How to Choose the Right Cloud Data Warehouse: What Your Business Needs to Know

A recent government survey revealed that nearly a quarter (24%) of businesses did not know where the servers that stored their data were located, with 41% reporting they outsourced their server requirements to cloud providers and that these services were an essential core function of their businesses.

Against this backdrop, your company must assess how data is stored over the long term. Your enterprise must also place data warehousing within your overall data management strategy to meet any compliance within your industry and ensure the data warehouse is a working asset that delivers value to your business.

Data is now the life blood of your company. Placing this vital information within the infrastructure of a well-managed data warehouse, gives your business a data foundation to build upon.

In essence, a data warehouse is a store of information that can be active date your company needs to operate efficiently, or an archive of data that must be securely stored to ensure your business meets all its compliance regulations. Many businesses need both types of data warehouse services.

A good example of how your business could use a data warehouse is to store the personal data of your company’s customers. A data warehouse service gives your business an effective means to securely store this information, which then becomes a longer-term asset for your company.

A data warehouse is also part of your company’s business intelligence. The vast quantities of information your enterprise is now collecting are only helpful if they can be analysed for actional insights. However, all data is not of equal value. Your business must conduct an audit to quantify the data to be warehoused.

It is also essential to work with a data specialist who can assess the data your company has for relevance and can also advise on the data warehouse infrastructure that is ideal for your business’s needs. This ensure your company’s data warehousing services are seamless to implement and frictionless to access.

Smart data warehousing

There are three stages to effectively create an efficient, agile, and cost-effective data warehouse for your business:

1.  Data acquisition and data integration.
2.  Data repository.
3.  Data evaluation and analysis.

This trinity delivers a structure to ensure that the data warehouse your business builds provides value and insights.

Making the right decisions for your business is influenced by the data you have available.
The data warehousing services your business creates are the foundation of those decisions. That’s why it’s critical to partner with a data warehousing specialist that can:

•  Evaluate your existing data sets.
•  Combine and integrate data siloes.
•  Understand governance and compliance.
•  Create a data warehouse infrastructure that is bespoke to your needs.

Becoming a data-centric business requires a deep understanding of the data your company holds but also the value this data has, as all data is not equal.

Paying close attention to metadata is critical to ensure that the information being assessed and stored has a clear lineage. As information can be extracted from diverse sources, such as your business’s ERP or CMS to external data collected via online resources such as social media; your company must accurately catalogue this information before it is moved to your data warehouse.

IONOS and Lumilinks can oversee this process to ensure that when data is migrated to your warehouse, the migration is seamless, accurate and secure. Following established industry best practices, the data warehouse created for your company will be specific to your enterprise’s needs. At each stage of the data warehouse setup process, the practical needs of your company are at the hub of the data evaluation process and the creation of the data warehouse infrastructure.

Your data must work hard for your company. Spending the time and resources to understand your business’s information and place it within a framework of efficient access, detailed insights, and actionable data strategies, makes your data warehouse an invaluable asset and tool.

The business of data empowerment

The ultimate goal of the data warehouse IONOS can build for your company is to create a single source of truth across your company’s data. Your data warehouse can deliver tangible advantages, including:

1.  An integrated source of actionable data that can be used for critical decision-making.
2.  Secure and flexible storage of sensitive data to meet all compliance responsibilities.
3.  The integration of data siloes to connect a diverse range of information sources.
4.  Targeted analytics using the latest AI and ML tools to leverage large datasets.
5.  Update your data warehouse to ensure datasets remain relevant and actionable.
6.  Create a data warehouse infrastructure that will scale as your business expands.
7.  Investing to create a data warehouse for your company should be a critical component of your digital maturity.

A data warehouse is not just a technological investment but a strategic imperative for businesses of all sizes and industries. It empowers organisations to harness the power of their data, make informed decisions, and stay competitive in a rapidly evolving business environment. Building a data warehouse should be considered an essential step toward achieving long-term success and sustainable growth.

With a strong track record in providing cloud-based solutions and hosting services, IONOS brings a wealth of expertise and resources to the table, making it an ideal partner for your data warehousing needs.

By choosing IONOS as your partner, you can confidently build a data warehouse that will empower your enterprise with valuable insights, enhanced decision-making, and deliver a competitive edge in today’s data-driven business landscape.

IONOS is the hosting and cloud partner of choice for small and medium-sized businesses. We are experts in IaaS and have a portfolio of solutions to enhance the digital profile of your company.

Start your business’s journey to becoming a data-driven enterprise.