Data Warehouse Concepts – What are data warehouse concepts and how can they help my business?

Data Warehouse Concepts

Data warehouse concepts are a basic key to running a smooth business of any kind. The main objective of a data warehouse is to store valuable data, for example in the form of statistics or hours, essential to the way a company will go about conducting daily business. A university for instance will use a data warehouse to store and accumulate payroll, course, and financial aid data.
Although the data contained in the warehouse is valuable, it is not yet of any use to the end user until it has been gathered, organized, and presented as information. A common mistakes business administrators make is perceiving data, and information as the same thing. When in reality, data would essentially be compared to the separate parts that makeup a cabinet, per se, and the fully built cabinet is compared to the end information.
This library of information can be analyzed and used to make important decisions within the company. For instance an employer can analyze whether he is spending more money on part time employees, than on full time employees. He can then decide to save money by converting two part time positions into one full time position. It is highly recommended to invest in some data warehouse books to learn more.
Data warehousing also is a main component in companies seeking a merger. Data integration, or Data Information Integration, basically provides a unified form of data visible to everyone on one database. The data in this newly united warehouse once came from two different databases, and can now be accessed through the same data mart. This is usually used when two companies must merge their databases, for an all around view of how both companies will work together, saving both time and money. By using business intelligence applications the business can make better more structured decisions based on solid facts. While not all data warehouses require business intelligence solutions, many do. It is in the company’s or business’s interest, to invest in both data warehousing, and business intelligence solutions.
There are about eleven data warehouse concepts, all used for the same purpose of providing useful information for the user to make decisions. New users should start by building a conceptual data model, which provides the frame where more specified data will be imputed. They should follow up with a logical data model and end with a physical one. With better understanding these three models can be compared to Russian nesting dolls, only in reverse order. Instead of starting on the outside and work your way in, you will be working from the inside out. The conceptual model will eventually hold the other two, but its the physical data model and the logical data model, that decide the outcome. Like in every logical theoretic idea, when put to work, it doesn’t always work out as you thought. This is where the physical data model comes in. after inputting further information into the model, it will display whether or not the logical ideas, will actually work. Overall data warehousing is designed to save a business potentially costly mistakes, and time with data warehouse concepts.
What is a data warehouse