Reference no: EM132177561
You are a business intelligence consultant hired by a small start-up company that produces online games for mobile devices. The company is evaluating the construction of a data warehouse. The company’s operational databases contain information on each game, including the game title, the game genre (action, puzzle game, word game, etc.), the game’s rating (Everyone, Teen, Mature, etc.), and the price. They also store information on customers, including customer names, addresses, ages, and genders; on game downloads, including date, time, and amount paid; and on the devices where games are installed, including the device type (phone or tablet), operating system platform (iOS, Android, etc.), manufacturer (Apple, Samsung, etc.), and model (iPhone 5, Galaxy S4, etc.).
(a) A senior executive is questioning the need for a data warehouse, arguing that all the needed data are already in the operational databases. Briefly explain to this executive at least three major differences between an operational database and a data warehouse.
(b) Recommend one fact table and at least three dimension tables for the data warehouse, and list at least three possible attributes for each dimension.
(c) Discuss the pros and cons of constructing a data mart rather than a data warehouse for this company.