Building the Data Warehouse [Paperback]

W. H. Inmon (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0764599445 | ISBN-13: 978-0764599446 | Publication Date: October 7, 2005 | Edition: 4

• The new edition of the classic bestseller that launched the data warehousing industry covers new approaches and technologies, many of which have been pioneered by Inmon himself
• In addition to explaining the fundamentals of data warehouse systems, the book covers new topics such as methods for handling unstructured data in a data warehouse and storing data across multiple storage media
• Discusses the pros and cons of relational versus multidimensional design and how to measure return on investment in planning data warehouse projects
• Covers advanced topics, including data monitoring and testing
• Although the book includes an extra 100 pages worth of valuable content, the price has actually been reduced from $65 to $55

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...a clear and well thought out text?I would recommend it to anyone working in data management or considering setting up a data warehouse..." (Managing Information, 9 October 2002)

"?overall, this is a clear and well thought out text. I would recommend this to anyone working in data management or considering setting up a data warehouse?" (Managing Information, December 2002) --This text refers to the Unbound edition.

From the Back Cover

The most comprehensive introduction to the core concepts and methods of data warehousing

Data warehouses provide a much-needed strategy for organizations to collect, store, and analyze vast amounts of business data. As businesses expand both brick-and-mortar and online activities, the field of data warehousing has become increasingly important. Since it was first published in 1990, W. H. Inmon's Building the Data Warehouse has been the bible of data warehousing— it is the book that launched the data warehousing industry and it remains the preeminent introduction to the subject. This new edition covers the latest developments with this technology, many of which have been pioneered by Inmon himself.

An overview of all the fundamental components of data warehouse systems offers you a refresher of the methods used for data warehouse design; various data warehouse migration strategies; and the technologies that can be applied for loading, indexing, and managing data. In order to bring you up to date, this in-depth guide then features the latest advances in data warehousing.

New chapters cover:

• Understanding methods for handling unstructured data in a data warehouse
• Storing data across multiple storage media
• Examining the pros and cons of relational vs. multidimensional design
• Measuring return on investment in planning data warehouse projects
• Exploring advanced topics, including data monitoring and testing

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 576 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 4 edition (October 7, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764599445
• ISBN-13: 978-0764599446
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 1.1 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #92,000 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #33 in Books > Computers & Technology > Databases > Data Warehousing

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good Intro to Concepts and Benefits - Light on Tech, December 18, 2003

By 

Mark A. Lucas "SingleSpeeder" (Austin, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Building the Data Warehouse (3rd Edition) (Paperback)

Bill's books are good conceptual books aimed at explaining the Business Benefits and Overall Technical concepts that are fundamental to data warehousing. This book is a classic that people serious about Business Intelligence should read. HOWEVER - Inmon's technical details are light and sometimes generalized, whereas Kimball's books tend to be more nuts-n-bolts and include usable examples. I RECOMMEND (a) read Inmon for how BI environments should be built under ideal situations, (b) read Kimball (warehouse toolkit) for how to do an actual project. For Project Management and Infrastucture issues, read Kimball's "Warehouse Lifecycle Toolkit". (c) Read Inmon's Corp Information Factory to understand the BI architecture most companies try to build (whether they know it or not!), and (d) STOP wasting time comparing Inmon to Kimball - their paradigms are complimentary, not contradictory.
CHECK OUT "Data Warehousing Fundamentals" by Paulraj Ponniah - it covers concepts by Inmon, Kimball and other leading thinkers and is very useful when -planning projects, -working with management to explaing BI environments.

53 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Inmon vs. Kimball????, December 27, 2003

By 

JP O'Connor "Avocation: Olympic Shooting Coac... (Marietta, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Building the Data Warehouse (3rd Edition) (Paperback)

The two approaches, Inmon and Kimball are complimentary. Kimball is not "BS" and "stupid" as stated by one reviewer. In fact, it is the PRACTICAL techniques and elegant SIMPLICITY that makes Kimball's work so valuable. Inmon is strong on theory, while Kimball is strong on the day-to-day tools required to build a useful and understandable decision support environment. This reviewer has observed many huge "pure Inmon" projects fail (and none observed succeeded) while all pure Kimball projects observed have thrived and exceeded expectations. Strong words, to be sure, but accurate to the reality observed by this reviewer. While the failures might be attributed to the particular technical teams and management groups, many of those same groups did succeed with a dimensional approach.

If you want to debate academics, read both authors and have at it. I have to actually deliver... on time or early and on budget or below. Thus, my rating reflects that reality. Give me Kimball. The techniques have worked for me (and teams of all sizes) since 1986 at many Fortune 100 and 500 clients.

Inmon provides a great perspective on the issues and on how to think about information management for decision support and this book provides some of his latest thinking on the topic. Kimball provides an excellent and proven way to get there in the real world.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Pedantic and sluggish, March 2, 2005

By 

Boris Chang "- BC" (North Carolina) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Building the Data Warehouse (3rd Edition) (Paperback)

I know the Inmon vs. Kimball thing has turned into something of a feud. Having owned the first and second edition of this particular book (the first edition is now more useful than ever hollowed out with a knife to hide jewelry) and having browsed through the third edition that a colleague purchased, I must say that the major change since the obscure first edition is that Inmon has now taken a much more defensive tone now that Kimball is out there presenting clear, concise and useful real-world concepts and implementation techniques and gathering followers. I also own Inmon's "Using the Data Warehouse", "Data Warehousing and the Zachman Framework", and "Exploration Warehousing" and the question that comes to mind most after reading through these books is why did I waste the money. The reading is difficult, not so much because the subject matter is difficult, but more because it seems to be dry theory and has little advice on how to actually design a real working data warehouse. When later, Kimball came out with his breakthrough book: "The Data Warehouse Toolkit", it all seemed conceptually so much simpler and straightforward.