Data Warehouse
A data warehouse is an electronic location where a company’s data is stored and kept sorted and categorized so it can easily be retrieved when required by users; a data warehouse can be a single computer or it can be a network of several computers that act as one system. A data warehouse can include both raw and processed data covering several topics or categories; but they must all be easily accessed and interpreted when needed throughout the daily operations of the company. The data in the warehouse is collected throughout the day to day operations of the business; for example from receipts from the sales and purchasing departments and reports and statistics from the finance and budgeting departments.
A data warehouse is a critical part of a company’s Decision Support System (DSS), which is a system that is used by decision makers to help in making decisions for the company; the DSS pulls its information from the data warehouse, so if there are errors in the information in the data warehouse, the data used in the DSS will be incorrect and so the decisions made will be based on incorrect finding which could cause very serious problems; similarly if data is missing from the warehouse, there is nothing on which to base decision making.
TYPES OF DATA WAREHOUSES
Originally there were only Offline Operational Databases because that was all technology could handle but with the advancement of technology there is now a Real Time Data Warehouse. With the old system, data was usually copied from a real time network to an offline system so that it could be accessed by day to day users; these offline systems were updated daily, weekly or monthly.
With Real Time Data Warehouses, the information is added and made available instantly; data is constantly being added from various points. For instance, a Point of Sales (PoS) machine may be connected to the database and then all transactions performed by the PoS is added the instant it is performed; Real Time warehouses are even more convenient because they allow for the integration of information where everything can be categorized and stored in one location so users can go to one place instead of having to access several databases for various pieces of information.
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES
The biggest advantage with a data warehouse is that all relevant information is stored in one place and is categorized so it is easily accessible by all users who need it; the system is kept accurate and current so that the information is relevant and can provide the required information.
One disadvantage however is that data warehouses are time consuming to create and to keep running; security can also be an issue, especially if your database can be accessed over the internet as your data warehouse then runs the risk of being hacked, corrupted, destroyed, or accessed and used by competitors. However with vigilant database managers to keep the system secure and running optimally, the benefits a data warehouse can provide far outnumber the disadvantages.
