Author: Maja Ferle

Data warehouses are the source for consolidated reporting from various data sources. Due to increasing demands for fast results, data warehouses are required to provide data in real time. The largest and technologically most challenging component of data warehouse implementation is loading the data through the ETL (Extract-Transform-Load) process. The article presents a case study of loading data into a data warehouse in real time. -- Article published in Uporabna informatika, Issue 1 Jan/Feb/Mar 2006, p. 5-14....

I had the pleasure of interviewing Ralph Kimball on one of his many visits to Slovenia, where he was always happy to come both to deliver trainings and to spend time relaxing and enjoying the beautiful Bled region. The interview was first published in Info SRC.SI 2005/Issue 42, p. 5-7. 1. This is your sixth visit to Slovenia. What brings you back? Slovenia is a beautiful country and pleasant to visit. Also, the IT professionals in Slovenia are interested in data warehousing, which I teach each time I visit Slovenia! 2. You have been involved with data warehousing since its early beginnings. How do you see the evolving data warehouse from its early implementations to its recent widespread adoption? Do you believe data warehousing is fulfilling its promise to make information easier to access? What is still lacking? In some ways, the goals of data warehousing have changed very little from the earliest days around 1980. The goal of the data warehouse has always been to...

Data that is required for decision support must be available immediately when the business needs it. Data warehouses as the basis for decision support must provide data in real time. Loading data into a data warehouse in the usual batch oriented process doesn't work if we want it in real time. Alternate solutions to loading data in real time are presented and discussed. -- Paper presented at Dnevi slovenske informatike 2005, Portorož, Slovenia, April 13- 15 2005. Photo credit: "Portorož waterfront (5971750992)" by Grant Bishop from United States - Portorož waterfrontUploaded by sporti. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons....

The key to good business decisions is access to data, understanding of the business and pain points to be addressed. Companies must ensure that all required data is captured in their information systems and that infrastructure to support it is in place. Much is to be expected from business intelligence solutions in the future. -- Article published in Sistem December 2004, p. 18-19....

Data warehouses are often used just as a source of data for reporting and not for meaningful business intelligence which is their original intent. What can we do to fulfill customer expectations and increase the business value? -- Article published in Sistem September 2004, p. 23....

Data warehouse users want more than just reporting and business intelligence - they often want all that in real time. Does this make sense and is it possible? -- Article published in Sistem July 2004, p. 15-16....

Business intelligence require data about customers, but that is not all. Knowing and understanding the customers enables companies to plan new activities in the area of customer relationship management. New tools and solutions to support CRM are appearing and companies are increasingly implementing them to support their CRM initiatives. -- Article publisned in Sistem April 2004, p. 14-17....

Business intelligence solutions are made up of many components, such as reporting, data warehousing, analytical solutions or CRM solutions. -- Article published in Info SRC.SI, Year 2004/Issue 37....