Performance Management – Multi-dimensional BI tools

For those of you familiar with “cubes”, the idea of being able to report on data in any combination of a multitude of dimensions (time, geography, team, etc) is very familiar.

Such analysis is usually carried out by some form of multi-dimensional business intelligence (BI) software tool, usually termed OLAP (OnLine Analytical Processing).

Handling a lot of data in multiple dimensions can take a computer a lot of time. For those of you who need answers quickly, the way the data is handled is of crucial importance. As disk and database access is typically relatively slow in a computer, in-memory tools typically outperform those that are disk-based.

Here’s an interesting summary of the position in August 2010, and the history getting here

On a more practical note BIOLAP, the UK distributor of one of the earliest OLAP systems mentioned in this article, has quickly jumped on the need for local authorities to disclose all their expenditure over £500, by providing a free “Expenses Dashboard”. Some 22 local councils have already signed up. For those in business, such analysis can also be valuable. BIOLAP can be contacted here.

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Business Intelligence – what the hell does it mean?

Business Intelligence, often known by the two letters B.I, is a hopelessly over-used term. Vendors of all types of reporting software tend to label their products BI.

The origins of the term go back to 1958, when it was defined as "the ability to apprehend the interrelationships of presented facts in such a way as to guide action towards a desired goal." But that was years ago!

The term was resurrected in 1989 to mean "concepts and methods to improve business decision making by using fact-based support systems”, but did not become popular until the late 1990s. With so many terms from this era already consigned to the history books, BI’s longevity follows its appeal to the emotions.

Reporting and forecasting systems became “intelligent” with the advent of analytical systems that could make sense of the multi-dimensional world of products, territories, customers, salespeople, groupings and time periods. These are often referred to as OLAP systems (OnLine Analytical Processing, as distinct from OnLine Transactional Processing).

Whilst there are various types of OLAP systems (MOLAP, ROLAP, HOLAP, WOLAP, DOLAP etc), the use of multi-dimensional “cubes” of information is the essence of making sense out of the jumble of data typically found in transactional systems.

Future articles will explore BI in all its glory!