Letters

The difference between a data warehouse & a DMS

I read with interest your Editor's Opinion column in the November/December 1997 issue of Image & Data Manager and in particular your comments questioning the difference between document management and data warehousing.

For over 10 years many changes in technology have occurred in the document/drawing and data management industry and we believe there is another shift occurring in this industry.

We are seeing business focus for the industries we address change from document management to data management/warehouse focus. Therefore industry is demanding an asset and information management system which uses data management/warehouse techniques but includes document management functions for legacy and correspondence information.

Many different reasons also exist why each technology should be used but they depend on the use and need to retain information and knowledge. Some of the major differences we find between the technologies are shown in the tables below.

I believe the use of data management/warehouse technology for the technical market is vital to achieve the asset whole of life requirements necessary to compete in the global business environment.

PETER HEIT

National Manager - Information Management Systems

Intergraph Corporation

Brisbane