Data Virtualization for Business Intelligence Systems

Introduction

Data virtualization can make business intelligence systems dramatically simpler, cheaper, and, most importantly, more agile. Learn what data virtualization is and how and why it should be used. The book explains how data virtualization works, the impact it has on business intelligence systems, which techniques are to used under the hood to optimize access to various data sources, and how these products can be applied in different projects. You’ll learn the differences between this new form of data integration and more well-known forms, such as ETL and replication and gain a clear understanding of how data virtualization really works.

Data Virtualization for Business Intelligence Systems outlines the advantages and disadvantages of data virtualization and illustrates how this revolutionary technology should be applied in data warehouse environments. The book also contains tips and do’s and don’ts on how to adopt data virtualization, provides guidelines on how to use it efficiently and effectively. It also describes the relationship between data virtualization and related topics, such as master data management, data governance, information management, and service oriented architectures, giving you a big-picture understanding as well as all the practical know-how you need to virtualize your data.

Features:

• First independent book on data virtualization that explains how data virtualization technology works in a product-independent way.

• Illustrates concepts using numerous examples, screenshots (developed with commercially available products), and diagrams.

• Shows you how to solve common data integration challenges, such as data quality, unstructured data sources, big data, inconsistent data sources, and overall performance by following practical guidelines on using data virtualization.

• Explains the various application areas of data virtualization, such as virtual data marts, extended data warehouse, operational BI, prototyping, self-service BI, and sandboxing.

• Presents the big picture of data virtualization and its relationship with data governance, data quality, and information management.  

Downloading the Sample Database

This sample database used throughout the book is a subset of the one designed by Roland Bouman and Jos van Dongen for their book Pentaho Solutions. If you're interested in loading this sample database, you can download the full original database via the following link. The only file you have to download is the one called SQL scripts (wcm.sql). This file is developed for the MySQL database server. Note that only seven of the tables form this database are used in the book; see Section 1.14.

Interested in buying the book?

The book is available via the publisher and Amazon.

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