?? Data Warehouse: What’s in a name?

A few days ago, I was on LinkedIn and a comment caught my eye. It was an ad from 1993, the year I was born, for Prism Solutions promoting PRISM Warehouse Manager, a software to build a corporate data warehouse in 5 days. 🚪

The ad says that their solution automates the integration of different operational data, gives reliable information for decision-makers, reduces maintenance costs, and can set up a cost-effective warehouse. 🚪

We bet Bill Inmon can dig up information about your company faster than you can. - PRISM Solutions

I had the chance to talk to Bill Inmon and his team, many times and consider him as one of my confidents about the challenges I meet in my career and I am always seeking his valuable advice. 🚪

If you want to know the origins of the compound word data warehouse, you must hear the story of Bill Inmon. 🚪

Bill spent years consulting for AMS, traveling week-to-week between clients like Aetna Life & Casualty, Shell Canada, and PacTel Cellular. 🚪

Despite their very different businesses, he noticed something: their corporate system architectures looked identical. In other words, you could close your eyes in Hartford and picture Calgary or Orange County; the diagrams matched. 🚪