Data Warehousing Definition

Data Warehousing may be defined as a collection of corporate information

and data derived from operational systems and external data sources. A
data warehouse is designed with the purpose of inducing business
decisions by allowing data consolidation, analysis, and reporting at different
aggregate levels. Data is populated into the DW by extraction,
transformation, and loading.

Data Mining vs.Data Warehousing

Data Warehousing is the process of compiling and organizing data into one
common database,Data mining refers the process of extracting
meaningful data from that database.

Data warehousing techniques and tools include DW appliances, platforms,

architectures, data stores, and spreadmarts; database architectures,
structures, scalability, security, and services; and DW as a service.

Data Warehousing combines information collected from multiple sources

into one comprehensive database.

Data warehousing also related to data mining which means looking for
meaningful data patterns in the huge data volumes and devise newer
strategies for higher sales and profits.

Introduction to Data Warehousing Types

The three main types of Data Warehouses are:

 Enterprise Data Warehouse

 Operational Data Store
 Data Mart
Enterprise Data Warehouse: Enterprise Data Warehouse is a centralized
warehouse, which provides decision support service across the enterprise.
It offers a unified approach to organizing and representing data. It also
provides the ability to classify data according to the subject and give
access according to those divisions.

Operational Data Store: Operational Data Store, also called ODS, is data
store required when neither Data warehouse nor OLTP systems support
organizations reporting needs. In ODS, Data warehouse is refreshed in real
time. Hence, it is widely preferred for routine activities like storing records
of the Employees.

Data Mart: A Data Mart is a subset of the data warehouse. It specially

designed for specific segments like sales, finance, sales, or finance. In an
independent data mart, data can collect directly from sources.

Data Warehouses and data marts are mostly built on dimensional data
modeling where fact tables relate to dimension tables.

Data warehouse characteristics[edit]

There are basic features that define the data in the data warehouse that include subject
orientation, data integration, time-variant, nonvolatile data, and data granularity.

Subject-Oriented[edit]
Unlike the operational systems, the data in the data warehouse revolves around subjects of the
enterprise (database normalization). Subject orientation can be really useful for decision
making. Gathering the required objects is called subject oriented.

Integrated[edit]
The data found within the data warehouse is integrated. Since it comes from several operational
systems, all inconsistencies must be removed. Consistencies include naming conventions,
measurement of variables, encoding structures, physical attributes of data, and so forth.

Time-variant[edit]
While operational systems reflect current values as they support day-to-day operations, data
warehouse data represents data over a long time horizon (up to 10 years) which means it stores
historical data. It is mainly meant for data mining and forecasting, If a user is searching for a
buying pattern of a specific customer, the user needs to look at data on the current and past
purchases.[21]
Nonvolatile[edit]
The data in the data warehouse is read-only which means it cannot be updated, created, or
deleted.[22]

Summarized[edit]
In the data warehouse, data is summarized at different levels.The user may start looking at the
total sale units of a product in an entire region. Then the user looks at the states in that region.
Finally, they may examine the individual stores in a certain state. Therefore, typically, the
analysis starts at a higher level and moves down to lower levels of details.
How does data warehouse help in business?
Benefits of data warehouses. A goal common to all businesses is to make
betterbusiness decisions than their competitors. ... In addition to making strategic
decisions, a data warehouse can also assist in marketing segmentation, inventory
management, financial management, and sales.

What is the difference between database and data Warehousing?

A data warehouse is a database of a different kind: an OLAP (online analytical

processing) database. A data warehouse exists as a layer on top of
anotherdatabase or databases (usually OLTP databases).

What does ETL mean?

ETL is short for extract, transform, load, three database functions that are combined
into one tool to pull data out of one database and place it into another database. Extract
is the process of reading data from a database.

What is ETL Example?

(ETL) is the general procedure of copying data from one or more sources into a
destination system which represents the data differently from the source.

Business Application

Business software (or a business application) is any software or set of computer programs
used by business users to perform various business functions. These business applications are
used to increase productivity, to measure productivity and to perform other business functions
accurately.

Business applications are built based on the requirements from the business users. Also, these
business applications are built to use certain kind of Business transactions or data items. These
business applications run flawlessly until there are no new business requirements or there is no
change in underlying Business transactions.

Reporting errors[edit]
The Business User calls the business application support team phone number or sends an e-
mail to the business application support team. The business application support team gets all
the details of the error from the business user on the phone or from the e-mail. These details
are then entered in a tracking software. The tracking software creates a request number and
this request number is given to the business user. This request number is used to track the
progress on the support issue. The request is assigned to a support team member.

Notification of errors[edit]
For critical business application errors (such as an application not available or an application not
working correctly), an e-mail is sent to the entire organization or impacted teams so that they
are aware of the issue. They are also provided with an estimated time for application availability.

Investigation or analysis of application errors[edit]

The business application support team member collects all the necessary information about the
business software error. This information is then recorded in the support request. All of the data
used by the business user is also used in the investigation. The application program is reviewed
for any possible programming errors.

Error resolution[edit]
If any similar business application errors occurred in the past then the issue resolution steps are
retrieved from the support knowledge base and the error is resolved using those steps. If it is a
new support error, then new issue resolution steps are created and the error is resolved. The
new support error resolution steps are recorded in the knowledge base for future use. For major
business application errors (critical infrastructure or application failures), a phone conference
call is initiated and all required support persons/teams join the call and they all work together to
resolve the error.

Code correction[edit]
If the business application error occurred due to programming errors, then a request is created
for the application development team to correct programming errors. If the business user needs
new features or functions in the business application, then the required
analysis/design/programming/testing/release is planned and a new version of the business
software is deployed.

Business process correction[edit]

If the business application error occurred due to a work flow issue or human errors during data
input, then the business users are notified. Business users then review their work flow and
revise it if necessary. They also modify the user guide or user instructions to avoid such an error
in the future.