Microsoft® SQL Server™ 2000 DBA Survival Guide, Second Edition

Transforming Operational Data

The key issue with developing data stores of any type is how to change the raw data you have into the information you need. This process is called data transformation. It is rare that the data which exists in the OLTP systems can actually be used to perform complex decision support. Generally, small bits of relevant information are extracted from a virtual sea of data. A table that consists of 50 or so fields in the operational system might contain 10 columns or less that are useful for this type of business analysis. Data transformations are a set of operations performed on the source data as it is transferred to its destination. Typical transformations include integrating data from several sources into one destination, ...