operational data store (data warehouse) (ODS)

Operational Data Store (ODS) is a clipboard in which current data from the various operational systems is collected. This ODS data is used for reporting and analysis. Since the data originates from different sources, it must be cleaned,checked for redundancies as well as for business-relevant rules before further processing.

The ODS system is located in the data warehouse( DWH) or works as an operational part of a data warehouse. The ODS database contains the most up-to-date, real-time data from the operational systems, which is consolidated for further processing in the application services. It is real-time data for decision-making processes that are updated on a daily basis.

In the traditional approach, the various database operating systems such as Oracle, SQL, Sybase and others work with the data marts that make the transactions available to the various business units such as those for finance, marketing or sales. It is a complex system where each data marts has to work with each operating system. More efficient, however, is the Operational Data Store (ODS) that acts between the database operating systems and the data marts. In this configuration, each data mart supports its own business unit. The ODS intermediate store thus becomes a central repository from which the data marts retrieve their data.