Why is it that – all evidence to the contrary – some people still insist that being data-driven is the exclusive province of large enterprises? Sure, industry giants are using data warehousing solutions to slice and dice their data. But that doesn’t mean that the technology is any less appropriate for small and midsize companies.

If being smaller means that organizations can withstand fewer body blows than companies with deep pockets, then making fast, smart decisions is that much more critical – especially in the current economy. Even tiny improvements in decision making velocity and effectiveness can help an organization succeed over its competition.

Compared with older systems that only collected data about what happened, today's data warehousing technology lets companies big and small analyze and understand why it happened, too. The best data warehousing appliances harness the power of leading-edge enterprise-class solutions, but they can be cost-justified within just months. We've seen the results firsthand: Teradata's clients are market leaders involved in data warehouse projects of all sizes and complexity.

So why does the correlation between data warehousing and large enterprises persist? Maybe it’s because with a Teradata system clever small and midsize companies are quietly building their successes – improving operations and becoming more competitive. They aren’t looking for the kudos or the press coverage – they’re happy to gain the business benefits that naturally accrue from making smarter decisions.