20 - The Enterprise Data Warehouse

Abstract

An enterprise data warehouse is a strategic repository that provides analytical information about the core operations of an enterprise. It is distinct from traditional data warehouses and marts, which are usually limited to departmental or divisional business intelligence. An enterprise data warehouse (EDW) supports enterprise-wide business needs and at the same time is critical to helping IT evolve and innovate while still adhering to the corporate directive to “provide more functionality with less investment.” Organizations that implement enterprise data warehouse initiatives can expect that benefits like it provide a strategic weapon against the competition. The data that are needed to beat the competition to market are universally accessible in the structure needed to make agile business decisions. It addresses data governance and data-quality issues that profoundly limit the operational and strategic use of the cross-functional data. It also eliminates redundant purchasing of data. It addresses compliance requirements by validating and certifying the accuracy of the company’s financial data under Sarbanes-Oxley and other compliance requirements, improves alignment between IT and their business partners by enabling IT to deliver multiple initiatives, including data warehousing, data integration and synchronization, and master data management. These are all developed from the same data, and all of it can be propagated and reused for other purposes. It ensures cross-functional and cross-enterprise collaboration by guaranteeing that data are provided with relevant business context and meaning. A definitive meaning is ascribed for each context. It increases business productivity by leveraging integrated data for business decision queries and reports, thereby reducing delivery costs and time.