Is it easy to start a data warehouse?

[LonnieJohnson]

We have SQL Server 2005 and will be upgrading to 2008R2 next year. Our executive management has asked us to explore data warehousing and business analysis. Is it easier to create my own ETL from SSIS and my own cubes from SSAS? Or possibly get some of these features from another company?

If the later then can you recommend any companies?

Thanks.

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[papadba]

Is it easier to create my own ETL from SSIS and my own cubes from SSAS?

Easier than what?

Or possibly get some of these features from another company?

The companies most likely to have something you can use are most likely competitors of your company. I suspect they would not be likely to share. . .

Some of my clients have hired consulting companies to design/implement a data warehouse and mny of these clients have been quite disappointed because they have business situations that are not familiar to the less experienced "experts". Also, these tend to be rather expensive.

Depending on just how aggressivly your management wants to pursue this, suggest you bring in someone with proven success to train your people and assist with the first implementation.

You might also invest in some books and classroom training.

 

[LonnieJohnson]

Thanks for the response.

When I asked "Would it be easier..." I think I was referring to having a company to do part of the work like the ETL and then we do the analysis part. I am very new to the whole process. Just looking for the best and least expensive method.

ProDev, Builders of Affordable Software Applications
Visit me at ==>

http://www.prodev.us

May God bless you beyond your imagination!!!

 

[RiverGuy]

Lonnie,

ETL is not a magic wand to create a data warehouse ready to be analyzed.

You have to determine the business processes you want to model and model them. You have to gather requirements, and identify source systems as well as other one-off systems or small systems which will need to be developed to store data that "exists only in someone's head."

So you cannot farm out the ETL and say "hey contractors, let me know when you have something for us to analyze."

These are the steps I would take:

1. Interview business users to get a feel for requirements. Are there certain inefficiencies with reports in certain areas?

2. Become an expert at those business processes. Understand them.

3. Come up with a data model to support the users' requirements for analysis.

4. Identify possible source systems to support the data model, as well as data that does not exist in electronic form.

5. Interview the administrators or developers of those source systems to understand them.

6. Profile the data to determine if the quality will support your data model. You may need to work with the source system owners to modify as needed.

7. Write ETL packages to load the data model from step #3, using information you gathered from steps 4 through 6.

8. Write reports.

You can farm out some of the technical work above, provided you provide very precise requirements. Or, you can hire long-term contractors to become experts at your business processes and help with the entire design. Or you can do it yourself. The actual development of the ETL will be a small piece of the pie overall.

 

[johnherman]

It's very easy to start a DW. Start small. I must warn you, however, that it is very difficult to end a DW.

The trouble with doing something right the first time is that nobody appreciates how difficult it was - Steven Wright