Data Warehouse - A Generic Data Warehouse Environment

A Generic Data Warehouse Environment

The environment for data warehouses and marts includes the following:

  • Source systems that provide data to the warehouse or mart;
  • Data integration technology and processes that are needed to prepare the data for use;
  • Different architectures for storing data in an organization's data warehouse or data marts;
  • Different tools and applications for the variety of users;
  • Metadata, data quality, and governance processes must be in place to ensure that the warehouse or mart meets its purposes.

In regards to source systems listed above, Rainer states, “A common source for the data in data warehouses is the company’s operational databases, which can be relational databases” (130).

Regarding data integration, Rainer states, “It is necessary to extract data from source systems, transform them, and load them into a data mart or warehouse” (131).

Rainer discusses storing data in an organization’s data warehouse or data marts. “There are a variety of possible architectures to store decision-support data” (131).

Metadata are data about data. “IT personnel need information about datasources; database, table, and column names; refresh schedules; and data usage measures (133).

Today, the most successful companies are those that can respond quickly and flexibly to market changes and opportunities. A key to this response is the effective and efficient use of data and information by analysts and managers (Rainer, 127). A “data warehouse” is a repository of historical data that are organized by subject to support decision makers in the organization (128). Once data are stored in a data mart or warehouse, they can be accessed.

Rainer, R. Kelly (2012-05-01). Introduction to Information Systems: Enabling and Transforming Business, 4th Edition (Page 129). Wiley. Kindle Edition.v

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