Challenges and conflicts integrating heterogeneous data warehouses in virtual organisations

Abstract

This paper addresses challenges, which appear when heterogeneous data warehouses are integrated. Such a scenario especially shows up in the environment of virtual organisations. The involved companies, of the before named constellation, need to combine their business data to attain 'one single version of truth' for decisions beyond organisational borders. The occurring issues are depicted and analysed from an exemplary and theoretical point of view. Not only weaknesses, but also reasons for those shortcomings are analysed. The introduction throws a glance at growing data volumes and the derived consequences for the business. Afterwards, a working definition of the term 'virtual organisation' is established and the link and interdependence to information technology is offered. In the following sections schema and mapping conflicts are discussed. The eighth section targets the detection of organisational deficits, which are probably a facilitator for those problems. Moreover, path breaking decisions within a data warehouse integration project are visualised, to provide decision makers with some rough reference points. The paper is completed by a view on the human component and an outlook on in-memory computing.