What is the difference between OLAP and data warehouse?

A data warehouse serves as a repository to store historical data that can be used for analysis. OLAP is Online Analytical processing that can be used to analyze and evaluate data in a warehouse. The warehouse has data coming from varied sources. OLAP tool helps to organize data in the warehouse using multidimensional models. The following are the differences between OLAP and data warehousing: Data Warehouse Data from different data sources is stored in a relational database for end use analysis. Data organization is in the form of summarized, aggregated, non volatile and subject oriented patterns. Supports the analysis of data but does not support data of online analysis. Online Analytical Processing With the usage of analytical queries, data is analyzed and evaluated in the data ware house. Data aggregation and summarization is utilized to organize data using multidimensional models. Speed and flexibility for online data analysis is supported for data analyst in real time environment.

OR Datawarehouse is the place where the data is stored for analyzing where as OLAP is the process of analyzing the data,managing aggregations, partitioning information into cubes for in depth visualization.

In short, Datawarehouse is a collection of those data that help in taking strategic decision and OLAP is online Analytical Processing,used for

database to analyze,update or retrieve data.

datawarehouse is nothing but collection of data from various sources.OLAP is nothing but a tool which is used for processing and analyzing the data that was stored in datawarehouse. The Connection between Data Warehousing and Business Intelligence The Data Warehousing Institute defines business intelligence as: The process, technologies, and tools needed to turn data into information, information into knowledge, and knowledge into plans that drive profitable business action. Business intelligence encompasses data warehousing, business analytic tools, and content/ knowledge management. The fact that the leading authority on BI calls itself the Data Warehousing Institute highlights the vital role that data warehouses play. Unfortunately, the warehouse adds its value behind the scenes. Its job is to provide data to the high-profile tools and applications with which users interact. This background role can hide its significance, especially since BI solution vendors frequently play down the importance of the data warehouse Technically, it is not necessary to build a data warehouse in order to create a BI environment. As a result, there are many substandard solutions on the market that avoid the use of data warehouses. Those advocating these solutions often suggest that the absence of a data warehouse is a good thing. They are following the old marketing adage, If you cant fix it, feature it. What countless BI pioneers have discovered, however, is that taking the short cut around data warehousing will put you on a path that leads to lost time and money. What is BI? BI involves the integration of information with relevant contextual information to detect significant events and identify trends. BI helps companies monitor business trends, and hence adapt quickly to changing scenarios. Transforming data into information enables companies to make intelligent business decisions, even when faced with uncertain judgments and contradictory information. The main advantage of BI is its ability to analyze seemingly unrelated information to provide relevant insights, identify trends and discover opportunities. Major players in BI include Oracle Enterprise Performance Management and Microsoft BI. BI and its Applications Lets consider an example to see how BI tools translate information. A hardware store

may compare its customers' tool purchases with home ownership, type of automobile driven, age, occupation, income, and/or distance between residence and the store. This in turn could lead the store owner to rethink how the business operates and which products to carry. Marketing. A marketing department needs to find ways to help the company grow the top line. It needs the ability to analyze campaign returns, promotional yields, and finetune spending to get the biggest ROI. BI can provide the marketing team with the insights it needs to determine where marketing money is best spent. Sales. With sales, BI is all about process improvement, analyzing the steps, time length or duration inside a broad number of customer opportunities within the sales funnel, then finding the best path and best practices. Managers can use BI to gain specific insight into the sales pipeline. Finance and Accounting. For finance and accounting departments, BI is all about process improvement. BI structures the company's internal data to improve the process. Human Resources. While most organizations don't tend to think of BI in terms of HR, it can help the HR department track and manage things like employee turnover (voluntary versus involuntary) and which candidate pools tend to yield the best candidates. They can also analyze compensation. Inventory and Fulfillment. Many businesses already use some form of BI to monitor and automatically adjust inventory levels. BI can help figure out how fast is that inventory turning. Companywide. BI brings people together collaboratively. Companies that are not driven by metrics or analytics often argue about where problems lie and how to resolve them. With BI, everyone can look at the data and work together to resolve issues and improve business processes. How much does BI cost? It is difficult to identify exactly how much it costs to implement a BI program. The cost will depend on how much is expected from the BI tool and how deep it has to dive into corporate data. Ultimately, BI will make business operations more efficient and save money for the company in the long run. Until recently, few applications could analyze large amounts of information in a timely manner and provide insights. BI gives companies a more structured way to look at data while providing deep interpretations. It aids decision making via real-time, interactive access to and analysis of important corporate information. BI tools bridge the gaps between information silos in an organization. Their analytical capabilities and access to corporate information resources, transaction processing applications, and enterprise applications such as ERP enable users to access and leverage vast amounts of data to analyze business relationships and trends, gaining insight into potential sales opportunities and areas for business process refinement.