Some Definitions …
       •  A data warehouse (DW) is a collection of integrated 
          databases designed to support a DSS
       •  An operational data store (ODS) stores data for a specific 
          application.  It feeds the data warehouse a stream of desired 
          raw data.
       •  A data mart is a lower-cost, scaled-down version of a data 
          warehouse, usually designed to support a small group of 
          users (rather than the entire firm)
       •  The metadata is information that is kept about the warehouse
       •  Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) is the broad category of 
          software technology that enables multidimensional analysis of 
          enterprise data
             Slides adapted by Michael Lang, NUI Galway from Turban et al.  (2005) Decision Support Systems and 
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             Intelligent Systems, 7th ed, © Prentice Hall
                    Business Intelligence and 
                                       Analytics
        •   Business intelligence (BI)
             – Acquisition of data and information for use in decision-making 
                activities
        •   Business analytics (BA)
             – Models and solution methods
        •   Web intelligence
             – Application of business intelligence techniques to Web sites
        •   Web analytics
             – Application of business analytics to Web sites
        •   Data mining
             – Applying models and methods to data to identify patterns and 
                trends
                Slides adapted by Michael Lang, NUI Galway from Turban et al.  (2005) Decision Support Systems and 
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                Intelligent Systems, 7th ed, © Prentice Hall
                        Data Warehouse
       •  Subject-oriented (as opposed to application-oriented)
           – Data is organised based on its intended use
       •  “Scrubbed” and “cleansed” so that data from heterogeneous 
          sources are standardised
       •  Time series, historical data
       •  Non-volatile (read only)
       •  Summarised: in decision-usable format
       •  Data from both internal and external sources is present
       •  Metadata included
           – Business metadata
           – Semantic metadata
             Slides adapted by Michael Lang, NUI Galway from Turban et al.  (2005) Decision Support Systems and 
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             Intelligent Systems, 7th ed, © Prentice Hall
        Data Warehouse: Environment
       • The organisation’s legacy systems and data stores 
         provide data to the data warehouse (DW) or mart
       • During the transfer of data from the various sources, 
         cleansing or transformation may occur, so the data in 
         the DW is more uniform
       • Simultaneously, metadata is recorded
       • Finally, the DW or mart may be used to create one or 
         more “personal” warehouses
            Slides adapted by Michael Lang, NUI Galway from Turban et al.  (2005) Decision Support Systems and 
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            Intelligent Systems, 7th ed, © Prentice Hall
        Data Warehouse: Environment
            Slides adapted by Michael Lang, NUI Galway from Turban et al.  (2005) Decision Support Systems and 
       6
            Intelligent Systems, 7th ed, © Prentice Hall