DB2 Magazine E-Newsletter

May 6, 2003

DB2 Magazine Email Newsletter
Volume 4, Issue 5
www.db2mag.com

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SPECIAL BI ISSUE
There's a lot happening in the business intelligence (BI) industry these days. So much, in fact, that we added an extra edition of the DB2 Magazine Email Newsletter to bring you news about recent research and books, online only articles and supplements, and a question/answer session with IBM. We hope you enjoy the extra insight.

IN THIS ISSUE:
1. ETL Report: How near is real-time data warehousing?
2. Comparing Query Performance: MDC vs. non-MDC tables
3. Book Excerpt: Business Intelligence Roadmap
4. Asked and Answered: More details on "The OLAP-Aware Database"
5. Data Warehouse Fundamentals: An Intelligent Enterprise supplement


1. IS REAL-TIME DATA WAREHOUSING NEARER THAN WE THINK?
A recent report from The Data Warehousing Institute (TDWI) found that the number of organizations loading their data warehouses in near real time will triple over the next 18 months. "Evaluating ETL and Data Integration Platforms," the first report in TDWI's 2003 series, sheds light on several current business intelligence trends based on the responses of more than 1,000 BI professionals. While only 6 percent of the organizations surveyed currently load their databases in near real time, 19 percent plan to within 18 months. Small numbers, perhaps, but add that total to the 15 percent who already load more than once a day (growing to 30 percent in 18 months) and the 69 percent who load daily, and it's clear that data warehousing has come a long way from its origins as a passive data repository.

You can read about how federation technologies can help support near real-time data warehousing in the article "Solving the Data Warehouse Puzzle" in the current edition of DB2 Magazine.
http://www.db2mag.com/db_area/archives/2003/q2/devlin.shtml

The TWDI report offers information about this and other ETL trends.
http://www.dw-institute.com/research/display.asp?id=6613

TDWI's world conference in San Francisco, May 11-16, promises more information on the real-time data warehouse topic.
http://www.dw-institute.com/education/conferences/sanfrancisco2003/index.asp

2. COMPARING QUERY PERFORMANCE: MDC VS. NON-MDC TABLES
DB2 UDB v.8.1 for Linux, Unix, and Windows introduced a multidimensional clustering feature that IBM says will speed the complex queries common to business intelligence applications. But does it? IBM's Robert Welgan put the new feature to the test, comparing the performance of 10 queries run against both MDC and non-MDC tables. The execution plans for each query reveal when MDC really helps (and why).
http://www.db2mag.com/db_area/archives/2003/q2/welgan.shtml

3. BOOK EXCERPT: BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE ROADMAP
In Business Intelligence Roadmap: The Complete Project Lifecycle for Decision-Support Applications, authors Larissa T. Moss and Shaku Atre present a complete a methodology for building a BI architecture. The authors walk readers through each step, from strategic planning to the selection of new technologies and the evaluation of application releases. You can read Chapter 3, which covers project planning, at the DB2mag.com bookstore.
http://www.db2mag.com/bookstore/feature200304a.shtml

4. ASKED AND ANSWERED: MORE DETAILS ON THE OLAP-AWARE DATABASE
After reading "The OLAP Aware Database," by Michael L. Gonzales and Gary Robinson, (available online at DB2mag.com) I have the following questions:

• In which version of DB2 UDB will the OLAP functionality be available?
• Will the OLAP functionality also become available on the mainframe?
• Does the DB2 OLAP awareness require a dimensional model or will the same functionality and performance be possible via an ER model similar to the one used for the transactional systems?
• Does the DB2 OLAP awareness (partly) replace the need for a DB2 OLAP Server because the OLAP functionality is now embedded in the RDBMS itself, or will they coexist because offer different functionality?

IBM's Jeff Jones responds:
http://www.db2mag.com/qanda/030505.shtml

5. DATA WAREHOUSE FUNDAMENTALS: ONLINE SUPPLEMENT
In his column in Intelligent Enterprise, data warehouse guru Ralph Kimball covered all the basics in a series of articles that appeared over several months. Intelligent Enterprise is now offering an online supplement that pulls all of these articles together. Topics include: the foundations of data warehousing (including user concerns, business readiness, and project management). Mainstream techniques such as drilling down, drilling across, and handling time with changing dimensions, and others are also covered.

Read the supplement at IntelligEntenterprise.com (registration required).
http://www.intelligententerprise.com/register/ebook/

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