Data Warehouse Development – Get Knowledge From Your Data

Business Model Development

The first step in data warehouse development is to define the enterprise business model by gathering and listing all real life business activities and drawing up a case model. An enterprise business model to be effective must be consistent, where business requirements should be identified through a complex and systematic approach.

Some models are based on functions closer to an organizational structure which is liable to change with emerging business trends. They also demonstrate how business workers and other concerned entities work together to achieve business processes. The essence in an enterprise business model though is a consistent framework.

Data Model and Architecture Development

When a model is in place the next step is to create a system data model – an abstract data model which describes how data is used and represents business events, entities, transactions and sundry real life activities that are defined by the enterprise business model.

The third step will be to define the data warehouse architecture which is a framework detailing how the elements and services of the warehouse mesh together and how to direct the data warehouse’s growth over time. This is analogous to a set of building documents, blueprints, plans and specifications prepared prior to construction.

Datawarehouse Development

The final step in data warehouse development when the foregoing steps are set, documented and planned is to establish a physical database. A data warehouse requires a physical data base system where computer hardware is one of the prime considerations. The computer’s processing power should be able to cope with the intensive processing that will arise.

Storage devices must be able to hold large volumes of data which are updated frequently. Networking support, one essential feature, must be fast and efficient. Other considerations are the selection of the right software applications. The market is replete with relational database software applications. Some of the well-know names in the field are Microsoft SQL, Informix, PostgresSQL, Sybase and MySQL.

Education, Training, Documentation

Successful implementation requires educating users and systems staff members into the complex technologies involved. The data warehouse development training process will need several layers of training to ensure that the model is productive and generates the necessary data in a productive and meaningful manner.