Staying up to date with the latest technologies can be difficult when your daily schedule is already filled with your normal business responsibilities, but it remains important. Taking advantage of technology gives you an advantage over competitors who lack your technical qualities. One such technology you should consider for your business is the use of data warehouses.

What Are Data Warehouses?

In short, a data warehouse collects data from multiple sources then stores all of that information in one source. This information can be automatically formatted uniformly and used to generate automated reports and analysis. This represents a superior system to one where many different parts of a business are all maintaining their own records and data, as any effort to work on information spanning the different departments requires gathering the information from multiple digital or practical sources before beginning work. Some companies use logical data warehouse, which is nothing but an architectural layer that is on top of the traditional data warehouse. It enables access to multiple data sources and is considered as the “logical” data source.

Data Warehouses vs. Databases

A data warehouse has many similarities to a more traditional information management system, the database. While there are similarities, there are also key differences between the two. While a database is an effective way to track static information, such as customer contact cards, a data warehouse is much better suited to dealing with historical data and tracking changes. If you want to track sales data from multiple companies in an industry, for example, a data warehouse will perform better. You can not only compare performance between companies, but you can also track data by month or a combination of both, significantly improving your ability to create reports and adjust your business accordingly.

Why Choose a Data Warehouse?

The best reason to begin implementing data warehousing tools and techniques is the effect it has on your company’s earnings. Data warehouses allow you to make your operation more efficient, which not only reduces resources spent on wasted time but also can allow you to create more insights, and thus make more changes to your business to improve performance. Taking advantage of data warehouse tools can significantly improve your company’s net income.

Data warehouses will soon be seen as an essential technological tool for companies across nearly all industries. The ability to more efficiently perform analysis and identify areas where your business operations can be improved offers the opportunity for significant growth. If your company is not already utilizing data warehouses for its information management, there’s no time better than the present to get started with a data warehouse of your own.