Datasheet

12
Part I: The Data Warehouse: Home for Your Data Assets
Figure 1-1:
Most
computer
applica-
tions create
data as a
result of an
activity or
transac-
tion; a data
warehouse
instead
swipes data
created
elsewhere
and con-
verts it into
information.
Place an order
Process order
Create data from
customer order
Schedule customer
shipment
Process customer
shipment
Create data from
customer shipment
Receive
customer
payment
Process
customer
payment
Create data
from customer
payment
Customer
Master
Data
Data
warehouse
Customer
demographic
analysis
Quote to
cash cycle
time analysis
Run the business
Monitor the business
Integrate the business
Data Warehousing: A Working Definition
If you cringe at the thought of defining the concept of a data warehouse and
the associated project to your executive sponsors, the following sections
provide a more detailed and hype-free definition and explanation that you
can use to wow them.
So, what’s a data warehouse? In a literal sense, it is properly described
through the specific definitions of the two words that make up the term:
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