The Data Vault Handbook - Concepts and Applications

1. INTRODUCTION TO DATA VAULT

Data Vault is a system of business intelligence including the required com- ponents to realize the enterprise vision in data integration and information delivery. Unlike its predecessor, Data Vault 1.0, which focused primarily on modeling, the more modern versions of Data Vault (2.0 and later versions) present a fully renovated framework also encompassing architecture, meth- odology, and best practices. Data Vault is termed a “system of business intelligence” because its ultimate goal is to add value to the organization implementing it. This value is re- alized through the creation of dashboards, reports, KPIs, AI solutions, and other data-driven applications. At Scalefree, we consistently emphasize that the objective is to provide the right data, at the right time, to the right people, enabling informed decision-making within the organization. However, handling multiple data sources that update frequently and involve millions of rows presents significant challenges, especially with the volume, velocity, and variety of big data. These challenges include cumbersome sys- tem integration, dirty data, lack of a single version of truth for key business definitions, delayed data team deliveries, lengthy data loads, inadequate documentation and standards, and difficulties in collaboration and deploy- ment. Traditional modeling methods sought to address many of these challenges by organizing data into structured, reliable schemas. For instance, some approaches emphasized a top-down, normalized data warehouse, aiming