Architecture
- All
- Analytics
- Architecture
- BI Guidebook
- BI Industry Analysis
- BI Myths, Trends & Hype
- BI/DW Index
- BI/DW on a Shoestring
- Big Data
- Business & IT Issues
- Business Intelligence
- Cloud Computing
- Courses and Training
- CPM
- Data Governance
- Data Integration
- Data Mining
- Data Modeling
- Data Preparation
- Data Quality
- Data Shadow Systems
- Data Warehousing
- DW/BI Events
- Enterprise Data Mgmt
- ERP
- ETL
- Industry Research
- Master Data Management
- Modernization
- On-Demand Index
- People, Process, Politics
- Published Articles
- Self-Service BI
- Uncategorized
August 3, 2021
Data architects collect the statistics and information architects put the numbers into context as they work symbiotically to bolster an enterprise’s data and business strategies. Read […]
June 20, 2018
A modern data architecture for business intelligence and analytics has to support structured, unstructured, and semi-structured sources, as well as hybrid integration and also meet the […]
December 28, 2017
Understanding the data integration process is central to self-service BI and data architecture design, consultant Rick Sherman says in an end-of-year look at data management trends. […]
October 26, 2017
I’m excited to share with you that I’ll be presenting two unique sessions at DATAVERSITY’s Data Architecture Summit in Chicago, IL on November 13-16, 2017. I’m also […]
April 12, 2016
The 20th annual Enterprise Data World (EDW) Conference is recognized as the most comprehensive educational conference on data management in the world. Rick Sherman will be conducing […]
May 11, 2015
I’m speaking at Data Summit 2015 on Tuesday May 12 in New York. If you’re attending, please come to my session and say hello! B102: Creating […]
March 20, 2013
Continuing the discussion on analytical hub design, here’s the second part of my post on the architecture principles. If you missed the first two principles (1. […]
March 14, 2013
As I discused the other day in Why you need an analytical hub, enterprises need to spend time looking forward, rather than just backwards at historical […]
March 11, 2013
Enterprises are flooded with a deluge of data about their customers, prospects, business processes, suppliers, partners and competitors. It comes from traditional internal systems, cloud applications, social networking and […]
March 8, 2013
In his article in Big Data, Bob Eve offers this quote from Professors Andrew McAfee and Erik Brynjolfsson of MIT: “Companies that inject Big Data and […]
January 11, 2012
One of the debates one hears when designing a data warehouse is that it should be normalized. Specifically, they say to use a third normal form […]
January 11, 2011
The first part of this article discussed columnar database software and other technologies that can help boost analytics performance. But regardless of which analytical database technology […]
January 10, 2011
Demand from business users for actionable information is ever-expanding. And with business managers and workers seemingly connected 24/7 via their iPhones, BlackBerrys, iPads and other devices, […]
January 6, 2010
Athena IT Solutions is looking for data warehousing and business intelligence consultants for contract jobs in Massachusetts. Senior Data Warehouse Architect Senior Data Warehousing/Business Intelligence Program/Project […]
September 18, 2009
A recent flurry of news articles in the database industry has reinforced my perceptions that the software titans have lost touch with current market needs. The PR […]
December 11, 2008
My new podcast with Smart Data Collective discusses how too many IT projects provide only short-term solutions. Management ends up frustrated not only because of the […]
November 21, 2008
In my DM Review columns, “The Accidental Architecture” and “Recovering from the Accidental Architecture,” I discussed whether people understood the “why” of best practices, such as dimensional modeling […]
November 19, 2008
People involved in business intelligence (BI) and data warehousing (DW) projects are very familiar with terms such as facts, dimensions, attributes, surrogate keys and slowly changing […]
October 16, 2008
In my article “The Accidental Architecture,” I discussed how enterprises have evolved their data warehousing (DW) and business intelligence (BI) projects without a planned architecture. This […]
October 14, 2008
When you plan to build a house, you start with what you want and can afford. You decide on architectural style, size and number of rooms. […]
September 11, 2008
Conventional wisdom states that you should build a data warehouse (DW) and then populate data marts from it. This data architecture is called a hub and […]
May 12, 2008
People involved in business intelligence (BI) and data warehousing (DW) projects are very familiar with terms such as facts, dimensions, attributes, surrogate keys and slowly changing […]
May 25, 2007
Operational business intelligence (BI) can be an integral part of a portfolio of BI solutions. But before you put it to use, see my May DM […]
January 18, 2007
As a coach of my sons’ soccer teams, I’ve noticed something that occasionally holds back the ambitious players. Rather than focusing on basics, such as learning […]
November 22, 2006
Microsoft is trying to change the perception that its database, SQL Server 2005, is not ready for the big leagues in regards to handling large data […]
June 1, 2006
Been there, done that. That’s how we ended up with multiple data warehouses, data marts, and ERP, CPM and SCM solutions that need to be reconciled. […]
November 12, 2005
As we discussed in my previous column, big data warehouses are back in style. In a 2004 TDWI study, 60 percent of respondents indicated that they were adopting […]
November 12, 2005
Just like boot-cut jeans and fuel-efficient cars, big data warehouses are coming back in style. Take a trip down memory lane, when IBM introduced the corporate […]
June 12, 2005
In part 1 of this article we discussed the ugly duckling called an operational data store (ODS). Rather than discussing the conventional wisdom and, quite frankly, the […]
June 12, 2005
What do you call that thing that’s holding your data? Don’t know? Then it must be an operational data store (ODS). No term has been muddied […]
May 12, 2005
Religious wars. We have them in IT all the time. Everyone debates architecture. The “high priests” of our trade guard it. The approaches espoused by Ralph […]
April 12, 2005
The thought of meta data management doesn’t exactly inspire whoops of joy from the average IT manager. However, like flossing, it’s one of those things you’ve […]
March 12, 2005
If you’re trying to architect or build a cost-effective, productive business intelligence (BI) program, it’s important that you thoroughly understand the data franchising component of the […]
May 13, 2004
In a previous article, I discussed the importance of adhering to product and technology standards to increase both the ROI of your IT investments and the value […]
December 13, 2003
In an earlier column, I provided an overview of the five data integration framework (DIF) components. This month, I will examine the first component –information […]