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Data is information, information is powerful and the Data Warehouse along with Data Mining provides the tools to collect, understand and analyse the information. Every transaction that takes place, particularly in the commercial world, generates data and historically that was the first main use of computers, dealing with extensive amounts of monotonous data. Businesses began to realise, that within this data was stored a lot of information about their customers and the ability to utilise this data efficiently would separate the successful from the unsuccessful companies. The attraction for most organisations towards Data Warehousing, is the expected Return on Investments from it, allegedly in excess of most other IT investments. From carrying out a questionnaire, it is obvious that organisations want to create competitive advantage with the benefits of having faster access to information, improved customer service and a clean infrastructure. This dissertation defines the Data Warehouse, Data mining and their characteristics from a business perspective with some technical information included to provide a better understanding. It also examines the relevant theory surrounding the Data Warehouse concept from the viewpoint of its impact on an organisation.
