Data Warehouses and Data Marts
Instructions:
Write a one- to two-page (250-500 word) paper that discusses the differences between data warehouses and data marts. Also, discuss how organizations can use data warehouses and data marts to acquire data. You must use the CSU Online Library to locate at least two sources for your paper.
APA rules for formatting, quoting, paraphrasing, citing, and listing of sources are to be followed
Solution
Data Warehouses and Data Marts
A Data Warehouse can be described as a repository that is used to store data extracted from multiple data or information sources. It extracts the data and transforms it into a multidimensional data model used for efficient analysis and querying. A Data Mart, on the other hand, is a simple type of a Data Warehouse. It represents data, programs, hardware and software. This shows that it focuses on a single functional area such as marketing or sales department. The Data Marts from different departments are totally unique though they work together (Firestone 2002). Data used in them can also be drawn from a single source such as external system or central Data Warehouse.
Though both Data Warehouses and Data Marts have a common purpose, they have their differences. The greatest difference is in their usage area and scope. For instance, Data Warehouses focus on multiple subject areas and control an organization while Data Marts focus on specific subject areas and control a department of an organization (Olivia 2011). A Data Mart is simply a subset of a Data Warehouse. Data Warehouses are larger than 100 GB while Data Marts are less than that. There difference in scope makes Data Marts simpler to use than Data Warehouses.
Most
organizations prefer performing in-house data analysis instead of outsourcing
to business analysts due to security reasons. As a result, organizations use
Data Warehouses to acquire data from external sources. The data is cleansed,
organized, related and cataloged for extraction and analysis. Data Marts
belonging to different departments can then get the data from the central corporate
Data warehouse and use it for departmental or specific analysis.
References
Olivia, E. (2011). Difference Between Data Warehousing and Data Marts. Retrieved from http://www.differencebetween.net/technology/difference-between-data-warehousing-and- data-marts/.
Firestone, J., M. (2002). Data Warehouses, Data Marts, and Data Warehousing: New Definitions and New Conceptions.DKMS brief No. six.