In the computer world, data warehousing is a component of business intelligence. It is a system that is used for data analysis and reporting. They function as central repositories on consolidated data from one and other disparate sources. The corporate information and data that the data warehouse collects come from external data sources and operational systems. It is meant to support business decisions through data consolidation, analysis, and also reporting at all aggregate levels.
Its concept is easy to understand for laymen. Its basic function is to provide a permanent storage space for data that is required to support reporting, analysis, and other business intelligence functions. This will allow for better business decisions as users gain more access to data.
Benefits of Data Warehousing
In general, the benefits of data warehousing can be summarized in a central premise which is that data warehousing solves the current problem of analyzing separate data and the need to convert it into actionable information that can be implemented or acted on. Through data warehousing, large volume of complex data can also be processed in a more efficient manner. Once the data warehouse is successfully set up, the company will be able to reap the benefits thatbusinesses enjoy from it today. These are the major ways in which data warehousing can enhance efficiency, proficiency, and overall success through data warehousing:
Improved business intelligence
The insights that are derived from data warehousing can enhance the company’s access to information. That means that the business leaders can base their decisions on complete information which can improve the business strategy and operations. This information is collected from data-driven facts and information collated by the business overtime. Leaders also become highly informed about data queries and they can easily retrieve information according to their specific needs.
Timely access to large volume of data
Users and business management have access to data from numerous sources through data warehousing. Only a short time is spent when retrieving the data from various sources. This is made possible by ETL or scheduled data integration. This is a crucial element of data warehousing since it collates all the data from multiple sources and transforms it into a format that can be used. It also allows for data accessing using only one interface which lessens the work of the IT department. Through using the query and analysis tools found in a data warehouse, it is easier to do data analysis and there is less time spent on data gathering.
Higher ROI
The business can easily gain ROI due to the cost savings brought about by data warehousing. Since this concept has been around for quite some time, it is easy to see that analytic projects which result from it have a huge impact on the finances of the business.
Enhanced data equality and consistency
The use of data warehouse collates data from various sources and converting it into a common format. This allows for data from various departments of the business to be consistent and standardized. This enables every department to produce results that are aligned with the other departments in the company.