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A data warehouse is an extremely large database. For this reason, designing and implementing one is an immense undertaking. The process of design and implementation involves a great deal of planning, collaboration, and coordination of people, resources, and time. As with any large-scale project, there are challenges associated with building a data warehouse. However, if each challenge is addressed properly, the benefits of data warehousing are immediate and lasting for businesses and organizations. The challenges associated with data warehousing are as follows:
Data warehousing is no longer an abstract idea; it is a reality. A significant number of businesses and organizations across the globe have made the commitment to building and maintaining data warehouses. Data warehousing has made an enormous impact on the way people perform business analysis and make strategic decisions. Companies that incorporate data warehouses realize benefits that positively affect their bottom line. As data warehousing will only increase due to more and more companies realizing its effectiveness, the major trend seems to be pointing toward the web-enabled data warehouse. A web-enabled data warehouse will involve the real time of capturing the screenshots and clickstream (mouse clicks) of visitors to a business or organization’s website, in addition to performing all of the traditional data warehousing tasks. Adding this layer of functionality to the traditional data warehouse will enable businesses and organizations to analyze: web traffic, effectiveness of marketing campaigns, customer satisfaction, demographic data collection, user preferences, affiliate product relationships, customer buying patterns, and website feedback.
Source: Derived from Chapter 4 of “Information Systems for Business and Beyond” by David T. Bourgeois. Some sections removed for brevity. https://www.saylor.org/site/textbooks/Information%20Systems%20for%20Business%20and%20Beyond/Textbook.html