Section 6.2 Data Warehouse and Blockchain

data point

An individual item on a graph or a chart.

dataset

An organized collection of data.

comparative analysis

Can compare two or more datasets to identify patterns and trends.

competitive monitoring

Occurs when a company keeps tabs of its competitors' activities on the web using software that automatically tracks all competitor website activities such as discounts and new products.

source data

Identifies the primary location where data is collected.

raw data

Data that has not been processed for use.

data aggregation

The collection of data from various sources for the purpose of data processing.

data warehouse

A logical collection of data, gathered from many operational databases, that supports business analysis activities and decision-making tasks.

extraction, transformation, and loading (ETL)

A process that extracts data from internal and external databases, transforms it using a common set of enterprise definitions, and loads it into a data warehouse.

data mart

Contains a subset of data warehouse data.

data cube

The common term for the representation of multidimensional information.

data lake

A storage repository that holds a vast amount of raw data in its original format until the business needs it.

dirty data

Erroneous or flawed data.

data cleansing or scrubbing

A process that weeds out and fixes or discards inconsistent, incorrect, or incomplete data.

data quality audit

Determines the accuracy and completeness of its data.

infographic (information graphic)

A representation of information in a graphical format designed to make the data easily understandable at a glance.

data artist

A business analytics specialist who uses visual tools to help people understand complex data.

analysis paralysis

Occurs when the user goes into an emotional state of overanalyzing (or overthinking) a situation so that a decision or action is never taken, in effect paralyzing the outcome.

data visualization

Describes technologies that allow users to “see” or visualize data to transform information into a business perspective.

data visualization tools

Move beyond Excel graphs and charts into sophisticated analysis techniques such as pie charts, controls, instruments, maps, time-series graphs, etc.

business intelligence dashboards

Track corporate metrics such as critical success factors and key performance indicators and include advanced capabilities such as interactive controls, allowing users to manipulate data for analysis.

distributed computing

Processes and manages algorithms across many machines in a computing environment.

ledger

Records classified and summarized transactional data.

blockchain

A type of distributed ledger, consisting of blocks of data that maintain a permanent and tamper-proof record of transactional data.

proof-of-work

A requirement to define an expensive computer calculation, also called mining, that needs to be performed in order to create a new group of trustless transactions (blocks) on the distributed ledger or blockchain.

Bitcoin

A type of digital currency in which a record of transactions is maintained and new units of currency are generated by the computational solution of mathematical problems, and which operates independently of a central bank.

Ethereum

A decentralized, open-source blockchain with smart contract functionality.

blocks

Data structure containing a hash, previous hash, and data.

genesis block

The first block created in the blockchain.

hash

A function that converts an input of letters and numbers into an encrypted output of a fixed length

proof-of-stake

A way to validate transactions and achieve a distributed consensus.

immutable

Unchangeable.

immutability

The ability for a blockchain ledger to remain a permanent, indelible, and unalterable history of transactions.

non-fungible token (NFT)

A unit of data stored on a digital ledger, called a blockchain, that certifies a digital asset to be unique and therefore not interchangeable.