{"id":22083,"date":"2023-12-19T15:26:35","date_gmt":"2023-12-19T14:26:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.huwise.com\/?post_type=glossary&#038;p=22083"},"modified":"2024-03-06T17:43:26","modified_gmt":"2024-03-06T16:43:26","slug":"data-warehouse","status":"publish","type":"glossary","link":"https:\/\/www.huwise.com\/en\/glossary\/data-warehouse\/","title":{"rendered":"Data Warehouse"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>What is a Data Warehouse?<\/h2>\n<p>A data warehouse is a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.huwise.com\/en\/what-is-data-management-practical-guide\/\">data management solution<\/a> that brings together data from multiple sources into a single, centralized, large repository for storage, analysis and reporting. Data is either structured (such as database tables or spreadsheets), or semi-structured (for example XML files or webpages).<\/p>\n<p>Data comes from sources such as transactional systems, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.huwise.com\/en\/glossary\/relational-database\/\">relational databases<\/a> and business applications (such as for sales, ERP, CRM, finance) and is added on a regular basis. Before entering the data warehouse it is normally cleaned and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.huwise.com\/en\/glossary\/standardized-data\/\">standardized<\/a> to ensure consistency, accuracy and quality. While data warehouses were traditionally hosted on-premise, they can now be hosted in the cloud or on a specialist data warehouse appliance.<\/p>\n<h2>What is a Data Warehouse used for?<\/h2>\n<p>Data warehouses provide a centralized information solution and can store enormous historical volumes of data. This can then be used for business intelligence and reporting functions including:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.huwise.com\/en\/glossary\/analytics\/\">Data analytics<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.huwise.com\/en\/glossary\/data-mining\/\">Data mining<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.huwise.com\/en\/blog\/dashboards-datastories-maps-which-data-visualization-should-you-choose\/\">Data visualization<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.huwise.com\/en\/glossary\/artificial-intelligence-ai\/\">Artificial intelligence (AI)<\/a> and machine learning<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This enables better understanding of business performance, improved decision-making, and the ability to predict future trends.<\/p>\n<h2>How does a Data Warehouse differ from alternatives?<\/h2>\n<h3>Data Warehouse vs Data Lake<\/h3>\n<p>A data warehouse contains structured data that has been cleansed and standardized to fit with specific models or use cases. By contrast, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.huwise.com\/en\/glossary\/data-lake\/\">data lake<\/a> contains raw data which can be structured, semi-structured, or unstructured. As data is stored in a raw form, rather than being optimized for a specific purpose, it can be accessed for a variety of immediate or future uses, depending on the organization\u2019s needs.<\/p>\n<h3>Data Warehouse vs database<\/h3>\n<p>A standard database collects transactional information from specific, ongoing business processes, such as sales. It therefore provides a limited view of overall operations, and is optimized to support the ongoing business process. By contrast, a data warehouse aggregates multiple sources of information (including databases) and is optimized to store very large volumes of data, making it available for fast querying and analysis.<\/p>\n<h3>Data Warehouse vs Data Mart<\/h3>\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.huwise.com\/en\/glossary\/data-mart\/\">data mart<\/a> contains a limited subset of data &#8211; such as information relating to a specific department or business process. It is normally part of a data warehouse and is designed to make it easier and quicker to access smaller groups of information. Unlike a full data warehouse, a data mart is not comprehensive or designed to provide enterprise-wide data.<\/p>\n<h3>Data Warehouse vs Data Lakehouse<\/h3>\n<p>As the name suggests, a data lakehouse is a hybrid approach that combines the strengths of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.huwise.com\/en\/blog\/data-lake-data-warehouse-best-option-to-deliver-value\/\">data warehouse and data lake approaches<\/a> in a unified platform. Data can be stored in its raw form (as in a data lake), but with the ability to use data processing and analytics as in a data warehouse.<\/p>\n<h2>How does a Data Warehouse work?<\/h2>\n<p>Before creating a data warehouse, companies need to define its architecture and schema, setting how data is stored and how it will be used.