Towards an information warehouse digging for gold

Abstract

With computerized systems like LIMS a lot of data is gathered to support the day to day work in laboratories. Those data contain a lot of information which could be used to analyze working processes in laboratories and to take better based decisions. However the accessibility of the data is poor. A fair amount of technical automation know how is a must. Mostly the support of people from the EDP-department is necessary to get the data available. In practice it means the available information is not really used. The existence of more business needs is known. What about the possibilities to get information from the combined data from LIMS, purchasing systems and logistical systems. The analysis of chains of business processes, improving those chains and to be able to take decisions based upon facts on this chains have an even higher added value than the information hidden within the technical secrets of LIMS. The use of the principles of an Information Warehouse promises to be a solution for this kind of business needs. The paper discusses the different types of Information Warehouses and shows how an Information Warehouse can be realized.