Data warehousing refers to what?

• A. The use of huge databases that combine all of a company's data and allow users to access that data directly and create reports
• B. A small file cabinet for documents
• C. A real-time streaming analytics platform
• D. A set of manual spreadsheets

Answer: (A)

Data warehousing is about building a centralized, integrated store of the company’s data that is designed for reporting and analysis. It pulls data from many parts of the organization so users can access it to create reports and perform analysis. The description that best fits this is a large repository that combines all of a company’s data for reporting. It isn’t simply a small file cabinet for documents, a real-time streaming analytics platform, or a set of manual spreadsheets, which don’t provide the integrated, queryable data store needed for decision support.