Warehousing on the Web

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Warehousing on the Web

• Webhouse

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Why Utilize the Web?

• What is the data Webhouse
• Managing clickstreams
• WWW today
• ROI
• DSS

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Data Webhouse

• Defined by Ralph Kimball
• Two distict focuses
• Bringing the web to the warehouse
• Clickstream data as a source of information
• Bringing existing data warehouses to web
• Fully distributed environment

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Required Capabilities

• Capture clickstream logs and convert to tables
  for analysis
• Merge customer demographic and account info with
  above
• Interpret customer paths in website
• Identify abandoned sessions
• Use dw to drive customer responses appearing on
  your website
• DW querying and reporting available through web
  browsers
• Attach multimedia to DW
• DW security

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Architecture Web to Warehouse

• Beyond comprehensive snapshot of business on
  real-time basis also want knowledge of customer
  behavior
• Extended design factors
• Timliness real-time
• Data volume no upper limit
• Response time less than 10 seconds

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Hot Response Cache

• A file server holding complex file objects
• As a file server it is an I/O engine (bandwidth)
• Must hold objects which will be requested
• Security responsibility of requesting server
• Extension of original operational data store
  (ODS)
• Does not physically speed up database creates
  illusion by storing predictable answers

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Who are our users?

• Traditional
• Power users
• need database connectivity
• Analysts
• want to manipulate existing data
• Report viewers
• view standardized reports
• Web
• Our customers
• Our business partners
• Our employees

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Clickstreams

• Clickstream not another data source
• Distributed nature leads to multiple data sources
  which require synchronization
• Multiple parties
• More than a dozen log file formats for capturing
  clickstream data
• Search specification
• Basic form of clickstream data stateless
• Log shows isolated page retrieval event
• Clickstream data anonymous
• Todays Promotions
• Clickthroughs and referrals as a revenue source

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Clickstreams

• Clickstream post-processor receives raw long
  data from web server and normalizes it into a
  format which can be combined with application
  derived data for insertion into dw
• Todays Promotions
• Clickthroughs and referrals as a revenue source

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Why Bring DW to Web?

• Primary function of dw to publish information
  web good partner
• Need distrnuted dw web provides universal
  connectivity
• Universal front-end web browser

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Web Pushes Data Warehouse

• User interface effectiveness measurable
• Queries and updates mixed
• Speed expected 10 second rule
• Global
• 27 X 7 expected
• International characters, dates, addresses
• Expanded multimedia
• Animation, zoomable images, maps, video clips
• Need material in digital form
• Enterprise information portal will require items
  to be searchable

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Web Pushes Data Warehouse

• Mass customization
• Dynamically created web pages XML
• Fully distributed
• Linking together all the data marts
• Security and Privacy
• Publish only to those who need to know
• User profiles and access profiles defined in one
  place
• Full-time expert security person

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Second Generation User Interface Guidelines

• Near- instantaneous performance
• Website Design
• Design for lowest common denominator
• Measure page performance on a continuous basis
• Paint navigation buttons immediately
• Disclose content progressively
• Implement page caching
• Cache data, reports
• Improve web server bandwidth
• Improve server throughput

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Second Generation User Interface Guidelines

• Data Webhouse design
• Adapt all web design responses
• Select appropriate DBMS software dimensional
  models, OLAP
• Use indexes, aggregations
• Partition files
• Increase RAM
• Use parallel processing

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Meet User Expectations

• Website design
• Site navigation choices
• Help choices
• Communication with various groups response must
  be assured
• Headlines serious and define content
• Indicate off-screen material
• Survey customer needs and wants

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Meet User Expectations

• Data Webhouse design
• Report library
• Folder of previous queries, reports
• Dimension browser viewing dimension can assist
  report creation
• Business metadata interface understand
  organizations data assets

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Streamline Process

• Business processes designed from ground up to
  work seamlessly on web
• Website design
• Reengineer to streamline process and make
  navigation easier, uniform interfaces
• Remove barriers to reaching page
• Minimize clicks and new windows
• Allow interruption and return

