Yritysdatavarastoja

Yritysdatavarastoja, known in English as enterprise data warehouses (EDWs), are central repositories of integrated data from various operational sources within an organization. The primary purpose of an EDW is to support business intelligence activities, including reporting, analysis, and decision-making. Unlike transactional systems designed for day-to-day operations, EDWs are optimized for querying and analysis, providing a unified and consistent view of business information.

The data within an EDW is typically subject-oriented, meaning it is organized around major business subjects such as customers, products, sales, and finance, rather than around specific business processes. Data is extracted from source systems, transformed to ensure consistency and quality, and then loaded into the warehouse, a process often referred to as ETL (Extract, Transform, Load). This transformation phase is crucial for resolving discrepancies and standardizing data formats from disparate sources.

EDWs enable organizations to gain deeper insights into their performance, identify trends, and make more informed strategic decisions. They facilitate historical analysis, allowing businesses to track changes over time and understand the impact of various factors. The architecture of an EDW often involves multiple layers, including staging areas, the core data warehouse, and data marts, which are smaller, subject-specific subsets of the EDW designed for particular departments or user groups. The development and maintenance of an EDW require significant planning, resources, and ongoing effort to ensure its effectiveness and relevance to business needs.