Such Data Warehouses would traditionally have stored current and historical data that were typically used for creating trend reports such as annual and quarterly comparative analysis scenarios.
Due to the upsurge of social media, new content systems and mobile devices coupled with a move away from an “enterprise” based data model, companies are now being forced to reassess how they previously viewed and managed their own Data Warehouses.
IT teams are being forced to respond to the exponential growth in data by adding new capabilities to Data Warehouses so they can handle this new type of data, the increased volume and the need to do this faster than ever.
Oracle stated in a recent White Paper “Data Warehouse Trend Report 2014” that “Most enterprises are being overwhelmed with data. Information is being generated faster than it can be consumed, yielding increasing demand for comprehensive data-management solutions”. It’s not all bad news however; Data Warehouses continue to be the best, most efficient way for companies to get an enterprise-wide view of their customers, supply chains, sales, and operations. They’re faster than ever, support new data types, serve a wider range of business-critical functions and are capable of providing actionable insights. All of which makes the modern Data Warehouse more important than ever to business agility, innovation, and competitive advantage.
One industry that has particularly felt the change in the use of Data Warehouses has been the Irish Financial Services sector. The recent financial crises made it abundantly clear to these institutions that critical decisions pivot on their ability to manage and understand the quality of the data to hand. A change in the competitive environment has forced banks to support their operations with analytical information that can be delivered for “in-transaction” decision-making.
The next generation of Data Warehousing for financial services will fundamentally need a rethink in order to modify the “established” Data Warehousing practices to meet the specific analytical needs and goals of the Financial Services sector. The use and definition of Data Warehousing in Financial Services is undergoing a fundamental shift; from an assembly of generic components and tools towards a specialised platform that supports the analytical needs of Financial Services Institutions.
The above appraisal of the Data Warehouse environment in Ireland is nothing new. Many published reports have predicted an increased demand for top-class Data Warehouse skills and technologies. It also recognises the importance of “Big Data Analytics” and its impact on company development and innovation.
By Sam Reilly