<\/p>\n<p>Information is added using <a href=\"https:\/\/www.huwise.com\/en\/glossary\/extract-transform-load-etl\/\">Extract, Transform, Load (ETL)<\/a> processes, either on a one-off, real-time or regular batch timeframe. Once added, data can be used and analyzed through business intelligence tools by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.huwise.com\/en\/glossary\/data-analyst\/\">data analysts<\/a> and data scientists.<\/p>\n<p>A data warehouse has three tiers:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-23657 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.huwise.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/data-warehouse-en.svg\" alt=\"data warehouse\" \/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Top tier<\/strong>: the front-end client that presents results through reporting, analysis, and data mining tools<\/li>\n<li><strong>Middle tier<\/strong>: the analytics engine that is used to access and analyze data<\/li>\n<li><strong>Bottom tier<\/strong>: the database server, where data is loaded and stored<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>What are the advantages and disadvantages of a Data Warehouse?<\/h2>\n<h3>The advantages of a Data Warehouse<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.huwise.com\/en\/blog\/3-ways-to-improve-data-quality-in-your-organization\/\">Improved data quality<\/a>, by cleaning and standardizing data from multiple sources<\/li>\n<li>Faster business intelligence and real-time decision making, based on analyzing all organizational data<\/li>\n<li>Ability to use advanced analytics, such as data mining, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.huwise.com\/en\/blog\/the-impact-of-genai-on-data-management-predictions-from-gartner\/\">AI<\/a> and machine learning<\/li>\n<li>Greater consistency of data across the organization, breaking down data silos<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>The disadvantages of a Data Warehouse<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Data warehouses are complex to create, manage and update<\/li>\n<li>There is a requirement for skilled experts to both manage the data warehouse and run reports and analytics. Normal business users cannot query the data without in-depth technical skills<\/li>\n<li>Creating and running a data warehouse is expensive, due to the need for specialist skills and technology<\/li>\n<li>Data warehouses cannot handle unstructured data, which is a growing part of data volumes<\/li>\n<li>Data warehouses are inflexible as their models and use cases have to be defined up-front<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Learn more about the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.huwise.com\/en\/blog\/data-lake-data-warehouse-best-option-to-deliver-value\/\">differences between data warehouses and data lakes<\/a> and how to unlock value from your data in this Huwise blog.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div align=\"center\">\n<p><!--HubSpot Call-to-Action Code --><span id=\"hs-cta-wrapper-0e49dffc-8a37-49e3-9cab-bb2cf00834ee\" class=\"hs-cta-wrapper\"><span id=\"hs-cta-0e49dffc-8a37-49e3-9cab-bb2cf00834ee\" class=\"hs-cta-node hs-cta-0e49dffc-8a37-49e3-9cab-bb2cf00834ee\"><!-- [if lte IE 8]>\n\n\n<div id=\"hs-cta-ie-element\"><\/div>\n\n\n<![endif]--><a href=\"https:\/\/cta-redirect.hubspot.com\/cta\/redirect\/2041226\/0e49dffc-8a37-49e3-9cab-bb2cf00834ee\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\"><img decoding=\"async\" id=\"hs-cta-img-0e49dffc-8a37-49e3-9cab-bb2cf00834ee\" class=\"hs-cta-img\" style=\"border-width: 0px;\" src=\"https:\/\/no-cache.hubspot.com\/cta\/default\/2041226\/0e49dffc-8a37-49e3-9cab-bb2cf00834ee.png\" alt=\"Ebook - Data Portal: the essential solution to maximize impact for data leaders\" \/><\/a><\/span><script charset=\"utf-8\" src=\"https:\/\/js.hscta.net\/cta\/current.js\"><\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> hbspt.cta.load(2041226, '0e49dffc-8a37-49e3-9cab-bb2cf00834ee', {\"useNewLoader\":\"true\",\"region\":\"na1\"}); <\/script><\/span><!-- end HubSpot Call-to-Action Code --><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":23630,"parent":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false},"tags":[453],"letter":[351],"class_list":["post-22083","glossary","type-glossary","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-governance","letter-d"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Data Warehouse - Huwise<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A data warehouse brings together data from multiple sources into a single, centralized, large repository for storage, analysis and reporting.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.huwise.com\/en\/glossary\/data-warehouse\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Data Warehouse - 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