The IMSMA staging area is a flattened and read-only version of the IMSMANG operational database. In terms of content, the data is an exact copy of the approved information in the IMSMANG database, but the structure is much less complex and therefore easier to query. While in the operational IMSMANG database the core object data (e.g. the ID and name of a Land) is stored in one table (e.g. in the hazard table) and descriptive attributes (such as single- and multi-select standard and custom defined fields) are stored in separate tables, in the staging area all this information is available in one single table. Therefore, there is no need to write complex queries to get to all the attributes of an object. Ultimately, reporting and data analysis tools can easily be connected to the staging area.
A staging area can be created out of an IMSMANG v 6.0 (and higher) database. It is typically used as a reporting database, via lightMINT, MINT or any other reporting/analysis tool.
