| The Web has become the universal and global
delivery mechanism for external data. In many ways, the Web is the mother of all data
warehouses. The immense resources of the Web, with all of its complexity and dynamics, are
largely untapped. Valuable information about external business factors is readily
available on the Web and is becoming more so each day. Web farming is not surfing the Web haphazardly, wandering
from one intriguing item to another. Nor is it a one-time search of the Web.  On a
continuous and systematic basis, a Web farming system must deliver, to the right people at
the right time, information highly relevant to the enterprise. In effect, a Web farming
system acts as the eyes and ears of the enterprise, focusing externally to be aware of
important changes in the business environment.
Web farming has the objective of refining
web content in a systematic manner. In particular, refining this content involves the
processes of discovering, acquiring, structuring, and disseminating. The specific
objectives of web farming are:
- To discover web content that is highly relevant to
the business
- To acquire that content so it is properly
validated within a historical context
- To structure the content into a useful form that's
compatible with the data warehouse
- To disseminate the content to the proper people so
it has direct and positive impacts on specific business processes
- To manage the previous steps in a systematic
manner as part of the production operations of a data center environment.
Web Farming results in practical management and
technical skills for implementing effective business intelligence systems within your
company. The four-stage methodology for web farming minimizes your risk of an unsuccessful
implementation and maximize the benefits to your business. |
