In contrast to an OLTP database in which the purpose is to capture high rates of data changes and additions, the purpose of a data warehouse is to organize lots of stable data for ease of analysis and retrieval. A data warehouse is frequently used as the basis for a business intelligence application.

Following is a list of what data warehouses can do:

• Combine data from heterogeneous data sources into a single homogenous structure.
  
• Organize data in simplified structures for efficiency of analytical queries instead of for transaction processing.
  
• Contain transformed data that is valid, consistent, consolidated, and formatted for analysis.
  
• Provide stable data that represents business history.
  
• Be updated periodically with additional data instead of making frequent transactions.
  
• Simplify security requirements.