Teradata SQL

 

Teradata Introduction

The world�s largest data warehouses commonly use the superior technology of NCR�s Teradata relational database management system (RDBMS). A data warehouse is normally loaded directly from operational data. The majority, if not all of this data will be collected on-line as a result of normal business operations. The data warehouse therefore acts as a central repository of the data that reflects the effectiveness of the methodologies used in running a business.

As a result, the data loaded into the warehouse is mostly historic in nature. To get a true representation of the business, normally this data is not changed once it is loaded. Instead, it is interrogated repeatedly to transform data into useful information, to discover trends and the effectiveness of operational procedures. This interrogation is based on business rules to determine such aspects as profitability, return on investment and evaluation of risk.

For example, an airline might load all of its maintenance activity on every aircraft into the database. Subsequent investigation of the data could indicate the frequency at which certain parts tend to fail. Further analysis might show that the parts are failing more often on certain models of aircraft. The first benefit of the new found knowledge regards the ability to plan for the next failure and maybe even the type of airplane on which the part will fail. Therefore, the part can be on hand when and maybe where it is needed, or the part might be proactively changed prior to its failure.