Defining OLAP Solutions and Data Warehouse design

This tutorial covers OLAP solutions used by Data warehouses and understanding Data Warehouse design. The enterprise needs to ask itself certain fundamental questions before actually launching on the process of designing the data warehouse. It must begin with a conviction that a data warehouse would really help its business and the return on investment will make it worth it.

Defining OLAP Solutions

The data warehouse offloads data from a multitude of sources. The cleaned, validated and loaded data is voluminous and daunting. This data needs to be organized, categorized and arranged in meaningful order for analytical purposes. OLAP solutions are specifically designed to cater to this need.

OLAP solutions used by Data warehouses are:

Multidimensional views of data. Data in the data warehouse is organized into subject oriented categories and tables. Fact tables are constructed and linked to various dimensional tables in star or snowflake schemas or combinations of them to form multidimensional views of data. Cubes are built using these multidimensional schemas. Rapid browsing and querying then becomes possible. These views are independent of the way in which data is stored in the data warehouse.

Interactive query and analysis of data is another OLAP solution that enables users drill down, drill up and slice data by using multiple passes. Users can drill down to successive lower levels of detail or roll up to higher levels of summarization and aggregation.

Analytical modeling is an OLAP tool that is a calculation engine for deriving ratios, variances etc., involving measurements and numerical data across many dimensions.

Functional models are made available by using OLAP for forecasting, trend analysis etc. They support users in data analysis.

Graphical OLAP tools are used to display data in 2D or 3D cross tabs and charts and graphs with easy pivoting of axis. This is important for users who need to analyze data from different perspectives and the analysis of one perspective leads to business questions that need to be examined from other perspectives.

Rapid response to queries is a must in any analysis of data and the measure of success for the OLAP tool. Nigel Pendse and Richard Creeth, authors of the OLAP Report developed the FASMI (Fast Analysis of Shared Multidimensional Information) test to judge whether or not an application qualifies to an OLAP tool. Their contention was that an OLAP tool should provide fast browsing capabilities (< five seconds), should contain analytical tools both for the developer and the end user; the cubes must be able to handle the security requirements of sharing confidential information and it should present data multi-dimensionally.

Multi dimensional data storage engine stores data in arrays. These arrays are logical representations of the business dimensions.

Understanding Data Warehouse design

At a very global level, construction of the data warehouse is a business project by itself. The enterprise needs to ask itself certain fundamental questions before actually launching on the process of designing the data warehouse. It must begin with a conviction that a data warehouse would really help its business and the return on investment will make it worth it.

The general questions that are asked may be as below...

Do we need a data warehouse?

How will it help the business?

What will it mean in terms of cost?

What are the current data analysis methodologies being adopted?

In what way are they deficient?

Will setting up the data warehouse help in reducing these deficiencies?

What kind of reporting and analysis do we really want?

What is that we are getting now?

Will such data analysis make the business more efficient?

Will it help the business improve its services and customer relations?

Once the replies to the above questions have been asked, the organization needs to examine other very crucial issues that will determine the wrap and hoof of the data warehouse that is being set up.

What are the kinds of data that are being generated by the enterprise? What kinds of data storage technologies are currently being used to backup and store historical data?

What other external sources of information do we need to tap to make the data in the data warehouse meaningful for analysis?

What kind of hardware and software will be required to set up this data warehouse?

Who will be the personnel to handle the process of creating the data warehouse?

Which departments will benefit from the data being created?

Will the data warehouse be scaleable?

How will it connect to the different data sources for data?

How will we ensure that quality data is generated?

What kinds of tools will be deployed to support end user needs for reports and analytics?

The answers that emerge from these questions will be a set of business requirements. These requirements will determine the kind of data warehouse that will be ultimately set up in the enterprise. The first steps would be to define the global parameters that will shape the design of the data warehouse. The design can be a top down approach as recommended by Bill Inmon or a bottom up approach recommended by Ralph Kimball. It can be a combination of the two called the Hybrid approach or it can be a federated approach. Let us have a brief look at what these different approaches mean.

For more visualization of this article along with the screen shots and complete free training tutorials on Microsoft Analysis Services visit

http://www.exforsys.com/content/category/17/253/332/

Exforsys is a community of developers specializing in C, C++, C#, Java, J2EE, .NET, PeopleSoft, SAP, Siebel, Oracle Apps., Data warehousing, Oracle/SQL Server/DB2 and Testing. Please visit http://www.exforsys.com for more tutorials, for IT Interview questions visit http://www.exforsys.com, for articles and resources visit http://www.exforsys.com

Alto Pass chicago limos ..
In The News:

