http://www.exforsys.com/tutorials/data-warehousing/how-does-a-data-warehousediffer-from-a-database.html Why You Need a Data Warehouse?

Data warehousing combines data from multiple, usually varied, sources into one comprehensive and easily manipulated database. Different methods can then be used by a company or organization to access this data for a wide range of purposes. Companies use data warehousing to analyze trends over time. They might use it to view day-to-day operations, but its primary function is often strategic planning based on long-term data overviews. From such reports, companies make business models, forecasts, and other projections. Routinely, because the data stored in data warehouses is intended to provide more overview-like reporting, the data is read-only. Data warehouses are useful because they can allow a company to give managers and executives crucial information that will allow them to make better decisions. In the past, it was very difficult for managers or executives to get information about their company as a whole. This is still challenging today for companies that don't use data warehouses. When a company uses a number of different systems, the information they retrieve can be inconsistent. Data warehouses are useful because they collect data and remodel it. The information is placed in a single unit, and the company can get a clear picture of how their company is performing. Most importantly, they will be able to make decisions with a great deal of confidence. Data will be stored in the warehouse from multiple sources. Once the data is stored, it must be cleaned and transformed. The process of cleaning and transforming data is known as ETL, or Extraction, Transformation, and Loading.

How Does a Data Warehouse Differ From a Database? In computing, a data warehouse or enterprise data warehouse is a database used for reporting and data analysis. It is a central repository of data which is created by integrating data from one or more disparate sources. Data warehouses store current as well as historical data and are used for creating trending reports for senior management reporting such as annual and quarterly comparisons. Data Warehouses became a distinct type of computer database during the late 1980s and early 1990s. They were developed to meet a growing demand for management information and analysis that could not be met by operational systems. There are a number of fundamental differences which separate a data warehouse from a database. The biggest difference between the two is that most databases place an emphasis on a single application, and this application will generally be one that is based on transactions. If the data is analyzed, it will be done within a single domain, but multiple domains are not uncommon. Some of the separate units that may be comprised within a database include payroll or inventory. Each system will place an emphasis on one subject, and it will not deal with other areas. In contrast, data warehouses deal with multiple domains simultaneously. Because it deals with multiple subject areas, the data warehouse finds connections between them. This allows the data warehouse to show how the company is performing as a whole, rather than in individual areas.

Another powerful aspect of data warehouses is their ability to support the analysis of trends. They are not volatile, and the information stored in them doesn't change as much as it would in a common database. Data warehouses have become more important in the Information Age, and they are a necessity for many large corporations, as well as some medium sized businesses. They are much more elaborate than a mere database, and they can find connections in data that cannot be readily found within most databases. Database 1. Used for Online Transactional Processing (OLTP) but can be used for other purposes such as Data Warehousing. This records the data from the user for history. 2. The tables and joins are complex since they are normalized (for RDMS). This is done to reduce redundant data and to save storage space. 3. Entity Relational modeling techniques are used for RDMS database design. 4. Optimized for write operation 5. Performance is low for analysis queries. 6. Database is the place where the data is taken as a base and managed to get available fast and efficient access. Data Warehouse 1. Used for Online Analytical Processing (OLAP). This reads the historical data for the Users for business decisions. 2. The Tables and joins are simple since they are de-normalized. This is done to reduce the response time for analytical queries. 3. Data Modeling techniques are used for the Data Warehouse design 4. Optimized for read operations. 5. High performance for analytical queries 6. Data warehouse is the place where the application data is managed for analysis and reporting purposes.

History of data warehousing

The concept of data warehousing is not a new innovation. In fact, although the name appeared for the first time in a 1988 IBM Systems Journal article An Architecture for a Business Information System , Bill Inmon, the man who is considered the Father of Data Warehousing , used a similar term way back in the 1970s while working as a data professional and becoming an expert in relational data modeling. His experience in database technology and in developing data warehouses lead to his first company, Prism Solutions in 1991. There he released the Prism Warehouse Manager product, which was one of the first examples of a product for creating and managing a data warehouse. Throughout Inmons career, he has written books, founded a new company where he came up with a methodology to accomplish data integration, and been a keynote speaker at industry conferences and trade shows. He even held seminars on developing data warehouses. His 1992 book Building the Data Warehouse, is still highly regarded by IT professionals interested in the database world. Although the original data warehouse concept was identified by Bill Inmon, the technology advanced as a result of Ralph Kimballs dimensional modeling concept for data warehouse design. His series of

Data Warehouse Toolkit books, as well as the growing interest and importance of unstructured data and improvements in database technology that add value to business operations, have also affected changes in data warehousing. In the 1990's as organizations of scale began to need more timely data about their business, they found that traditional information systems technology was simply too cumbersome to provide relevant data efficiently and quickly. Completing reporting requests could take days or weeks using antiquated reporting tools that were designed more or less to 'execute' the business rather than 'run' the business. From this idea, the data warehouse was born as a place where relevant data could be held for completing strategic reports for management. As a result, separate computer databases began to be built that were specifically designed to support management information and analysis purposes. These data warehouses were able to bring in data from a range of different data sources, such as mainframe computers, minicomputers, as well as personal computers and office automation software such as spreadsheet, and integrate this information in a single place. This capability, coupled with user-friendly reporting tools and freedom from operational impacts, has led to a growth of this type of computer system. These days, data warehousing is evolving to meet the growing needs of professionals worldwide, but the ground work done by Bill Inmon and Ralph Kimball still influence todays practices. Inmons work in favor of centralized data warehouses of large size and Kindalls integrated systems of smaller data marts are still influencing todays architectures. As larger business may benefit from Inmons data warehouse approach, smaller businesses might benefit from the Kindalls approach which usually requires a smaller budget to implement. The evolution of todays data warehousing is also driven by users need for real-time access to information on-the-go for research and decision-making purposes, as well as by the advances in the technology and growth of cloud computing.