Multi-Dimensional Databases and On-Line Analytical Processing Dominic Cutuli John Lundgren Clark Mitchell Leslie Theiss Ken Zenkevich

MDD & OLAP Introduction OLTP DB POS SystemMDD Executive Information System Marketing Info System Sales Analysis OLAP

What is an MDD? (1) A multidimensional database (MDD) is a computer software system designed to allow for the efficient and convenient storage and retrieval of large volumes of data that is (1) intimately related and (2) stored, viewed and analyzed from different perspectives. These perspectives are called dimensions.

What is an MDD? (2)

What is an MDD? (3)

What is OLAP? Online Analytical Processing – From Watson “The analysis of business operations with the intention of making timely and accurate analysis-based decisions.” OLAP Features Generally Include: – Calculations and modeling across dimensions, trend analysis, slicing subsets, drill-down, drill- through and rotation.

Who Are the Vendors? Hyperion Microsoft Cognos Oracle Microstrategies Business Objects

Hyperion Solutions Essbase 2001 market leader in gross revenue Most powerful OLAP engine allows for robust analytical calculations and queries Excellent scalability across processors and platforms Seamless integration with third-party add-ons GE, Hewlett Packard, WalMart High implementation and tune-up costs Pricing begins at $25,000/server + $1,500/user Expected to be surpassed by Microsoft in 2002 according to OLAP report

Microsoft OLAP Products SQL Server Enterprise Edition – Broad range of features supported – Excellent consulting and support network – Wide install base & strong market share – User friendly interface (PC Mag – easiest to use) Data Analyzer / Excel – Strong feature set – User friendly interface – Price Customers include Allstate, California Pizza Kitchen and Dell Computers

Cognos, Inc. Distant third in Market Share: 12.1% in 2001 Strong Cube building and distribution function using “Power Cubes” Works Out-of-the-Box with Unix & Windows servers. BMW, Dow Chemical, Spalding, and Verizon Wireless $60,000 for an enterprise server license with 100 Web Servers Paid $24 million to Business Objects to settle Patent Infringement Suit

Product Matrix

Conclusion/Recommendations All products are strong products Each product has areas where it excels Choosing a product depends on existing systems Any OLAP/MDD search should start with a clearly defined business problem, and the search team should let the business problem guide the search