How To Protect Your Data Warehouse

While many data warehouses are used to access and analyze information, some companies wish to place limits on the type of information that a worker can access. While there are advantages to doing this, there are also some disadvantages as well.

Generally, a company will not place an emphasis on security until after the data warehouse has been built. Before you set up a security system for your data warehouse, it is first important to understand what function your data warehouse is being designed for.

If most of the people who use the data warehouse will only be looking at basic reports, you will want to set up a security system that can accomodate it. While you will want to take some security measures, it is important to make sure you don’t add too much. When you set up a security system for your data warehouse, there are three areas you will want to pay attention to, and these are analytical, consolidation, and standardized reporting.

The analytical aspect of data warehouses is the thing you will hear about the most. It is especially important during the planning stages. Despite this, over 70 percent of data warehouses are built with standardized reporting in mind. There will only be a handful of people in most companies that will know how to make plans based on the information they obtained in a analytical warehouse. While these people have a tremendous amount of skill and knowledge, they only comprise a small part of those working with data warehouses.

Trying to use advanced security measures in an analytical data warehouse is generally worthless. However, standardized reporting is a different issue. With standardized reporting, a security system is not an option. The reason for this is because it is this area of the warehouse that will have the most activity, and it is the most vulnerable to performance problems. A data warehouse that places an emphasis on consolidation seeks to integrate the information that it contains. Despite this, some companies may choose to merge the data into a single source. When multiple sources of information are brought together, security will become a complex issue.

As you can imagine, the financial information within a data warehouse will need to have a different level of security than the information that is related to inventory. In addition to this, different departments within a company may have their own levels of security. In order for you to secure your data warehouse, it is important to make sure that each form of information has its own security system. If you are thinking of adding security to your data warehouse, you will need to decide where the security system should be added. The two places which are commonly chosen are the database level and application.

Placing a security system within an application is efficient because it can be connected to the data that is being processed by the application. In addition to this, the actual functions of the program can be secured as well. After the application, the next best place to add security is the data warehouse itself. When security is added to the data warehouse, all the computer programs will be secure. The one that you choose will be dependent on a number of factors. If you are using more than one program within the database, it may be best to use a database level security program. You may also want to use a database level security system if more than 100 users will be accessing the data warehouse.

Another thing that you will want to become familiar with is the security table. The security table will contain characteristics that are secured along with the identification of the user. The table will hold values which are related to the information that the user is allowed to access.

You may find that the security table can become the largest table within the warehouse. However, the security table can play an important role in making sure your information is secure. When you secure your data warehouse, it is important to make sure the right levels of security are set up. Each type of information within the database will need to be secured in a different way. The speed of your data warehouse may also be slowed.