OLAP, or online analytical processing, is a term that falls under the business intelligence umbrella. OLAP is a method of analyzing business performance using an information architecture (called an OLAP cube) that is optimized for responding to user queries.
The goal of business intelligence and OLAP is to leverage available data to make informed decisions. For businesses operating in today's world, knowing just your average sales figures or your lead times is not enough. This narrow approach to business intelligence omits important variables from business decisions and leaves valuable data unutilized. The more information a company can gather and analyze, the greater their chances of making the best possible business decisions.
Even small businesses collect a wealth of information about their operations, performance, and customers. In an OLAP cube, the data businesses generate is aggregated and organized in a manner that is designed to provide deep insights into business performance.
Spreadsheets are two dimensional and can only provide a limited analysis of business operations. Say, for example, your spreadsheet shows regions where you do business on the horizontal axis and sales figures on the vertical axis. More dimensions of information translate into richer data, which leads to better decision making. However, the more dimensions we add, the harder it becomes to store, organize, and interpret the data. Imagine trying to analyze spreadsheets with 20 dimensions of data. It would be difficult to organize and impossible to interpret.
OLAP software organizes data and enables multidimensional user query. In other words, OLAP software lets users find answers to more sophisticated business performance questions. Below are just a few examples of multidimensional business queries.
The benefit of understanding the answers to these questions is that managers can then re-allocate resources where they are needed the most. Businesses have multiple departments carrying out different, but related, functions. OLAP software can provide deep insights to guide decision making. Multidimensional analysis of business performance is a critical step towards growing your business.
Traditionally, OLAP software would sit on an OLAP server between the client and the database(s). This server-client approach can be costly and require cumbersome deployment and maintenance. InetSoft's zero-client solution requires only a web browser on the client side, enabling swift deployment while still providing robust functionality, like drill down and data mashup.
InetSoft's small-footprint, Web-based application provides a streamlined, intuitive interface for all users. As an innovator in OLAP software since 1996, InetSoft has pioneered the evolution from static reporting towards interactive visualization of data via dashboards.
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