Data Warehouse - central collection and processing of data from different sources.
Data processing
The data warehouse system is created by a central collection and processing of data from various sources. It mainly supports the analysis and is used for the support of business decisions.
With a DWH system, the consistent view of the source data is tracked, which enables comprehensive evaluations. It is also often used as the basis for a company-wide strategy for performance management or business intelligence systems.
Furthermore it helps separating the data used for the operational business from those used for reporting purposes, decision support, analysis, controlling and company management.
How it works
In addition to a relational database, a data warehouse environment includes an extraction, transportation, transformation, and loading (ETL) solution, an online analytical processing engine, client analysis tools and other applications that manage the process of gathering data and delivering it to business users.
There are two approaches for data warehousing, top down and bottom up. The top down approach spins off data marts for specific groups of users after the complete data warehouse has been created. The bottom up approach builds the data marts first and then combines them into a single, all-encompassing data warehouse.