There are many business drivers in play today that are
motivating companies to establish data warehouses. Current, consistent and
accurate business information, they
believe is critical for strategic and tactical decision making. Some of
the business drivers are summarized below.
Single Version of the Truth
Fragmented, inconsistent and outdated data in multiple
databases does not permit good strategic and tactical decision making.
Companies require that business intelligence be consolidated and presented in
a suitable format for decision making. Inconsistent information from
disparate information systems is no longer acceptable. Data Warehouses
help companies to achieve a single version of the truth by consolidating the
most accurate and current data from the most reliable systems.
Current and Accurate Information
In a highly competitive market place, businesses need to
quickly identify problems and opportunities and respond to events expeditiously and
appropriately. Up-to-date information on sales,
profits, inventories and customers can help identify problems early
and leverage
opportunities that could otherwise be missed. Most application systems are too narrowly scoped
and operate on cycles that don't support real-time or near real-time information
access. A data warehouse, however, can be designed to deliver up-to-date
accurate information to decision makers.
Rapidly Changing Information Needs
It is very difficult for businesses to anticipate future
information needs. Application systems often seem rigid and unable to
adapt to evolving management information needs. Businesses
need the flexibility to slice and dice data in many ways in order to identify
and analyze changes in the market place or in the business itself. Data
Warehouses are designed for online, analytical purposes and provide great
flexibility
Customer Service Excellence
It is often said that 10% of a business's customers account
for 90% of the business's profits. Identifying the good customers and
providing them with excellent service helps retain good customers. Data
Warehousing can help identify a company's best customers using a any number or
criterion.
New Service Delivery Channels
It is no longer sufficient to provide customers with just
9:00 AM to 5:00 PM in-store service. Customers want to do business 7 days
a week, 24 hours per day using alternate service delivery channels such as via
the Internet or telephone. By examining all customer transactions,
regardless of the channel used, businesses can better understand their customers
and serve them better. Data Warehousing is critical for profiling
customers and their transactions, regardless of the channel used.
