DATA WAREHOUSING

Data Warehousing

Data Warehousing

Q.1 (Ans): A Data Warehouse is a repository of integrated information, collected from any number and variety of data sources, including various databases and legacy data sources. The size of a data warehouse is generally enormous and the data warehouse normally stores a wide range of information that has been generated over long periods of time. Data related to business subjects such as products, markets, and customers are all collected, integrated, and housed under the data warehouse umbrella. When this vast wealth of information is interfaced to decision support tools that offer powerful data access and analysis capabilities, the data warehouse can be fully exploited by its users. There are available a number of data warehousing tools and products presently on the market. All of these products provide comparatively easy access to the data warehouse, both at the enterprise and the data mart level. All of these tools also provide positive facilities for administering and managing a data warehouse. However, creation, maintenance, and daily administration of data warehouses are still alarming tasks that are far from being fully automated. The triumphant administration and management of a data warehouse demands skills and proficiency that go beyond those required of a traditional database administrator (DBA). Data warehouses have been around for the last decade and their benefits are well documented. They provide a single outlet for all validated and summarized data needed for decision making within an organization. Hence, they have associated benefits, such as simplicity in use, better-quality data, and faster access times resulting in sustaining competitive advantage through strategic management of data. There is a need for the creation of a position that is designated a Data Warehouse Administrator (DWA). The tasks of a DWA include those of a traditional DBA, but the DWA's job is significantly more multifaceted because of the nature of the data warehouse and its position within enterprise data architecture.(Inmon, 2005 67)

Q.2 (Ans): Data warehouses provide a single image of the business's outlook and help users analyze a coherent set of data. They give benefits of a single client-service application containing very important data. Analysts do not need to have computer programmers in order to access the data. All that is needed are basic computing skills, as the whole thing is handled through a number of simple keystrokes or mouse clicks (Davenport, 2007 45). Data warehouses validate each element of data ...