Customer Reviews

Data Warehousing Fundamentals: A Comprehensive Guide for IT Professionals

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is one of the best introductory books on data warehousing I've read. The authors make few assumptions of reader knowledge beyond the fact that they are IT professionals who have a technical background that doesn't necessarily include database and data warehouse knowledge. They do assume a basic knowledge of IT operations, project management skills and systems analysis and design - skills that IT professionals are expected to have.

The book is divided into five parts: Overview and Concepts, Planning and Requirements, Architecture and Infrastructure, Data Design and Data Preparation, and Implementation and Maintenance. These follow a development life cycle, making the structure of the book easy to follow.

What I like about this book is it doesn't just cover the theory and concepts (which it does do well), but sets data warehousing in the context of a larger architecture designed to meet specific business requirements. I also like the way the authors address real world issues such as planning and managing a data warehouse project, and the issues and factors surrounding adding a data warehouse into an existing technical architecture. This information is what IT professionals are seeking when they are faced with a technology with which they may not have strong knowledge, and it makes this book useful to the intended audience.

Among the chapters that I most liked are: Principles of Dimensional Modeling, Data Extraction, Transformation, and Loading, and Data Quality: A Key to Success. These capture the essence of data warehousing in my opinion and are topics that IT professionals without a data background need to understand. I also thought that each of the appendices were useful. They provided a finishing touch by covering project life cycle steps and checklists, critical success factors and guidelines for evaluating vendor solutions - each of which provide practical information.

A great companion to books by Kimball and Inmon. Helps to clarify some areas where they may be vague or confusing. Includes info from other BI industry thought leaders. Used as a textbook at some universities. Loaded with diagrams and tables. Helps to bridge the gap between techies and management.
NOT as techy as Kimball so it won't lead you through a project or show you how to design databases, ETL or BI apps. A little more real-world examples than Inmon. Does not mention Inmon's CIF architecture by name, but it does explain a similar architecture.
A little too Expensive to buy without skimming through it first (go to a local book store and spend 30 to 60 minutes with it before you decide to order).

Maybe not as complete as the Data Warehouse Toolkit (Kimball Group), but a more "business like" approach that is very interesting. A good compendium especially if you want to clarify and/or confirm concepts you've heard about.

Frame of reference: I'm a senior database practictioner looking to expand my knowledge of business intelligence implementation. I was looking for a text that would bring together the concepts introduced by William Inmon and Ralph Kimball.

Content: This text acceptably summarizes most major database technolgies related to business intelligence at a 30,000-foot level. That being said, one text cannot possibly cover data mining, neural networks, master data management (MDM), data warehousing (including star and snowflake schemas), agile software development, infrastructure and project management considerations, etc. I thought the first fourteen chapters were focused on the technical project manager. The next couple chapters were slightly more technical, but only introduced theory, not actual implementation.

Summary: I read this entire text (almost 600 pages) in less than three days. I was presented with no novel or unfamiliar concepts. Most importantly, I learned nothing whatsoever about how to implement a business intelligence solution. If you want to learn how to actually implement a real-world solution, stick with the classics, "Building the Data Warehouse" by William Inmon and "The Data Warehouse Toolkit" by Ralph Kimball. Additionally, I would recommend "Expert Cube Development with Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Analysis Services" by Marco Russo, et. al.

I would not squander $70 on this text when there are so many alternatives.

The content of the book matches what its name said (fundamentals). If you are an expert in data warehouse, maybe it is not so interesting for you because probably you know many concepts in the book. However, the book is quite useful for a student or an IT-person who starts studying data warehouse because it covers a set of concepts that help you see the topic in a wide perspective.

The readers of this book are recommended to search for more information or examples related to concepts that they feel slightly difficult to understand (Google is a good one).

I rate it 5 stars according to the fitness of its title and its content, not regarding to its price.

This is an excellent book in that it provided many answers to challenging questions I had while working on an enterprise-wide financial DW model--particularly chapter 11 on advanced dimensional modeling. In all, complements the Kimball books very well.

I ordered this book based on some of the reviews, but then returned it. It is too pedantic; it sounds like a college professor lecturing at great length to his students, with a lot of fluff. Plus the price was too steep for a book in this category - $71?

I'm sticking to the excellent Kimball series of data warehousing books

The book is easy to read and have easy examples that elaborate on the topic being discussed.