A Data Warehouse provides a global view on heterogeneous and distributed databases by retrieving the relevant data from data sources and merging them into one consistent database. Therefore the content of the Data Warehouse originates from copying and processing data from different sources. Mostly Data Warehouses serve as a basis for the aggregation of business ratios and the analysis of multi-dimensional matrices (Online Analytical Processing, OLAP). Further on Data Warehouses are often a basis for Data Mining.
Early discussions on the role of intermediaries in electronic markets focussed on the hypothesis that electronic markets would reduce the amount of - or even eliminate - intermediaries due to decreasing transaction costs. Omission of intermediary levels in the value chain due to direct interaction of producers and consumers is frequently named ''disintermediation''. However, a disintermediation to the extent forecasted could not be observed so far in electronic markets.
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