Data management has become an essential tool for creating efficient systems, growing businesses, and giving them the opportunity to offer better services to their customers.
Data warehousing is a data management system introduced in the 1980s with the purpose of fueling business intelligence.
It has various applications across industries and is a means of analyzing data properly to improve the way business is done.
In this article, let’s take a look at the business applications of data warehousing.
What is a data warehouse?
A data warehouse is an electronically-stored collection of data that is used to guide decision-making across different fields.
Data warehouses are useful because they store historical data which can be analyzed by businesses to guide business decisions in the future..
Data warehouses are a business intelligence solution harnessing data analysis and management in order to create actionable information that can be utilized by businesses to aid proper decision-making.
For example businesses are trying to capitalize on consumer data so they can start promotions or special offers to raise profitability but this can only be possible by implementing a data warehouse.
Here’s a closer look at how data warehouses are being used in business;
Banking
The banking sector is one of the heaviest users of data warehousing.
Banks utilize data warehouses in order to manage the data provided to them from external sources like customers, government, and foreign markets to improve how their business is done while raising profitability.
Data warehousing is used to analyze data obtained from government reports and regulations, market trends, and customer data in order to guide bankers’ financial decision-making.
The banking sector also uses data warehousing for market research, exchange rates and the data that is gotten from cardholders(customers) can be used to provide them with special offers and promotions.
Finance
The applications of data warehousing in the finance industry are similar to that of the banking industry.
Data warehousing is used to monitor consumer trends and expenses in the financial market and this information guides decisions that maximize profits.
Insurance
The insurance sector utilizes data warehousing to properly analyze consumer data paying close attention to consumer trends and consumer records with the intention of offering customers special offers and promotions.
The primary aim however is to properly manage existing consumer records currently held by the business.
Hospitality
The hospitality industry includes restaurants, hotels, fast food outlets, car rentals, holiday homes among others.
It often makes use of data warehousing to monitor consumer spending and create advertisement campaigns based on the data analyzed.
Manufacturing and Distribution
The manufacturing and distribution industry is often said to be the heartbeat of a state. It relies on data warehousing to analyze trends and forecast market movements.
Data warehousing advises manufacturers on when to make buy-sell decisions, they come about this by analyzing trends and marketing developments.
It can also be used in the distribution aspect by analyzing records of product shipment, product portfolio and historical data consisting of customer feedback. The analysis is then used to identify weak product lines and to determine the proper steps to take.
Services
Businesses that offer services aren’t left behind in the application of data warehousing.
When it comes to the services sector it is used to manage financial records, consumer profiles, human resources, and patterns of revenue.
Conclusion
There are numerous business applications of data warehousing, and each sector, and industry utilizes data warehouses to fit their unique needs.
Any business making use of a data warehouse is able to capitalize on the data received from different sources to run their business efficiently and maximize profits.
