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Data Warehousing

Data Warehouses
MGT 327
April 13th, 2004

In the past decade, we have witnessed a computer revolution that was unimaginable. Ten to fifteen years ago, this world never would have imagined what computers would have done for business. Furthermore, the Internet and the ability to conduct electronic commerce have changed the way we are as consumers. One of the upcoming concepts of the computer revolution in the past ten years has been that of Data Warehousing. In the following pages, we will examine this concept in the broadest sense first looking at a brief history of how databases and data warehouses have unrolled. Then we will look at Data warehousing, what it is, its definition, etc. Secondly, we will focus in on how it coincides with the Internet/Intranets and how this is affecting business today. Finally, this discussion will be summarized in what the future might hold for how information is stored and the effects the Internet will play in the scheme of things. Before examining the development of data warehousing and how databases are emerging in business, let's first review what has been done with data before data warehouses to better understand this issue.
In the 1970's virtually all business system development was done on the IBM mainframe using tools like Cobol and IMS. The 1980's brought about mini-computer platforms such as AS/400 and VAX/VMS. The late 1980's and early nineties made UNIX a popular platform with the introduction of client/server architecture. During the past decade, the sharply increasing popularity of the personal computer on business desktops has introduced many new options and opportunities for business analysis. The gap between the programmer and the end user has started to close as Analysts now have at their fingertips many of the tools required to gain proficiency in the uses of spreadsheets and databases. The most important factor in this evolution of data warehousing has been the...

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