1. What are the business benefits of taking the time and effort required to create and operate data warehouses such as those described in the case? Do you see any disadvantages? Is there any reason that all companies shouldn’t use data warehousing technology?
2. Applebee’s noted some of the unexpected insights obtained from analyzing data about “back-of-house” performance. Using your knowledge of how a restaurant works what other interesting questions would you suggest to the company? Provide several specific examples.
3. Data mining and warehousing technologies use data about past events to inform better decision making in the future. Do you believe this stifles innovative thinking, causing companies to become too constrained by the data they are already collecting to think about unexplored opportunities? Compare and contrast both viewpoints in your answer.

Randall Parman, database architect at restaurant chain Applebee’s International and head of Teradata’s user group, opened Teradata’s annual user conference in Las Vegas with a warning to those who aren’t making the best use of their data. “Data are like gold,” Parman noted. “If you don’t use the gold, you will have someone else who will come along and take the opportunity,” speaking to a room packed with almost 3,900 attendees.