As data increases rapidly, traditional technologies are unable to cope but new technologies are swiftly evolving to meet the new needs. Businesses need access to both operational and analytical data for different purposes. The ability to make informed decisions is one of the most important aspects of running a successful business today. Both ODS and DSS systems aid in effective decision-making but there are many differences between them.
What is an ODS?
An operational data store (ODS) provides integrated, current operational data and caters to the need for immediate/real-time reporting. It consists of a physical set of tables that sits between the operating system and the data warehouse.
The ODS offers a consolidated view of current data and transactions from many sources, systems and locations. For example, it may include data from the transaction system that records purchases, the billing system and the stock control system. Previously isolated systems feed into a consolidated repository to offer a more consolidated view of data and enable better reporting.
An ODS is usually updated frequently and the more often it is updated, the closer the results are to real-time. Access to real-time data has many business benefits.
What is a DSS?
A decision support system (DSS) is an interactive software-based system that helps decision-makers to gather information from documents, raw data, personal knowledge, and/or business models. By compiling this information, they can identify and solve problems and make decisions. A DSS consists of a database, a software system, and user interface.
A DSS is designed to support decision-making at all stages, from identifying a problem, selecting relevant data, choosing an approach and evaluating alternative courses of action. It can sift through and analyze large amounts of data and compile comprehensive information for effective decision-making.
A DSS can be manual, automated or a combination of both. There are five different categories of DSS based on the primary sources of information – data-driven, model-driven, knowledge-driven, document-driven and communication-driven.
Purpose of an ODS
When a user wants to perform an uncomplicated query on a small quantity of data, this is possible with an ODS. Incoming data overwrites previous data so a query only offers a snapshot of the latest data and enables the user to make a quick, operational decision.
As an ODS offers a current view of operational status, users can diagnose problems easier and less turnaround time on problems that cause less stress.
Businesses can monitor customer activity when they have easy access to real-time data and this makes it easier to customize their approach and target them more effectively.
Access to real-time data can also help users to track orders and manage inventory. A business becomes more responsive and agile with access to real-time data and this improves output and profitability.
An ODS opens up reporting to more people within an organization. As it doesn’t contain all historical data, it is more secure and resilient to cyber-attacks.
Purpose of a DSS
A DSS is different from other operations applications because the goal is not just to collect data but to analyze it. It offers support for decision-makers at all levels of an organization and supports a variety of decision processes and styles.
A DSS is used by planning departments for purposes such as projecting sales, collecting data and creating reports that managers can use to make decisions. For instance, it might help a company project its revenue over a set period by analyzing the sales of products in the past and current variables.
A decision support system supports the problem-solving approach of the decision-maker rather than simply providing output in the form of a report. The careful design of the user interface enables decision-makers to interact with a DSS in a natural way.
The type of problem best addressed through the use of a DSS is one that requires human judgment.
The differences
Query activity: An ODS supports uncomplicated queries on small data sets and queries are speed-critical.
A DSS does not include the details of each operational transaction. It stores integrated, aggregated and summarized data and queries are typically high in complexity, broad in scope, and less speed-critical.
Amount of data: An ODS only offers the latest snapshot of current transactions in response to a query and therefore enables very quick operational decision-making.
End-users of a DSS may be left with multiple choices as a DSS considers every aspect of a problem. Data can contain many redundancies and duplications and be categorized in many different ways to represent different snapshots.
Data models: An ODS updates frequently, whereas a DSS is not designed for frequent transaction updates. The focus is on querying capability. A DSS database tends to be non-normalized and only has a few tables that each contain a large number of attributes.
Transaction volume: The two systems are different in transaction type and volume. The concurrent transaction volume in an ODS is very high when compared with the low-to-medium levels found in a DSS.
Cost: It is expensive to implement a DSS which makes it less accessible to smaller organizations.
If you have a traditional ODS, it is possible to augment it to bring it up to date for your purposes which won’t cost you as much. You can also deploy a solution that includes all the components your business needs, which will cost more.
Software licensing, acquiring hardware and choosing the right software development companies can be challenging. However, having an ODS is totally worthwhile in terms of its efficiency in handling a large volume of updates and providing real-time data. Using real-time data to help when making operational business decisions can put a business ahead of the competition and make a big difference to business profitability.
A final word
The ability to make the right decisions has a great influence on the success of all businesses. An ODS and a DSS can both aid with effective decision-making in different ways. An ODS offers the opportunity to make speedy, operational decisions by having access to real-time information. A DSS helps with more complex queries where speed is not so important.
