One important question that emerges in the business world is the question of "what are the business benefits of data warehousing." By highlighting some the more important and widespread uses of data warehouses, that answer can be attained. A data warehouse can answer many of the important questions facing today�s dynamic businesses. Some of the more common answers and identifiable benefits are as follows.
Immediate Information Delivery:
Data warehouses shrink the length of time it takes between when business events occur and when executives become alert. For example, in many corporations sales reports are printed once a month, about a week after the end of each month. This means the June sales reports are delivered during the first week in July. Using a data warehouse, those same reports are available on a daily basis. Given this data delivery time compression, business decision makers can exploit opportunities that otherwise would have been overlooked. A good example of this can be observed through a statement from the Toyota Motor Corporation.
"The executives often need a single dealer's report on short notice. Collecting this information at the last minute overloaded the After Sales Services and Sales departments. Nowadays, with the use of a data warehouse, the information is accessed with a single push of a button, and almost totally in real time."Markku Pettersson - General Manager of Field Operations
Data integration from across, and even outside, the organization:
To provide a complete picture, data warehouses typically combine data from multiple sources such as a company's order entry and warranty systems. Thus, with a data warehouse, it may be possible to track all interactions a company has with each customer, from that customer's first inquiry, through the terms of their purchase all the way through any warranty or service interactions. This makes it possible for managers to have answers to questions like, "Is there a correlation between where a customer buys our product and the amount typically spent in supporting that customer?"
Future vision form historical trends:
Effective business analysis frequently includes trend and seasonality analysis. To support this, data warehouses typically contain years of data.
Tools for looking at the data in new ways:
Instead of paper reports, warehouses give users tools for looking at data differently. They also allow those users to manipulate their data. There are times when a color-coded map speaks volumes over a simple paper report. An interactive table that allows the user to drill down into detail data with the click of a mouse can answer questions that might take months to answer in a traditional system.
Freedom from IS department resources limitations:
One of the problems with computer systems is that they usually require computer experts to use them. When a report is needed, the requesting manager calls the IS department. IS then assigns a programmer to write a program to produce the report. The report can be created in a few days or, in extreme cases, in over a year. With a data warehouse, users create most of their reports themselves. Thus, if a manager needs a report for a meeting in half and hour, they, or their assistant, can create that report in a matter of minutes.
