BREAKING NEWS… Data Vault Is Not Just A Model

I like stories and many of my stories involve food, so I am going to stick with that theme. I would like to welcome you to my fictional restaurant the Chez Primary Keychen (spell check does not like the name). Let us just say while planning this new restaurant, I only discussed the recipes and nothing else, things may not go so well out of the gates for my new establishment. Now, by no means am I a restaurant aficionado, but I am sure if I did not have the right equipment, suppliers, trained employees and processes to go along with those amazing recipes then Chez Primary Keychen is more likely going to be doomed from the start. Getting those 5 stars reviews is probably a false expectation on my part. The same holds true when your organization elects to implement a Data Vault 2.0 Data Warehouse. Much like the restaurant, when building out a Data Warehouse you must look far beyond just the data model. You must look at the entire end to end strategy. This is what you get when you elect to embrace the Data Vault 2.0 approach. To quote Dan Linstedt - “Data Vault 2.0 is A System of Business Intelligence Containing the necessary components needed to accomplish enterprise vision in Data Warehousing and Information Delivery”.

In this System of Business Intelligence there are three core pillars that must be followed and understood. These pillars are Architecture, Methodology & Model. Let us briefly look at each of these pillars.

The Architecture – Much like a restaurant is going to need the right equipment, infrastructure and solutions to succeed, having the right architecture in place for your data warehouse is also key. With Data Vault 2.0 you are provided with a technology agnostic architecture guide. It is a Multi Layered and scalable solution that allows you to accommodate Structured, Semi Structured and even Unstructured Data. So regardless of the volume, velocity, or variety your data may have, the architecture if followed properly will not require you to change as your business and organization grows and evolves.

The Methodology – Now my new restaurant may have the best-in-class infrastructure and equipment, but it also requires a plan and method for execution to ensure my food goes out in a timely and consistent manner. A good operating model is necessary. The Data Vault 2.0 methodology provides you with patterns and best practices to execute on your projects. The great part about the Data Vault 2.0 Methodology is that it leverages consistent and repeatable patterns. Regardless, if you have one or many teams working on different subject areas, your business consumers can expect the same great quality.

The Model – So back to those all-important recipes that my chefs are going to be cooking up. It is important for them to know where to gather all those important ingredients. That holds true for the food of your business, your data. With the Data Vault 2.0 modeling technique, you have a Hub and Spoke technique that makes it very flexible to fit any business. The model can be incrementally delivered and can accommodate many disparate data sources in a variety of formats, but more importantly the model can rapidly change and flex at the speed of your business.

Also critical to these three pillars, is the focus needed on your People, Process and Technologies to compliment these pillars. In combination with the pillars, together, you are on the path for success.

To re-emphasize, if you find that you and others in your organization are only focusing on the Data Model, or any of the three key pillars independently, I suggest taking a step back and re-assessing where you are in the big picture. A successful Data Vault Implementation is strongly dependent on all three of these pillars working harmoniously with one another. So, like the Primary Keychen is striving to get its 5-star review, I too want to see your Data Vault implementation get a 5-star review from your business consumers.

The key to unlocking the power of data