OLAP - Online Analytical Processing

OLAP (online analytical processing) is a function of business intelligence software that enables you to easily and selectively extract and view data from different points of view. Designed for managers looking to make sense of their information, OLAP tools structure data hierarchically – the way you think of your business, changing the relationships to get more detailed insight into corporate information.

Online analytical processing is an approach to swiftly answer multi-dimensional analytical queries. OLAP is part of the broader category of business intelligence, which also encompasses relational reporting and data mining. The typical applications of OLAP are for business reporting for sales, marketing, management reporting, business process management (BPM),budgeting and forecasting, and financial reporting. Databases configured for OLAP use a multidimensional data model, allowing for complex analytical and ad-hoc queries with rapid execution time.

OLAP is a methodology to provide you with access to large amounts of data in an intuitive and rapid manner to make strategic and tactical decisions based on corporate information. These decision support systems are referred to as Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) systems, and they allow you to intuitively, quickly, and flexibly manipulate operational data to provide analytical insight.

OLAP systems are built to:

• Support your complex research requirements.
• Analyze your data from a number of different perspectives and business dimensions.
• Support multifaceted queries for large amounts of information.

WebFOCUS OLAP combines all the functionality of query tools, reporting tools, and OLAP into a single powerful solution with one common interface enabling you to manipulate data and see business processes in a new way. WebFOCUS makes data part of an organization's natural culture with automated ad hoc and parameter-driven reporting allowing you the ability to receive and retrieve data in any format, performing analysis using Excel Spreadsheets or any application is part of your daily working life.