• A data warehouse is a store of information over time by a business or other organization.

  • New data is added periodically by people from various key departments such as marketing and sales.
  • The warehouse becomes a library of historical data that can be retrieved and analyzed to inform business decision making.
  • Key factors in building an effective data warehouse include identifying the information that is critical to the organization and identifying sources of information.
  • The database is designed to provide information in real time. The data warehouse is designed as an archive of historical information.