HynesMcgann383
A data Mart is a more stripped-down form of the data warehouse that is primarily focused on a single functional area. In a business environment this is typically a location such as the sales, finance, or even marketing departments. In many organizations we see this type of structure built into an SQL server that resides on the core of the network. When it comes to data marts vs data warehouses, These data marts are traditionally built and controlled by these individual departmental groups within an organization as their focus may be on a single subject matter.
Data marts will draw their information in from sources that could be linked to internal operational systems, external data, or even a larger data warehouse system. In contrast, a data mart versus a data warehouse simply boils down to the fact that a data warehouse deals with multiple functional areas. This is a more large-scale system and is typically managed and maintained by a central organizational unit. In large corporate structures the information technology services group manages and maintains the SQL Server integration services and maintenance of the enterprise data warehouse. Because of their scale these larger data warehouse systems will pull data in from multiple resources and other systems. In the case of data marts, they’re typically smaller and less complex that roughly translates into them being easier to manage and maintain.
While data warehouses are typically implemented for corporate wide use, they house multiple subjects and pull from many different data sources. They can grow quite large and many of these systems are outfitted with over 5 TB of storage. Of course this is a rough figure and these systems can grow exponentially larger. Some of the more complex data warehouses in existence took a number of years to fully implement and run. Conversely data marts have a more limited scope as they generally deal with one subject area and are put to use by a single operational unit within an organization. They do not typically pull from many data sources and hence require less storage space than that of a full-scale data warehouse. Finally, implementation of these independent data Mart’s will typically take only a month or two.
From the standpoint of business intelligence, these systems are increasingly leveraged to provide organizations with the tools and information they need to stay competitive. These systems are very customizable and can easily be leveraged to provide resources for a wide variety of interdepartmental or organization wide tasks. In many of the organizations we see using data marts today, they will typically incorporate data visualization tools into their system that will enable them to more easily represent the data stored within the repository. This helps the company create dashboards and executive level data manipulation as needed.
All of this amazing functionality is possible with the right SQL Server integration services. Without a robust SQL backend, the department data Mart would not be leveraged to its full potential. For any organization who is looking to collect data from various sources but does not need a full-scale enterprise data warehouse, a data mart may be the solution that they are looking for. With robust data visualization tools and easy to implement front end analysis, more and more organizations will continue to leverage these tools to stay competitive and manage information effectively.
