Data Warehouse...Yeah or Nay?

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Do you have multiple applications for which you want to aggregate data? Are you looking for ways to improve the quality and consistency of your reporting? Do you need a system in which your valuable information can be securely stored for analytics and consistent reporting? If you’ve said Yes to any or all of these questions then a data warehouse is all you need.  

What is a data warehouse?
A data warehouse (DTW) is a centralized repository, traditionally SQL-based, of raw data from many disparate systems. It is a set of standardized views and structure that allow you to easily produce customized reports. A data warehouse has all the processes to pull raw data from various resources into the staged warehouse tables and apply any business rules and transformations to make it dependable. 

What do data warehouses have to offer?

From consolidating information to easier reporting, a data warehouse helps provide a holistic view of financials, as well as opportunities for businesses. By centralizing data within a standardized system, the data warehouse acts as a business’s single source of truth (SSOT), the benefits of which are: 

   ▪ Deliver enhanced business intelligence

   ▪ Learn more about customers through organized data

   ▪ Increase overall return on investment (ROI)

How can a data warehouse improve my business? 

The data warehouse has an input, a core, and a display method. The input is the contributor, or the source for which the data is coming from. The core is where all the raw data is taken in and cleaned or organized. The output is the display method, such as a web-based dashboard or printed report for which the end user may review the structured data from. Below is a brief look into the input, core, and display method of the data warehouse:

   ❖ Input: Custom Configuration Data Files

These data files provide a simple way to maintain any custom data needed to build special filters in the data warehouse. Files can be anything that is not maintained in an existing source of record. Automated processes pull the newest version of these files into the DTW each day.

   ❖ DTW Core: Business Logic Layer and Master Data Layer 

The business logic layer acts as a buffer between the raw data sources staged into the DTW and the pristine copies of the Master Data tables. Business logic can take the form of data quality checks, which helps prevent importing bad data. They can also act as “cleaners” that take data and enrich it with other data in order to make it presentable. 

The master data layer is where the clean, reportable data is located. Most processes will be able to maintain control over what is written and make sure all data that reaches these tables has passed through the proper business rules layers. This layer also includes highly normalized views that provide a user-friendly experience into the DTW for custom reporting and analysis by trained and untrained IT personnel alike. 

   ❖ Display Method: Enterprise Dashboards and Analytics 

Using tools such as Power BI, QlikView or Tableau, we can create powerful decision support dashboards that can help executives at all levels quickly see important key indicators and take action. Thanks to the highly formatted data in the data warehouse, power users can also create their own dashboards and analysis reports easily. These dashboards can be used interactively on a Teams call, or simply distributed into key users’ inboxes automatically.

In addition to dashboards, we can develop charts and graphs and powerful analytics including predictive analytics, that can provide a quick snapshot of your organization’s performance.  End users can be provided with drill down capabilities that allow you to dig further into the data and guide you make strategic decisions based.

D2D collaborates directly with executive, finance and operational teams to define the requirements and deliver on what is needed to help any organization.  Our implementation methodology ensures clients receive what they need in a quality, timely and concise manner, with a technical architecture that is scalable to add or remove applications that your organization needs in the future.