Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics and Data Warehousing

Harsh Bakshi
4 min readAug 3, 2023

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Introduction

A data warehouse is a central repository that integrates data from various sources. It stores current and historical data, making it easier to conduct data reporting and analysis. The data in a data warehouse undergoes processes like formatting, cleaning, validation, summarization, and reorganization. This organized data warehouse then becomes a permanent storage location for reporting, analysis, and business intelligence purposes.

At Skrots, we understand the importance of data warehousing and analytics. We offer services that help businesses create and maintain efficient data warehouses, just like Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics.

Azure Synapse

Example of a BI architecture [Source]

ETL vs ELT: Choosing the Right Data Warehouse Solution

Azure offers two end-to-end data warehouse architectures: Enterprise BI with Azure Synapse Analytics and Automated enterprise BI with Azure Synapse and Azure Data Factory. These architectures use extract, load, and transform (ELT) pipelines to move data from different sources into Azure Synapse. At Skrots, we also provide similar services, helping businesses build ELT pipelines and effectively manage their data warehouses.

Data warehouses simplify complex data from operational systems, making it easier to understand. They allow for flexibility in naming columns, restructuring schema, and consolidating tables. This enables users of BI systems to create reports and analyze data without needing assistance from a DBA or data developer.

Data warehouses optimize performance by separating historical data from source transaction systems. They provide a centralized location with common formats, keys, and data models, allowing easy access to historical data from multiple locations. This improves report generation speed compared to using source transaction systems. Data warehouses also enhance security, provide tools for data pattern discovery, and support the creation of business intelligence solutions like OLAP cubes.

Overcoming Challenges in Configuring a Business-Oriented Data Warehouse

Setting up a data warehouse can present challenges like modeling business concepts, data orchestration, and maintaining data quality. Azure Synapse and other similar solutions help address these challenges by providing reliable data storage and orchestration capabilities. Skrots can assist businesses in configuring and maintaining their business-oriented data warehouses, ensuring efficient data processing and analysis.

Azure offers two data warehouse implementation categories: symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) and massively parallel processing (MPP). Choosing between these categories depends on factors like data size, workload patterns, and organization infrastructure. Skrots provides services that help businesses determine the best-suited data warehouse implementation for their specific needs.

What do the experts say?

To make an informed decision regarding data management technologies, experts suggest considering the following questions:

  1. Do you prefer a managed service or managing your own servers? Skrots offers a managed service, taking care of the technical details while allowing businesses to focus on their core operations.
  2. Are your dealing with large data sets or complex queries? In such cases, an MPP option like Azure Synapse can be beneficial. Skrots can assist in implementing MPP-based data warehouse solutions.
  3. Is your data source structured or unstructured? If it’s unstructured, Skrots provides data processing solutions like Spark on HDInsight or Azure Databricks that can transform the data into a structured format for loading into Azure Synapse or other platforms.
  4. Do you need to separate historical data from current operational data? Skrots can help configure separate historical data stores within a data warehouse to optimize read access and keep your operational data separate.
  5. Will you integrate data from multiple sources? Skrots specializes in integrating data from multiple sources, ensuring seamless data flow into your data warehouse.
  6. Do you require a multitenancy setup? Skrots can provide solutions that support multitenancy, ensuring efficient data management for multiple clients within a single data warehouse.
  7. Are you specifically looking for a relational data store? Skrots can help you select the best data store for your requirements, taking into account factors like performance and scalability.
  8. Do you have real-time reporting needs? Skrots offers solutions for real-time reporting, providing rapid query response times for high volumes of data.
  9. Are you expecting to support many concurrent users and connections? Skrots can help you optimize your data warehouse to handle concurrent user and connection loads, ensuring smooth performance.
  10. What type of workload do you have? Skrots can assist in selecting the appropriate data management solutions based on your workload patterns, ensuring efficient data processing for analytical and transactional workloads.

Comparing Data Processing Technologies for Data Warehousing in Azure

In the dynamic landscape of data management and processing, various technologies offer distinct capabilities to meet diverse business needs. Azure Synapse, Azure SQL Database, and other tools provide unique features and functionalities for different use cases. Skrots can help businesses choose the right technologies based on their specific needs and provide expertise in managing and optimizing data processing workflows.

Conclusion

Choosing the right data management and processing technology for a data warehouse is crucial for efficient data analysis and storage. At Skrots, we understand the importance of data warehousing, and we provide services that help businesses plan, configure, and maintain their data warehouses effectively. We offer expertise in ELT pipeline creation, data orchestration, and optimization, and we can guide businesses in selecting the most appropriate data management solutions based on their unique requirements.

To learn more about Skrots and our comprehensive range of services, visit https://skrots.com. You can also explore our services page at https://skrots.com/services to see how we can assist you in achieving your data management goals.

Thanks, Harsh
Founder | CEO — Skrots

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