Data is a corporate asset and uses the biggest chunk of the IT budget to create. However, data is useless if it is not turned into information that creates value for a company – the data warehouse is the profit base.
So said Keith Jones, MD of Harvey Jones, in his presentation at the ITWeb Data Warehousing conference in Midrand, yesterday.
He argued that data needs to lead to change and that the focus is on adding value to make faster business decisions. “The first measure of success of a data warehouse is time-to-value, and this is more pertinent than any other area of the business.”
According to Jones, investing in a data warehouse is all about what it will cost the company, and how much it will save the company. He added that these are business issues, with an increasing move towards business engagement and value engagement, rather than a strictly IT focus. “Ultimately, it is about business questions that need to be answered, and whether a solution can answer those questions.”
Jones said there is currently no single technology stack solution for the data warehouse, and that companies will have to make peace with the fact that their solution stack will be a mixed one. He added there is no problem with this, as long as the technology can do what the business case requires. “And business simply wants a single version of the truth as soon as possible.”
The answer to solving problems in the data warehouse, said Jones, lies in taking the “build once, use many times” principle when creating a solution. “But IT needs to engage business early in the process and ask if they [business] can make a sound decision with the data IT is supplying,” he added.
It's a very simplified approach, noted Jones, but one he believes will solve most of the issues concerning the data warehouse and business intelligence.
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