Subject-oriented, which means that the data in the database is organized so that all the data elements relating to the same realworld event or object are linked together.

Time-variant, which means that the changes to the data in the database are tracked and recorded so that reports can be produced showing changes over time.

Non-volatile, which means that data in the database is never over-written or deleted, once committed, the data is static, read- only, but retained for future reporting.

Integrated, which means that the database contains data from most or all of an organization's operational applications and that this data is made consistent.