

Next figure shows such a graphical representation of a cube, with sales information by product, employees and currency.
OLAP PROVIDER FOR SQL SERVER 2014 DOWNLOAD SERIES
Represented graphically, a data cube is shown as the geometric shape which takes its name, horizontally and vertically partitioned into a series of divisions that give rise to multiple cells, which identify each of the possible outcomes of the measures, obtained by the intersection in each cell of the dimensions that make up the cube. The numerical results obtained are called measures, while the elements used to sort / filter information are called dimensions. The response time is minimal because the cube processing engine precalculates the possible combinations of results that the user can request. These results may change depending on one or more filters that apply on the cube. The cube is provided with internal machinery that can process high volumes of data in a relatively short period of time, and whose goal is always to obtain a numerical result (amount of sales, expenses, number of products sold, etc.). To solve such problems we have the so-called Business Intelligence (BI) tools, and in the case we are working with SQL Server, one of its main components: SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS), allow us to create a data cube, an element by which to generate information to analyze the state of the company from all its data sources.įrom a conceptual perspective, a data cube is one more part into the gear of an information system called data warehouse. The excessive increase of the volume of data into information systems of a company, without proper organization and structure, can have negative effects such as slow in their status analysis, or worse, lead to inappropriate strategic decision making, since having millions of records distributed across multiple heterogeneous data sources (SQL Server and Access databases, flat files, Excel spreadsheets, etc.), need not be synonymous in all cases of a system that provides quality information. In this article we will make an introduction to OLAP data cubes in SQL Server 2008 R2 Analysis Services, a powerful tool that can transform vast amounts of data into useful information. Analyze so much data in order to make strategic decisions has become a real problem. It is an undeniable fact that in recent times, the volume of data that organizations must manage has soared.
