A data warehouse having an operational layer is provided. The data warehouse stores historical data in an historical format that is based on operational data for an organization. The operational layer enables access to the historical data in an operational format that is used to store the operational data on which the historical data is based. The invention further provides a solution for managing the data warehouse with the operational layer. The operational layer can be incorporated in various solutions. To this extent, the invention further provides a solution for developing an application using the operational layer of the data warehouse.