what is a data mart by manish sharma-min

Today we discuss the definition and types of data mart. Data Mart in the most basic terms is a miniature version of Data warehouse or you can say a subset of Data Warehouse. On one hand, data warehouse is trans-organizational and centralized. On the other, Data Marts are more local and specific to a particular department or team of the business entity eg. HR, Finance, and Marketing etc.

[bctt tweet=”“Data Marts are a repository of read-only data that aid managers of a particular wing of the organization in making business decisions”.” username=”RebellionRider”]

Some Important Features Of Data Mart!

I am listing certain primary features of a quintessential data mart below that will help you recognize one when you come across it.

  • Department specific or localized
  • Deals with only one business process
  • Designed in the form of a smaller version of the star-join schema
  • It should match the design of the respective data warehouse

Let’s Discuss Various Types of Data Mart!

There are three different types of Data Mart. Each has their own benefit and can be used by the organization according to its needs. Therefore if you are the IT manager or planning to become one then keep this in mind that before opting for any kind of Data repository solutions you need to list your organization’s needs. Once you have done that, only then can you decide the perfect product for the company.

With this in mind, let’s now move on to discuss the various kinds of Data Marts.

Dependent Data Mart

This kind of Data Mart draws its data from an already existing data warehouse. Moreover it works in a top-down manner and gives the advantage of keeping the data centralized. In addition, there are two approaches to design a dependent data mart. One is where the user is given access to only a specific data mart and the other is where the user can access the data mart as well as its parent data warehouse. In fact, the latter approach is more efficient and optimal as the former could give way to data junkyard.

Independent Data Mart

This is a bottom-up approach where individual data mart is designed for a particular department and there is no dependency on a centralized data warehouse. Thus an independent data mart takes the input of the data separately and processes it autonomously as well. Consequently, it is a good approach to data management and processing if you are designing for the requirements of a smaller group within an organization.

Hybrid Data Mart

The major thing that differentiates Hybrid data mart from other two is that it takes its data input from data warehouse as well as other independent sources. Organizations with multiple database environments opting for faster implementations should most likely opt for this kind of data mart design. Moreover it is even known to support complex storage structures.

Some Important Benefits Of Data Mart!

  • It is a pocket-friendly option for businesses that can’t afford an expensive Data Warehouse.
  • It speeds up any business process as the searches and related data becomes specific to the department.
  • Since it is designed as per the requirements of a specific functional group hence it is more user-friendly than the pan organizational data warehouse.
  • The data in a data mart can be accessed quickly.

So this is a small overview of Data Mart including its definition, features, types, and benefits. Likewise, do you know some other interesting and useful things about Data Mart? If yes then please do share it on our Facebook Page here. Moreover, if you haven’t followed us there then do make sure to do so as we plan to do something interesting everyday.

Thanks for reading & have a great day!