The modern business creates and deals with a lot of data, and has for some time. For most of that time, this data has just been ignored, but recent developments in analytics and business intelligence has made this data extremely valuable. In order for your analysts to make accurate determinations they’ll need access to a wide variety of data from a myriad of sources. This is where data warehousing comes in.
What is Data Warehousing?
This is the process of accumulating data from all corners of your business to give analysts (and in many cases, business owners) the opportunity to get a birds-eye view of the business’ operations. As mentioned above, this is a massive amount of data and needs to be sourced from all ends of your business, so it is a pretty sophisticated system.
Since the data warehouse is at the center of any business intelligence (BI) platform, it’s becoming increasingly crucial for businesses to set up a comprehensive data warehousing strategy. The more thorough the DW strategy, the better the insights businesses can get from their BI initiatives.
Data warehousing isn’t just about copying data, as that wouldn’t provide the up-to-date information that businesses are looking for. DW is about setting up a flow of existential data that can be used by analysts to gain information about the operations of a business so that they can make well-informed decisions when it matters.
How Does It Work?
Think of a data warehouse like a village water system. In this case, instead of clean water being pumped in, stored, and disseminated when called for, it is data. It is effectively a repository for data that can be used when called upon. There are four main components to a data warehouse. They are:
- Load Manager – The load manager is responsible for getting all the data into the warehouse. Data isn’t always immediately compatible with different BI and analytics systems so the load manager also is responsible for converting any non-compatible information into usable data.
- Warehouse Manager – The warehouse manager is responsible for managing the data as it is stored in the warehouse. This includes ensuring the consistency of the data, merging redundant data, archiving and backing up the data
- Query Manager – The query manager is responsible for executing the commands given by the end user.
- User Interface – There are a wide variety of tools that can benefit from having access to the data warehouse.
All Types of Businesses Can Benefit from More Thorough Insights
Regardless of what industry your business operates in—or, if it spans multiple industries—getting better insights into your operations and sales processes is important. Getting a clearer understanding of your business and your customers can help you fashion your offerings to your customers’ needs and create processes that support more efficiency and ultimately, profitability.
Can My Business Benefit from a Data Warehouse?
Ultimately, once the data warehouse is set up, analysts can get to work using their BI or BA platforms to build metrics that will let them better understand how their business processes work, how their customers interact with their marketing, and help them develop strategies to build a more profitable and effective business.
So…yes, your business can benefit from data warehousing.
If you would like to learn more about data warehousing and using business intelligence and analytics to use the data you collect and create to build a more efficient and productive business, give the IT experts at GeekBox IT a call today at (336) 790-1000.