CST 363 Intro to Database Systems Module 7: OLAP

7.1 In your own words what is a data warehouse and why is it important to have another version of the data in a data warehouse?

A Data Warehousing (DW) is process for collecting and managing data from different sources in order to provide meaningful business insights. A data warehouse is typically used to connect and analyze business data from different sources. The data warehouse is the core for data analysis and reporting.

It is a mixture of different technologies and components which helps the strategic use of data. It is electronic storage of a large amounts of information by a business which is designed for query and analysis instead of transaction processing. It is a process of transforming data into information and making it available to users in a timely manner to make a difference.

Here, are most common sectors where Data warehouse is used:

Airline: In the Airline system, it is used for operation purpose like crew assignment, analyses of route profitability, frequent flyer program promotions, etc.

Banking: It is widely used in the banking sector to manage the resources available on desk effectively. Few banks also used for the market research, performance analysis of the product and operations.

Healthcare: Healthcare sector also used Data warehouse to strategize and predict outcomes, generate patient's treatment reports, share data with tie-in insurance companies, medical aid services, etc.

Public sector: In the public sector, data warehouse is used for intelligence gathering. It helps government agencies to maintain and analyze tax records, health policy records, for every individual.

Investment and Insurance sector: In this sector, the warehouses are primarily used to analyze data patterns, customer trends, and to track market movements.

Retain chain: In retail chains, Data warehouse is widely used for distribution and marketing. It also helps to track items, customer buying pattern, promotions and also used for determining pricing policy.

Telecommunication: A data warehouse is used in this sector for product promotions, sales decisions and to make distribution decisions.

Hospitality Industry: This Industry utilizes warehouse services to design as well as estimate their advertising and promotion campaigns where they want to target clients based on their feedback and travel patterns.

DWH (Data warehouse) is needed for all types of users like:

• Decision makers who rely on mass amount of data
• Users who use customized, complex processes to obtain information from multiple data sources.
• It is also used by the people who want simple technology to access the data
• It also essential for those people who want a systematic approach for making decisions.
• If the user wants fast performance on a huge amount of data which is a necessity for reports, grids or charts, then Data warehouse proves useful.
• Data warehouse is a first step If you want to discover 'hidden patterns' of data-flows and groupings.