What Do Modern Data Warehouses Look Like?
Today’s businesses have entirely different structures than what they were before. There was a time when organizations ran on pure intuitions rather than studies robustly backed by data. Business people were lucky and guided by their understanding of the market. So, even if the scenario were entirely different in reality, they’d go on doing a thing because their conscience said so.
While this worked for some businesses, the results were the opposite for others. A distinct example is the number of companies you see today in the world’s top companies. Only a handful of these companies were excelling back a decade and continue to do so. On the other hand, you will see an entirely new clan of companies rise from this. So, the question is, why does this happen?
The answer is not that simple, but one of the most critical factors behind it is the relevance of data in today’s times. In other words, your business has to stay relevant to the market’s current trends. Otherwise, there is no way that you can revive it at any cost. And diving into the data is the only thing that can help organizations stay afloat in today’s cutthroat scenario.
If people genuinely want to excel with their strategies, they must up their game with data analytics. The analytics journey begins with a data warehouse. In the following sections, let’s examine its various aspects.
What is a Data Warehouse?
A data warehouse is a warehouse, but only with the exception that data is stored in it. Unlike a traditional warehouse, where sellers, retailers or manufacturers store goods and raw materials, data warehouses store data.
Different kinds of data warehouses exist, including on-premise, cloud, and hybrid. On-premise data warehouses are where the data warehousing solutions system is stored physically on the business campus. It is imperative to understand that a data warehouse requires infrastructure just like a typical warehouse.
Businesses that choose on-premise systems have to invest in the infrastructure and keep aside the costs of maintenance, which often puts a heavy burden on their shoulders. While it might seem like a good option, considering safety and other measures, it could be a fair choice for heavily invested businesses.
Cloud data warehouses are the best option for new entrants and other business options. If you’re wondering why, that’s because cloud data warehouses can help you with all your storage needs and save on your business needs to a great extent. For example, cloud data warehouses can help you start your business without investing in a full-fledged infrastructure and more.
Modern Day Data Warehouses
There is no set up fee, you do not need to invest in regular maintenance. You do not always need to pay for the entire setup, even when you’re not using all the data. Warehousing involves quite a few flexibilities that you love to have for your business.
In another instance, companies love to have a balanced cloud system and on-premise data warehouses. In such a case, hybrid functionality is established, where both are used according to their needs.
Even though on-premise systems have become old-fashioned due to heavy maintenance costs, most enterprises have moved towards using cloud data warehouses. Modern-day data warehouses are more like mega distribution centres. In other words, they are represented most popularly by combining data lakes and data warehouses.
In simpler terms, modern-day data warehouses are often called unified warehouses for analytics. This means they can easily take in data from multiple sources and present it in one single format. They adequately handle multi-structured data and present insights that are relevant to businesses.
That is because if you look at the scenario of organizations, you will find that most have their presence on different platforms. While some organizations have been selling effectively on one platform, they expand to others because customers are there. When you have to design large-scale campaigns while keeping all these in mind, you must go nowhere else but to cloud data warehouses.
One of the biggest reasons cloud data warehouses are more suited for today’s needs is that organizations need agile methodologies. These methodologies require teams and technologies to deploy products faster, rapidly change existing ones, and understand market trends, all of which contribute to faster innovation.
However, this is not the case with traditional on-premise systems. That is why we need modern data warehouses. They have separate computing and storage space, so you only pay for what you use.
Finally, organizations can focus only on their goals, not their data management platforms. With cloud data warehouses, you can deploy several free tools and use the best technology to advance your data management pipeline and derive the best insights from your data.