Finalists for the inaugural Women’s Prize for Nonfiction, aimed at addressing the gender imbalance in nonfiction publishing, were unveiled on Wednesday.
Tech guru Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson breaks down whether the government is watching citizens and what they can do to protect online privacy.
A benchmarking group for artificial intelligence has released new results evaluating the speed of hardware in running AI applications and responding to users.
Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser spaceplane provides a glimpse into the future of space travel. Traveling to space may become a part of everyday life.
The new European Hyperloop Center in the Netherlands aims bring in a new era of transportation. The center will use a steel tube as a proving ground for testing the new vehicle.
Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.
While it may be incredibly tempting to have a “go with the flow" mindset like the rest of your vacation, your technology definitely should not be compromised while traveling.
Have you ever accidentally deleted an app from your iPhone that you’ve already paid for? Don't worry. We’ve got a trick that will help you get it back without having to buy it again.
Apple's new Journal app has raised privacy concerns among Apple's userbase. Tech expert Kim Komando examines social media rumors and explains what steps to take to protect yourself.
Although Facebook has denied that our phones listen to us, they do have other ways of finding out what we are talking about, listening to and searching for.
With the integration of OpenAI technology, Figure 01 has taken a significant leap forward, showcasing the potential of robots to understand and interact with us on a personal level.
Port Ellen, newly reopened whisky distillery in Scotland, is using SmokeDNAi technology to understand mouth-feel and flavors during the whisky maturation process.
Telly, a smart TV firm, is promising to give out their 4K 55-inch TV for free. What must you give in return? The innovative, yet potentially unsettling, answer might shock you.
The moment a spam invite hits your calendar, it’s like an uninvited guest at a party. So, what do you do? Show it the door.
Identity thieves are now targeting children and are making large sums of money by exploiting children's identities, possibly hurting their financial future.
There's a clever way to change the notification sounds on your Android without having to look at your screen. Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson explains.
If your bank accounted has been hacked, there are a number of steps you can take to prevent it from happening again. Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson explains.
Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.
The Wave House, a data center in Heidelberg, Germany, is the the largest 3D-printed building in Europe. Its walls were built in about 140 hours.
Some government agencies around the world are struggling to meet their staffing goals when it comes to hiring artificial intelligence experts.
Google Maps' recent upgrades have introduced real-time ETA and turn-by-turn directions to your phone's lock screen while you are traveling.
Kat Cammack says AI could disrupt the 2024 election. A report says shared AI image tools generate election disinformation in 41% of cases and voting disinformation in 59% of cases.
Deepfakes have become commonplace, and the technology is only getting better, but there are certain elements that might give away the fact that an image is AI-generated.
A stealthy technology known as EM Eye allows eavesdropping on your home security cameras, according to Northeastern University researchers.
Give your iPhone an extra layer of security. Tech guru Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson explains the easy steps for changing the security passcode on your iPhone.

ERP for Large Corporation ? New Selling Strategy

Our opinion is based on our Microsoft Business Solutions Great... Read More

Antivirus Software ? Get The Bugs Before They Get You!

You turn on your computer, and it doesn't look quite... Read More

MultiNational Corporation ERP Implementation ? Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains

If you look back to the history, you will see... Read More

The Dreaded Paper Label - Should it be Used?

While paper labeling CDs and DVDs may appear to be... Read More

Microsoft Business Solutions Customization Options - Overview for Programmer

Several years ago Microsoft purchased Great Plains Software, then Navision... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains Partner Selection: Overview

Microsoft Great Plains, Navision, Solomon and Axapta are Microsoft Business... Read More

Do You Know These Facts About Spyware ?

Imagine something that follows you home and sets itself up... Read More

Brand Your Websites URL With a Favicon

Have you ever noticed that when you look at your... Read More

Navision Attain Database access via C/ODBC in ASP.NET Application

Navision Software was purchased by Microsoft and now it is... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains in Construction & Building ? Implementation & Customization Highlights

Microsoft Great Plains could be tuned and setup to fit... Read More

The Religion And Philosophy Of Small Internet Business

I have always had a tendency to focus on the... Read More

How to Evaluate Staffing Software

If you are in the market for new staffing software,... Read More

Troubleshoot Windows with Task Manager

Task Manager is a Windows system utility that displays thetasks... Read More

How Do I Get Rid Of That Darn Spyware?

Ad-Aware and Spybot are probably the two most well known... Read More

Review of TikiWiki Content Management System

TikiWiki is open source software - it is written in... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains: Government & Non-Profit Organization ? Workflow Implementation

Usually workflow & messaging is realized in CRM and then... Read More

Does your Company have Documentum?

Are you lost in the mess of documents that get... Read More

7 Things to Consider Before Buying Small Business Accounting Software

The world of small business accounting software can be a... Read More

Defining OLAP Solutions and Data Warehouse design

This tutorial covers OLAP solutions used by Data warehouses and... Read More

Microsoft CRM in Latin America: Implementation, Customization, Support ? Overview for Consultant

Microsoft Business Solutions CRM is present several years on the... Read More

Making The Decision To Automate Your Software Testing

Not every software testing project can or should be automated.... Read More

C++ Function Templates

C++ Function templates are those functions which can handle different... Read More

Microsoft CRM USA Nationwide Remote Support

Remember old good days when your company probably had Great... Read More

Groupware and Online Collaboration: Collaboration Series #4

This article is the fourth of a series of articles... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains Accounting/ERP Implementation ? Finance Industry Customization Example

Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains is very generic accounting application... Read More

Alto Pass cool limo ..