date info about their supply chain, products and customers and is highly critical for their success and survival.
This is where the concept of Data-Warehousing comes into play. For those of you who are already familiar with the term and concepts of a Data-Warehouse and are Data warehousing enthusiasts interested in applying for a data warehousing online training, rest assured there are several credible institutions that are offering such services online.
If you are an Analytics Manager, Data Modeler or an ETL and BI Developer, you have made a good choice in selecting such an advanced and extremely potential career path in IT. The course aims to enable successful candidates to evaluate a company’s business requirements, design a suitable data warehouse, and use the available dashboards and visual analytics to integrate and visualize the data procured.
For the novices, who have never come across this term before in their entire lives, a quick and brief recap. The term Data-warehouse was coined in the 1970s by American computer scientist Bill Inmon, who is also called the father of the data warehouse, by-the-way. But history credits IBM researchers Barry Devlin and Paul Murphy as the developers of the concepts related to Business Data-Warehousing, in the 1980s.
So, what exactly is a Data-Warehouse?
Data warehouses are centralized data storehouses that aim to effectively and conductively integrate data procured from several sources be it from internal or external operating systems, applications and other sources. The data warehouse is entirely designed for business management activities that encompass decision-making, factual and analytical reporting, as well as data mining processes. This isolated system enables research to be accomplished without compromising any of the aspects related to the business’ primary operations. This, in turn, helps the company’s main policy makers to take smarter and well-informed fact-based decisions.
At this juncture, it becomes necessary to convey that Data-Warehouse is very much different from a Database. A database essentially only records and collects current data from the user. On the other hand, a Data-warehouse is a type of database that helps in analysis of the data that it stores. It helps in summarizing huge volumes of data thereby providing accurate and efficient analysis.
The information stored in a data warehouse is often arranged chronologically, containing detailed accounts of all the business activities and transactions that have occurred over the lifespan of the company. As such information is likely to be immense, especially if the company has been in existence for a good many number of years, such warehoused data is often presented to the viewers in a concise or aggregated form, making it easier to query, scan and access. Since such viewers require different aspects of the information to reach a logical and conclusive result, even old and possibly redundant data is often included in a data warehouse. Such data is often a Read-only type, enabling only additions to the data and not modifications.
Application of Data-warehousing is not an easy task and requires a lot of thought before it can be planned and implemented. This tough decision, to purchase and implement a data warehouse, is usually made by a high-level IT executive after consultation with the various departmental heads in the organization.
This project will require inputs from several individuals within the company like in-house experts in business subject-matter. IT experts like Database administrators, Coders, SQL query experts and Data architects will be an essential part of the team that designs the Data-Warehouse. Project managers will also be required to handle the practical aspects of Data-Warehouse implementation.
Maintenance of Data-Warehouses has become an essential feature of business houses worldwide leading to a spurt in the number of people taking courses designed to impart its fundamental and core concepts.
Leave a Reply