Introduction to Data Warehouse
A Data Warehouse is basically a system that manages data to support business intelligence activities, especially analytics. The key functions of a data warehouse is to perform queries and analysis on large amounts of historical data. The data present in the data warehouse is extracted from different sources like application log files and transaction applications.
The purpose of the data warehouse is to centralise and consolidate data in huge amounts from various sources. The analytical capability of a data warehouse allows organizations to extract valuable business insights from the business data to enhance decision making. In the long run, it creates a historical record that can be crucial for data scientists and business analysts. Due to these capabilities, a data warehouse is considered as the “Single source of truth” of an organisation.
Role of a Data Warehouse Developers
A Data Warehouse Developer is responsible for developing the data warehouse architecture, design and implementation of the data warehouse environment, including database design and administration, ETL (extract, transform, load) processes for extracting data from sources such as OLTP databases or operational systems into the DW environment; creating ETL packages with tools such as Informatica PowerCenter or Talend; designing OLAP cubes with tools such as IBM Cognos TM1 or Oracle Essbase; managing metadata.
The data warehouse developers are a crucial resource in handling the business intelligence data of the entire organization.
- They are responsible for designing data models, and defining both logical and physical models.
- They also develop and create schedules for a new data warehouse.
- They are involved in designing, developing and maintaining data warehouse and analytics architecture to meet business analysis and reporting needs of an enterprise.
Data Warehouse Developer Skills
Table of Contents
SQL
Data Warehouse Developers use SQL to create and maintain data warehouses, which are large databases that store information from different sources. They also use SQL to query data from these warehouses and create reports on them.
ETL
ETL tools are commonly used to extract data from various sources such as: flat files, relational databases, XML files and web services. ETL tools have been designed to simplify the process of moving data from one system to another.
A Data Warehouse Developer is responsible for designing and maintaining data warehouses that store information about an organization’s business operations.
Python
Python is a great language for data analysis, data wrangling, and data visualization. It is also used by Data Warehouse Developers to automate their tasks. Python has many advantages over other languages like Java or C++ in the field of Data Warehousing because it can be used to write scripts in order to handle the repetitive tasks involved in the process of building a Data Warehouse.
Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)
The SDLC for a Data Warehouse Developer is similar to the SDLC for any other developer. The main difference is that the Data Warehouse Developer’s work is more focused on data and less on software.
Business Intelligence
Business intelligence software provides an overview of the data and enables users to analyze the information. Business intelligence software can be used by an organization’s data warehouse developers to create reports and dashboards that show key performance indicators (KPIs) of the company.
Relational Cloud Database
Relational cloud database is a type of data warehouse that is also known as “cloud-native”. It is designed to be scalable and elastic, which means it can grow or shrink as needed. It has the capability to manage multiple data sources and use cases with the help of a unified interface for querying and analyzing data.
The relational cloud database for Data Warehouse Developer helps in storing, managing and analyzing large amounts of data. The relational cloud database provides an end-to-end solution that enables organizations to store, manage and analyze large amounts of structured or unstructured data from any source at any scale. Some of the relational cloud databases are Snowflake, Amazon Redshift and BigQuery.
How become a Data Warehouse Developer
For inexperienced candidates having a certification can make your employer consider your resume. Getting a certification in database applications like Oracle or Microsoft SQL Server can be crucial.
And, candidates will have to learn reporting tools, especially SQL to get a data warehouse developer job. Also, getting certified as a data management professional could be an added advantage.
Data Warehouse Developer Salary
The average salary of a Data Warehouse developer in the United States is about $83,772 per annum. The demand for Data Warehouse Developers is increasing and will require more professionals in future.
Top Companies hiring Data Warehouse Professionals:
- Apple
- Deloitte
- Persistent Systems
- Infosys
- Amazon
- SpaceX
- PwC
- Oracle
Conclusion
Data warehouse developers have to be very skilled in data management and analytics. They are responsible for designing, creating, and updating the data warehouse. They also have to maintain the data warehouse by ensuring that it is efficient and accurate. Data Warehouse Developers also need to ensure that they are compliant with all regulations related to privacy and security of information.
