Business Value of the "DataWarehouse Appliance" Technology

Abstract: The recent increase in the amount of stored company data and exceeding interest in data analysis has resulted in new requirements on Data Warehousing solutions. This has led to the development of Data Warehouse Appliances, which this research project aims to investigate the business value of. The result is intended to support companies that are considering an investment, and give them an understanding of the technology’s benefits. The research project was conducted in two parts. Vendors of the Appliance technology were interviewed, as well as their customers. The results from the vendor interviews together with a literature study provided a knowledge base for the analysis of the user companies’ interviews. The results clearly indicate that there is value in the technology for larger companies. The research shows that although the main benefits advocated by the vendors match the perceived ones of the user companies, there are other aspects which they value even more. Examples of this include a reduced amount of administrative tasks and support from a single source. The research also reveals that the benefits estimated by the customer at the time of purchase were not their most valued benefits in hindsight.