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Streamline Process

• Data Webhouse design
• Build an explicit value chain for reporting and
  analysis around the application suite using
  conformed dimensions and facts
• Drill across functions
• Single user interface for reporting against all
  parts of business
• Master report library and FAQs
• Single login and single console access to webhouse

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Reassure Users

• Website Design
• Map of processes
• Data Webhouse design
• Provide status and lineage of current data
• Provide status of running reports
• Active notification
• Allow for entry of NA if data not available
• Time stamped dimensions
• Time stamped reports

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Allow Problem Resolution

• Website design
• Allow backtracking, rollback, play forward
• Keep old transactions
• Easy error reporting
• Acknowledge, track and follow-up all user inputs,
  show wait time
• Assist searching
• Data Webhouse design
• Provide adequate end user support
• Show aggregates in use and available
• Show system load and percent completed

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Build Trust

• Clearly state and observe websites policies for
  using customers identity
• Website design
• Do not abuse privacy
• Link to privacy statement
• Use friendly pictures of people
• Distinguish between ad content and editorial
  content

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Build Trust

• Data Webhouse design
• Two-factor security
• What you know password
• What you posses token
• Track changes in employee and contractor status
• Create and enforce roles for employees,
  contractors and customers
• Manage webhouse security directly

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Provide Communication Hooks

• Website design
• Provide useful links to others internal and
  external
• Remove links that invalidate the back button
• Use copyable URLs
• Use URL as medium of distribution

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Advantages of Web Today 1998 2000

• Immediate worldwide access
• Centralized management - Decentralized
• Thin client
• Multi-platform (client and server) - Distributed
• Little or no software distribution - Downloads

A
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Disadvantages of Web Today 1998 2000

• Immature technology - Teenager
• Security - Solutions
• Speed restricted by bandwidth - data and logic
  must both travel across internet
• Design limited to least common denominator or
  access restricted to specific browser

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Vulnerabilities

• Physical assets
• Information assets
• theft
• modification
• Software assets
• Ability to conduct business

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Web Architecture

• Browser
• Applets/ActiveX
• Email
• Spreadsheet
• Word-processing

Thin Client
Communication layer (network/internet)
Internet Server
Analysis/ Graphics Report SQL
statistics Writer Query
OLAP Server
Multidimensional Summary/Alternative Database
Relational Tables
Database Servers
Data Warehouse - Relational Database
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Business Management through Information

• Analysis of historical records
• order processing, inventory levels, shipments,
  receivables, customer history, etc.
• Goals include
• Measures of efficiency
• Anticipate changes (planning and forecasting)
• Make adjustments
• Integration of model and control function

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Rule-Based Management

• Create Strategic rules
• IF market demand increases THEN implement
  marketing campaign A3
• IF profit margin drops below value X THEN
  adjust overhead by
• Must not forget alert rules
• If unanticipated condition, then notify CFO
• Must not be too reactive
• would cause thrashing

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OLDM Decision Process

• Simultaneous capture of
• Decision support information
• Surveyed customer on-line in exchange for an
  additional discount
• with business function inputs
• Immediate computation or estimation of secondary
  information
• based on planning and forecasting rules
• Decision support information is
• available on-line
• ready to use as is

Management Defined !
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OLDM Decision Process

• Derived data becomes control information
• Automation of analysis and decision support
• immediately available to management
• Problems documented on-line
• Classes of problem and corrective action codified
• problem recognition
• decision rules

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OLDM Decision Process

• Requires four types of information
• Characteristics which identify a class of problem
• Corrective action ( management responses by
  problem class)
• Rules to implement actions
• Record of result

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Potential of OLDM

• Better managed business
• knowledge asset capture and retention
• consistency across enterprise
• flexible, highly responsive
• Close loop with customer
• event and market driven but controlled
• Direct customer interaction
• via web, telephone, remote connection
• Improved systems capacity planning and system
  management
• Re-alignment of business and IT