Data Warehousing

Data Warehouses

In the past decade, we have witnessed a computer revolution that was unimaginable. Ten to fifteen years ago, this world never would have imagined what computers would have done for business. Furthermore, the Internet and the ability to conduct electronic commerce have changed the way we are as consumers. One of the upcoming concepts of the computer revolution in the past ten years has been that of Data Warehousing. In the following pages, we will examine this concept in the broadest sense first looking at a brief history of how databases and data warehouses have unrolled. Then we will look at Data warehousing, what it is, its definition, etc. Secondly, we will focus in on how it coincides with the Internet/Intranets and how this is affecting business today. Finally, this discussion will be summarized in what the future might hold for how information is stored and the effects the Internet will play in the scheme of things. Before examining the development of data warehousing and how databases are emerging in business, let’s first review what has been done with data before data warehouses to better understand this issue.

In the 1970’s virtually all business system development was done on the IBM mainframe using tools like Cobol and IMS. The 1980’s brought about mini-computer platforms such as AS/400 and VAX/VMS. The late 1980’s and early nineties made UNIX a popular platform with the introduction of client/server architecture. During the past decade, the sharply increasing popularity of the personal computer on business desktops has introduced many new options and opportunities for business analysis. The gap between the programmer and the end user has started to close as Analysts now have at their fingertips many of the tools required to gain proficiency in the uses of spreadsheets and databases. The most important factor in this evolution of data warehousing has been the sharply increasing power of computer hardware. Along with the increase of this power, their prices have fallen just as sharply. This has played a key role in business today. No longer will high costs and huge mainframes be dominant factors in our ability to do business. The wide array of choices with the PC has allowed databases to evolve quickly both commercially and on the information superhighway

So what is a Data Warehouse? A data warehouse is...

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...arts into the warehouse environment.

In the research of the up-in-coming concept of data warehousing, I looked into the many fundamental concepts that surround it. Using information from a vast amount of places and using it along with extranets, intranets, and the internet will be a requirements to compete in today’s global economy. No longer can large companies such as IBM and General Motors rely on simple database programs to do business. It is now at a much larger scale, entailing customer’s suppliers, and everyone within the company to access the information. Data warehousing is, by all means, a wave of the future. However, with the wave come growing pains and technological advancements that will take time to overcome. From all information present, along with past surveys, companies must choose to make information available, accurate, and above all fast.

Works Cited

- Bennis, Warren, and Robert Townsend, Reinventing Leadership. New York: William Morrow, 1995.

- Robbins, Stephen P., Essentials of Organizational Behavior. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1988.

- Smith, Hedrick., Rethinking America. New York: Random House, Inc., 1995.