Why OLAP?

"Business Intelligence Projects using OLAP are not Mission Critical,
but they are Business Critical"

• Users have direct access to information
  • Eliminates the need for a "report gopher"
  • Puts information into the hands of the decision makers
  • Allows users to ask questions of the database
• High Return on Investment
  • Easier to maintain than most relational systems because of the inherent calculation properties of a cube
  • Relatively easy to build and develop
  • Quick development cycle
• OLAP has become the analytical standard
  • Lower costs have increased usage of OLAP products
  • Most RDBMS systems now include an OLAP tool
  • In 2003 the OLAP market was over $3.5 billion
  • By 2005 the market is projected to be at over $5 billion

A multidimensional cube can combine data from disparate data sources and store the information in a fashion that is logical for business users.