What is Data Mart

A data mart is a specialized subset of a data warehouse focused on a specific

functional area or department within an organization. It provides a simplified and
targeted view of data, addressing specific reporting and analytical needs. Data marts
are smaller in scale and scope, typically holding relevant data for a specific group of
users, such as sales, marketing, or finance. They are organized around specific
subjects, such as sales, customer data, or product information, and are structured,
transformed, and optimized for efficient querying and analysis within the domain.
Types of Data Mart
There are three common types of data marts:
 Independent Data Mart
 Dependent Data Mart
 Hybrid Data Mart
1. Independent Data Mart
An independent data mart is created and maintained separately from the data
warehouse. It is created to satisfy the particular needs of a specific business unit or
department. Independent data marts are typically smaller in size and more rapidly
and readily set up. They offer flexibility and agility since they are not constrained
by the challenges of the centralized data warehouse. Nevertheless, data redundancy
and inconsistency may result if it is replicated over several different data marts.
2. Dependent Data Mart
A dependent data mart is generated right out of a data warehouse. It takes some of
the data from the data warehouse and arranges it to meet the needs of a specific
industry. Dependent data marts, which profit from the data integration, data quality,
and consistency provided by the data warehouse, allow for the centralization and
preservation of all data in a single source of truth. They are often developed to serve
particular reporting and analytical needs, and they are frequently updated from the
data warehouse. Dependent data marts offer data consistency and prevent data
duplication because they rely on the data warehouse as their main source of data.
3. Hybrid Data Mart
Both independent and dependent data mart components can be found in a hybrid
data mart. As well as combining additional data sources particular to a given
business unit or department, it makes use of the centralized data warehouse for the
integration and consistency of the core data. By offering flexibility and agility for
department-specific needs while keeping the integrity and consistency of shared data
from the data warehouse, hybrid data marts offer the benefits of both strategies. This
strategy creates a balance between localized data management and centralized
control.
Difference between Data Mart, Data Lake, and Data Warehouse
Although both a data mart, a data warehouse, and a Data Lake are methods for
storing and analyzing data, their scopes, objectives, and structures vary in these
terms:
Data Mart Data Lake Data Warehouse

A data lake is a hub where A data warehouse is a

A data mart is a
huge quantities of raw, hub where information
sophisticated subset of
unprocessed data are kept in from various places
a data warehouse
their original form. within an organization is
created to satisfy the
Structured, semi-structured, combined and stored. It
unique reporting and
and unstructured data can all was created to assist
analytical needs of a
be used with it without the reporting, analysis, and
particular business
need for special decision-making
field or department
transformations or defined procedures across the
inside an organization.
schemas. entire company.

Faster response to Slower response to requests

Optimum efficiency for
requests and and information as
business analysis.
information transformation is required.

Scalable to meet More scalable than Data Scalable to meet user

departmental needs Marts. Scalable to manage and data growth
only. high data volumes. expectations.

Compiled and curated Unfiltered, unstructured Integrated and combined

information on the data of various forms and data from several
area. formats. sources.
Structures of Data Mart
These typical structures are used by data marts to represent and store information :
1. Star
A common data mart structure is the dimensional model, commonly referred to as a
star architecture. It comprises numerous dimension tables surrounding a core fact
table. The fact table includes quantifiable information or metrics about a certain
business procedure or topic matter, such as sales or inventory. Dimension tables
offer contextual or descriptive details about the data in the fact table. Typically, each
dimension table depicts a certain feature or perspective of the data, such as time,
region, products, or consumers. Through primary-key and foreign-key associations,
the fact table and dimension tables are connected, creating a star-like structure. This
format makes it simple for users to quickly slice and dice data along many
dimensions, which supports effective querying and analysis.
2. Snowflake
A dimensional model extension that offers more normalized data structures is the
snowflake model. By dividing them into several linked tables, this structure further
normalizes dimension tables. When working with complex hierarchies or when a
dimension has a lot of properties, this normalization can help decrease data
redundancy. The snowflake model, however, can make searches and data integration
procedures more difficult.
Advantages of Data Mart
For organizations that require targeted and specialized data storage and analysis
solutions, data marts provide several benefits. Here are some benefits listed below:
1. Data marts are built to serve the specific reporting and analytical requirements
of a particular business unit or department.
2. Data marts are designed to provide optimized performance for specific business
areas or departments.
3. By storing a subset of relevant data and tailoring the structure to meet specific
analytical needs, data marts can deliver faster query response times and
improved data retrieval performance.
4. Data marts empower business users by providing them with direct access to
relevant data and analytical tools.
5. Users can access and analyze data more efficiently, leading to enhanced
productivity and decision-making.
FAQs on Data Mart
Q.1What are the three types of data mart?
Answer:
There are three types of data marts, they are :-
 Dependent
 Independent
 Hybrid

Q.2 What is a data mart vs database?

Answer:
A database stores structured data in tables for various applications, while a data
mart is a specialized subset for specific business needs.
Q.3 Can multiple data marts be connected or integrated?
Answer:
Yes, distinct data marts can be joined together or combined to support cross-
functional analysis or to produce a thorough perspective of data across several
business sectors. Common data structures, shared dimensions, or data aggregation
methods can all be used to achieve this integration.
Q.4 What is the purpose of a data mart?
Answer:
A data mart satisfies the specialized reporting and analytical requirements of a
specific business area or department inside a company. Users can quickly find
relevant information and carry out analysis within their particular domain due to
the concentrated and customized view of data it offers.