Data Warehousing Principles and Ethics Data warehousing is no longer simply a storage system for data. Today's data warehousing involves innovative technological software, automated "agents," known as intelligent agents, robots or "bots" and ants. These agents are capable of doing calculations or text searches to delve out specific requested information, such as letting the user know when a particular condition is met (Wilken 77). Data warehousing has experienced a surge of interest since intelligent agents have been introduced; in 1993, only 5% of those queried stated that they were investigating data warehouses, but one year later the figure jumped to 90% (Wilken 77). In essence, the use of intelligent agents is a form of data mining that allows the user to obtain far more significant information about customers and their preferences than used to be possible. Data mining is:
ąthe process of discovering meaningful new correlations, patterns, and trends by sifting through large amounts of data stored in data warehouses and by using pattern recognition technologies as well as statistical and math