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Modernizing a data warehouse for real-time decisions

Updating a data warehouse to improve scalability, flexibility, security and speed is necessary to keep pace with real-time analytics demands.

Stephen Catanzano
By
  • Stephen Catanzano, Senior Analyst
  • Enterprise Strategy Group

    We provide market insights, research and advisory, and technical validations for tech buyers.
Published: 02 May 2023

Data warehousing is a crucial component of enterprise data management. However, with the proliferation of big data and real-time data processing and insights, traditional data warehousing approaches have become obsolete.

A data warehouse is a centralized repository that stores historical data from various sources. It provides a single source of truth for business intelligence and reporting.

Traditional data warehouses are built on a batch-oriented processing model. Data is extracted, transformed and loaded (ETL) from various source systems into the data warehouse periodically, typically on a daily or weekly basis. This approach makes it challenging to obtain real-time insights and respond to business needs promptly.

Modernizing a data warehouse is a necessity for businesses to remain competitive in today's fast-paced market. For real-time data management, explore the modernization of a data warehouse in areas such as storage, processing and analytics.

Why modernize a data warehouse?

Traditional data warehousing solutions cannot work with the massive volume of data generated in real time, making it difficult to provide immediate insights to decision-makers.

Modernizing a data warehouse provides several key benefits:

  • Real-time data processing. Modern data warehouses support real-time data processing and analysis, enabling businesses to make faster and more informed decisions.
  • Improved scalability. These data warehouses can handle massive volumes of data without compromising performance.
  • Increased flexibility. A variety of data sources and data types reside in modern data warehouses, which provides greater flexibility in data management.
  • Enhanced security. Modern data warehouses are designed for security, protecting against cyberthreats and data breaches.

Modernizing a data warehouse for real-time data management

Modernizing a data warehouse for real-time data management requires a comprehensive approach that addresses data storage, processing and analytics.

Data storage. To modernize a data warehouse, the organization must start with data storage. Relational database management systems are not optimized for real-time data processing and analysis and therefore don't suit modern data warehouses.

In comparison, distributed file systems are highly scalable and can handle massive volumes of data without compromising performance. Distributed file systems also include fault tolerance, which ensures data is always available and accessible.

Data processing. Real-time data management requires a modern data processing solution. Batch-oriented processing models are not suitable for real-time data processing and analysis.

Real-time data processing engines -- such as Confluent, Imply, Rockset and DataStax -- can handle massive volumes of data and provide low-latency data processing and analysis.

Analytics. The other component in real-time data management is analytics. Online analytical processing tools analyze data for traditional data warehouses but are not optimized for real-time data processing and analysis.

While the process of modernizing a data warehouse can be complex and challenging, the benefits of real-time data processing and analysis are worth the investment. A comprehensive approach to modernization that covers data storage, processing and analysis enables businesses to transform their data warehouse into a powerful tool for data management and analytics.

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