Data Warehousing technologies – making the right choice

There are not many organisations around the world that are untouched by technology and that are not creating a huge amount of data through their day-to-day operations. How you sort that information, and whether it reaches its full potential in usability, functionality, and cost-effectiveness will depend on how you handle it, and whether you have a data solution that works for the needs of your company.

Data warehousing technologies give businesses the ability to collate their data into a single, organised, and searchable location – allowing for additional business support, accurate data analysis, and business health assessments.

There are a number of different data warehousing solutions available to customers, and the best solution for your business will depend on your specific needs, technological and operational skills, and the growth trajectory of your company. Here, we will look at three of the most popular data warehousing technologies, so you can make an informed choice for your data requirements.

AWS Redshift for data warehousing

Amazon’s Redshift Cloud Data Warehouse uses SQL for analysing data and uses AWS-designed hardware and machine learning to provide scalable services. The data warehouse is one part of the web services offered by Amazon and provides data management, processing, and analytic tools.

The key benefits offered by AWS Redshift for data warehousing are:

• Efficient storage
• High-performance processing for queries
• Use of columnar storage, data compression, and zone maps to reduce the amount of input and output (I/O) needed to action queries
• High level of security options, including fault tolerance, network isolation, and end-to-end encryption

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Microsoft Azure SQL for data warehousing

Microsoft’s Azure SQL Data Warehouse leverages a combination of cloud compute and storage resources and has scalable compute power. Some of the key benefits to consider for Microsoft Azure SQL for data warehousing are:

• Cost-effective solution for organisations looking to implement enterprise-level data warehouse options, as they have a pay-as-you-go model
• Highly scalable – your data warehouse will be able to handle large sets of data as your data grow
• High-level security features
• Unlimited storage purchase options
• Considered a good fit for small and large businesses

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Snowflake for data warehousing

Snowflake is considered to be highly scalable, and benefits from storage and support for structured and semi-structured data. The platform allows you to pay only for what is needed, and there are no data limits on either computing or storage.

The key benefits Snowflake offer for data warehousing include:

• User-friendly for performance tuning
• Contingencies for disaster recovery
• High levels of security encryption and data security

Factors to consider when deciding on a data warehouse technology

To determine the best data warehousing service for your company, you need to evaluate not only what data you are collecting, but what formats it is in, and how well supported that is on each platform. You should also consider your pricing, how much you will need to scale, and whether you have technical confidence in operating the interface of the warehouse.

If you are unfamiliar with the processes involved or do not have the in-house resource and skills in-house you may want to consider outsourcing your data warehousing project. Outsourcing can provide a number of benefits including:

• Saving costs
• Accessing world-leading technologies
• Gaining expert advice
• Peace of mind
• Working with experienced data engineers

Ardent data warehousing service

Ardent has delivered a wide variety of projects by employing leading technologies such as Redshift, Azure and Snowflake to help clients uncover insights to drive intelligent business decisions, save costs and resources and help grow their business. If you are looking for a credible, reliable and trusted data engineering partner, get in touch to find out how we can help.

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