Ch 8
How data warehouses analyse information
1. The data warehouse modeled in compiles information from internal databases or transactional/operational databases and external databases through extraction, transformation, and loading (ETL), 2.ETL is a process that extracts information from internal and external databases, transforms the information using a common set of enterprise definitions, and loads the information into a data warehouse. 3. The data warehouse then sends subsets of the information to data marts.
A data mart
contains a subset of data warehouse information.
A cube
the common term for the representation of multidimensional information
BI to answer tough business questions
-Where has the business been? _Historical perspective offers important variables for determining trends and patterns. -Where is the business now?_ Looking at the current business situation allows managers to take effective action to solve issues before they grow out of control. -Where is the business going? _Setting strategic direction is critical for planning and creating solid business strategies.
Multidimensional databases
A relational database contains information in a series of two-dimensional tables. In a data warehouse and data mart, information is multidimensional, meaning it contains layers of columns and rows. For this reason, most data warehouses and data marts are:
DIfference between data warehouses and data marts
Think of data warehouses as having a more organizational focus and data marts as having focused information subsets particular to the needs of a given business unit such as finance or production and operations.
Infographics
____ displays information graphically so it can be easily understood. - can present the results of large data analysis looking for patterns and relationships that monitor changes in variables over time.
Information cleansing
______ allows an organization to fix these types of inconsistencies and cleans the information in the data warehouse.
Informing
______ is accessing large amounts of data from different management information systems.
Business intelligence dashboards
___________ track corporate metrics such as critical success factors and key performance indicators and include advanced capabilities such as interactive controls allowing users to manipulate data for analysis.
Specialized software tools
_____________use sophisticated algorithms to parse, standardize, correct, match, and consolidate data warehouse information.
Information cleansing or scrubbing
___________a process that weeds out and fixes or discards inconsistent, incorrect, or incomplete information.
The data warehouse
__________collects and stores integrated sets of historical information from multiple operational systems and feeds them to one or more data marts. It may also provide end-user access to support enterprisewide views of information.
The tradeoff for perfect information
_______lies in accuracy versus completeness. Accurate information means it is correct, while complete information means there are no blanks.
Data-mining tools
_______use a variety of techniques to find patterns and relationships in large volumes of information and infer rules from them that predict future behavior and guide decision making.
Data warehouses
______offer strategic level, external, integrated, and historical information so businesses can make projections, identify trends, and decide key business issues.
A data warehouse
a logical collection of information—gathered from many different operational databases—that supports business analysis activities and decision-making tasks.
A dimension
a particular attribute of information.
extraction, transformation, and loading (ETL)
a process that extracts information from internal and external databases, transforms the information using a common set of enterprise definitions, and loads the information into a data warehouse.
Data visualization
describes technologies that allow users to "see" or visualize data to transform information into a business perspective.
Data-mining tools for data warehouses and data marts
query tools, reporting tools, multidimensional analysis tools, statistical tools, and intelligent agents.
True value of a data warehouse
the ability to provide multidimensional analysis that allows users to gain insights into their information.
Data mining
the process of analyzing data to extract information not offered by the raw data alone.
purpose of a data warehouse
to aggregate information throughout an organization into a single repository in such a way that employees can make decisions and undertake business analysis activities.
