An operational data store (or "ODS") is a database designed to integrate data from multiple sources for additional operations on the data. Unlike a master data store, the data is not passed back to operational systems. It may be passed for further operations and to the data warehouse for reporting.
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Because the data originate from multiple sources, the integration often involves cleaning, resolving redundancy and checking against business rules for integrity. An ODS is usually designed to contain low-level or atomic (indivisible) data (such as transactions and prices) with limited history that is captured "real time" or "near real time" as opposed to the much greater volumes of data stored in the data warehouse generally on a less-frequent basis.
General Use
The general purpose of an ODS is to integrate data from disparate source systems in a single structure, using data integration technologies like data virtualization, data federation, or extract, transform, and load. This will allow operational access to the data for operational reporting, master data or reference data management.
An ODS is not a replacement or substitute for a data warehouse but in turn could become a source.