If you read the previous entry on ETL basics, you may be thinking "Another blog about ETL? Why?" Good question.
What's with all the mumbo jumbo surrounding new tech terminology and why do we care? Truth be told, we don't. Chances are, you can probably think of better things to do with your time than research the definitions of ETL and ELT - much less delve into the differences.
Lately, I haven't been so lucky. The tech industry is moving at breakneck speed, and I need to catch up. So rest assured, a lot of folks have their noses in the books for you – because that's what you pay information technology professionals to do, right? And, as is often the case with experts in any given field, they aren't agreed on the semantics. There's plenty of information out there you can mull over to determine the right BI Solution for your restaurants. And if you can't get to sleep one night, just give these a whirl:
http://www.dataacademy.com/files/ETL-vs-ELT-White-Paper.pdf,
http://www.kimballgroup.com/2008/04/should-you-use-an-etl-tool/,
http://richrelevance.com/downloads/RichRelevance%20Tech%20Note%20-%20ETL%20vs%20ELT.pdf.
But assuming you're happy to let someone else do the dry reading, we know you really just want your data fast and accurate. It needs to be Extracted, Loaded, and Transformed (ELT), or Extracted, Transformed and Loaded (ETL). This means we gather the data from your source systems (extract), teach all the data to speak the same language (transform), and put the data back in a program that makes sense to you (load). Once that's done, you can get down to the business of evaluating, operating and improving your stores. Let's say you decide to outsource business intelligence instead of building a solution in-house.
If you choose to let someone else manage your data, you'll find yourself with quite a bit of information at your disposal. But what does that really do for you? Absolutely nothing if it doesn't add to your bottom line. Sure, it will save you time (and eye strain – and maybe even high blood pressure) but while you will have time to focus on other projects, you're not in the business of saving time.
You need a tool that empowers you to accomplish what your business sets out to do every day – increase revenue. By letting us focus on the Es, Ts and Ls, you've freed yourself up to identify problems, devise plans, and execute actions. Play to your strenghts. Leave the IT details to Mirus and spend your time on tasks that get you closer to your end goal.
What are your thoughts?
Please share your stories, comments, and any other tips that may be helpful!
About:
Mirus provides decision makers across operations, finance and marketing with actionable intelligence. Our analytic software consolidates transactional information and a host of other data sources to measure and improve restaurant performance. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Mirus is a recognized leader in restaurant business intelligence.
For more information, please visit www.mirus.com