Five things you should know about this topic:

  1. A data warehouse lets you move data from disparate sources to a centralized location for data analysis. 

  2. Data warehousing can generate valuable insights about customers, sales, transactions, inventory management, and other business processes in your organization.

  3. Not everyone likes the data warehouse, however. That's because this technology can reveal information a business might want to keep secret. 

  4. Bill Inmon, father of the data warehouse, recounts a story about a friend who got into trouble at work because of the data warehouse.

  5. Integrate.io is a data warehousing integration solution that makes it simple to move data to a supported data destination.

This is a guest post for Integrate.io written by Bill Inmon, an American computer scientist recognized as the "father of the data warehouse." Inmon wrote the first book and first magazine column about data warehousing, held the first conference about this topic, and was the first person to teach data warehousing classes. 

There have been many stories going around about why people hate the data warehouse.

My favorite story is from my old friend, Biaggio McPhee. Read about it below.

What secrets are lurking in your organization? Moving data to a supported destination with Integrate.io can reveal the truth about customers, sales, business processes, and more. Why not try Integrate.io yourself with a 14-day free trial? Set up an ETL trial or an ELT trial now!

A Story About Data Warehousing

I have known Biaggio for many years, since the very start of the data warehouse.

Biaggio was, and is, a consummate professional. Biaggio understands data warehousing as well as anyone. He did then. He still does today.

One day Biaggio moved back to Texas. Warmer weather and family. All the standard stuff.

One day Biaggio called me on the phone. He was upset and perplexed.

“Bill,” he said. “I just got laid off!”

I asked what happened.

He said – I went to work for this company in Texas. They asked me to build a data warehouse. I did. The data warehouse tracked all of the financial dealings the company had. I did everything right.”

He continued.

“One day, I got called into management to show them what could be done with the data warehouse. I showed them how they could find and track financial activities.

When I came back to my desk, I was fired.”

What the heck happened?

The Truth Hurts

The LAST thing this company wanted was anyone or anything – like a data warehouse – tracking its financial activities.

The good news is that Biaggio landed on his feet. 

What Can We Learn From Biaggio’s Story?

Data warehouses when built properly reveal everything that's going on in a company. Good and bad. Some managers don’t like them because the truth can hurt. .  

But that doesn’t mean data warehouses are bad things. Sometimes the truth is a bad thing.

Uncover the truth about your enterprise with Integrate.io—the low-code data warehouse integration platform that performs ETL, ELT, Reverse ETL, and super-fast CDC.  Schedule a 7-day demo now!

Bill Inmon, the father of the data warehouse, has authored 65 books. Computerworld named him one of the ten most influential people in the history of computing. Inmon's Castle Rock, Colorado-based company Forest Rim Technology helps companies hear the voice of their customers. See more at www.forestrimtech.com.