If your organization handles and produces a lot of data, there may come a point when it becomes too much for a person to look after manually. Once you begin to research alternative solutions, one thing is sure to come up time and again: data warehousing.
A data warehouse is one huge, metaphorical storeroom that contains all the data generated by your own business as we all as any external data sources you plug in. It not only stores current data but can also hold reams of historical data too, which is where it comes into its own as a business tool.
If you’re on the fence about implementing a data warehouse, here are three reasons why you should invest in one.
Save Time and Money
If you were to employ enough people to manage the same volume of data, at the same speed, with equal efficiency, you would spend thousands of dollars every month. There are simply some things that automated software does better than humans. That’s not to say humans are redundant – after all, you need human intelligence to take all the great content the data warehouse produces and turn it into a successful campaign or initiative. But, using data warehousing tools and techniques will help you get there faster and cheaper.
Collect Data Consistently
Data is only ever as good as what you do with it after you’ve gathered it. You can collate terabytes of information, but it’s only useful if you can interrogate it thoroughly and turn it into actionable insights that make a difference to your business.
A data warehouse “forces” you to collect your data in a specific format, which not only makes it easy to compare figures but also allows you to set up specific reports that automatically reads the data and interprets it.
Create a Legacy for the Future
Everything you created today is stored in your data warehouse for tomorrow, or next week, or next year, or 20 years from now. The beauty of a data warehouse is it can hold an immense amount of historical data, and while you shouldn’t focus on the past, this information is essential for flagging trends, opportunities, issues, and scenario planning to help your business move forward.
Historical data is a company’s greatest asset: it can help prevent you from making mistakes and give you a robust framework in which to form new ideas. You can make better decisions, faster, and with true insight rather than gut feeling.
Don’t leave your business’s future to chance – invest in a data warehouse tool today and lay the groundwork for years of knowledge-based, data-driven success.
