Why are so many organizations looking into data warehousing and reporting suites?
The answer is deceptively simple.
The main challenge in this model is not being able to get all the data into an existing platform. Most have the means to push in millions of records. The problem is that the existing platform is serving two different masters who have two sets of completely different needs: the business user who is entering, viewing and updating the data; and the data user who is managing the business processes.

- Spend lots of time and $$$ to switch to yet another “database of record” that promises a 360 degree view of your constituents. You thought you’d done all the research, but after switching discover that you didn’t ask ALL the questions and that there are some inherent limits of the new system causing disappointment and frustration across the organization.
- Quickly start using in a new tool that meets a critical need, but for a variety of reasons, wreaks havoc for both your business and data users.
- Decide it might be easiest to put bandaids on your current systems, knowing the limits it imposes on the critical needs of your business users.
- Consider adding a data warehouse layer that connects critical data from each system and allows for best of breed technologies to be used. For more on data warehousing, keep reading.
A Different Solution – a modern data infrastructure:
At Frakture we believe the data warehouse layer must be INDEPENDENT of the database interfaces used for day-to-day operations. Frakture’s clients continue to use their current systems. Frakture curates data from all your systems into a highly scalable and flexible data warehouse opening the doors to all kinds of possibilities.
The data layer is typically responsible for things like data integrations, bulk operations, data appends and cleaning, enforcing business practices, data archiving, pushing well formatted data to reporting systems, etc. Using this kind of modern architecture, where the data layer can be fed from many systems and feed out to many systems, allows the best possible freedom of choice for the business user, and the solid core infrastructure needed for the data user.
With this modern set-up, it’s easier and more cost effective to connect multiple systems. Have your colleagues started talking about the new cool “tool de jour” that they absolutely must use? Well, with a Data Warehouse it’s now possible for you to upgrade your business systems and consumer engagement tools. And most importantly, it allows you to develop programs with new, as-yet-unseen technology without sacrificing your organizations critical business processes.