The data warehouse is used as a single source of truth for an organization’s data. But before you choose a data warehouse vendor, there are some things to consider, including your business needs.

Businesses that wish to remain competitive must fully embrace data. What may look like an endless repository of numbers, names, letters and symbols is really a treasure trove of insights about your business and your customers. However, to uncover those insights, data must be extracted, stored and analyzed.

Unfortunately, this process is often complicated. Businesses generate an overwhelming amount of data every single day. And that data is coming from multiple sources, all at once.

The data warehouse is an excellent solution. Data warehouses enable businesses to compile data from multiple sources into one source of truth. The warehouse then uses ELT (extract, load, transform) to prepare the data for proper analysis. Warehouse solutions also feature data reporting and visualization capabilities to help organizations glean insights fast.

SEE: Best ETL Tools & Software 2022 (TechRepublic)

There are many data warehouse solutions available today, including Snowflake, Google BigQuery and Amazon Redshift. But before you choose a vendor, there are some things to consider.

Jump to:

• Start here: Cloud vs. on-premise data warehousing
• Questions to answer before seeking a vendor
• Your next step: Download the cloud data warehouse guide and checklist
• Additional resources for any data-driven organization

Start here: Cloud vs. on-premise data warehousing

Two main types of cloud warehouse solutions exist, including cloud-based warehouses and on-premise warehouses. Cloud-based warehouses are hosted within a public or private cloud while on-premise warehouses are stored on your own servers. You’ll want to determine which route is best for your business.

While on-premise solutions are typically chosen due to security and compliance requirements, many organizations are choosing cloud-based warehouses for their scalability, flexibility and cost-efficiency.

SEE: What does a cloud data warehouse look like? (TechRepublic)

Questions to answer before seeking a vendor

Once you determine where your warehouse should be hosted, there are some questions you must answer regarding the type of data you’ll need to store, your current tech stack and more, including:

• What type of data (structured, semi-structured, relational, non-relational, etc.) will you need to store?
• Where is that data coming from? In other words, what are your data sources?
• Do you need a cloud-based solution that’s compatible with your current tech stack?
• What legal or compliance requirements might affect the warehouse solution you choose?
• How often will you need to access your data? What tasks will you need to complete during that access?

Answering these questions can help you determine what you must look for when searching for data warehouse solutions and communicating with vendors.

Your next step: Download the cloud data warehouse guide and checklist

Selecting an IT vendor is always a challenging process. Luckily, the experts at TechRepublic Premium have compiled a complete guide for selecting a cloud data warehouse solution to fit your organization. The guide dives into everything you should consider and includes a checklist to use as you test drive what’s out there.

Additional resources for any data-driven organization

Selecting a data warehouse solution is one more step toward becoming a data-driven organization. Another step you must take is ensuring you have policies in place to protect your data. Below, you’ll find three TechRepublic Premium resources you can use to develop these policies for your business.

Limited time offer on TechRepublic Premium subscriptions: Get a 30% discount off an annual subscription to TechRepublic Premium by using the code bf22-30. This great deal ends on Dec. 7, 2022, so act now, and start getting access to hundreds of ready-made IT and management policies, hiring kits, checklists and more.

Electronic data disposal policy

Data has a longer lifespan than the devices we use to access it each day. Severe security risks can occur when data isn’t disposed of properly before these devices are decommissioned or reassigned. Simply deleting a file or removing the data from the device isn’t enough. That’s why a robust electronic data disposal policy is critical.

This electronic data disposal policy highlights how data should be disposed of and the steps to take. Plus, you can use this policy as a sample to develop your own.

End user data backup policy

End users utilize laptops, phones and other devices to access data stored on them daily. Unfortunately, the loss, theft or failure of those devices can result in severe data loss which can negatively impact operations. Frequent backups of this data are important to protect it.

This policy highlights the steps required for data backup and enables you to outline the specific tasks and staff responsibilities involved.

Data encryption policy

To truly protect your data, encryption at-rest and in-transit is a necessity. Encryption ensures that even if someone gains unauthorized access to your company emails, files, application data or other material, they can’t read it.

This sample policy defines the encryption requirements that must be used on all devices, including computers, servers, laptops and more. Plus, it can be customized to fit your specific organization.

Limited time offer on TechRepublic Premium subscriptions: Get a 30% discount off an annual subscription to TechRepublic Premium by using the code bf22-30. This great deal ends on Dec. 7, 2022, so act now, and start getting access to hundreds of ready-made IT and management policies, hiring kits, checklists and more.