We're working with Microsoft on a new data warehouse for analysts, and I'd say the biggest drawback is how everything's a committee decision. We also have a da

We're working with Microsoft on a new data warehouse for analysts, and I'd say the biggest drawback is how everything's a committee decision. We also have a data warehouse for our online public query system, but it's run in house. It's so easy to modify it or propose additions; I just email the guy in charge, CC his boss, and those two will decide if it's worth the time within a day. The Microsoft warehouse? We still don't have it after a few years. Everything runs through multiple committees from multiple teams on our end before it's even brought up with the Microsoft rep. It's a terrible game of "whisper down the line," and too few players understand enough of the whole system. I don't know what's practical for the stack, Microsoft doesn't know what's practical for analysis, and the middlemen don't know how to prioritize anything. The public servants with access to all the info don't have time to coordinate this; that's why we contracted it out.