1 Copyright © 2011, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Introduction to Essbase

Copyright © 2011, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Objectives After completing this lesson, you should be able to: Explain multidimensional analysis and the benefits of multidimensional databases Identify Essbase components and architecture Explain the Essbase development cycle Discuss the two Essbase business scenarios used in this class Describe the setup and development interface for the training environment

Copyright © 2011, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. About Multidimensional Analysis The fast, efficient exploration of business data across multiple perspectives. January gross sales for all products and all customers in the current year

Copyright © 2011, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Avoiding Pitfalls of Spreadsheet-Based Analysis Analysis based on multiple spreadsheets presents hurdles. –Data integrity suffers because of user errors or stale data. –Validating spreadsheet reports wastes time and resources. Centralized database presents a single version of the truth. Two spreadsheets prepared by different users show two different totals. Which one is correct?

Copyright © 2011, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Providing Business Perspective Multidimensional analysis uses a database that is structured on business concepts and that is designed around business needs. Region manager Financial analyst Product manager Accountant Multidimensional database

Copyright © 2011, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Appealing to Analysts ProductTimeSales LightboltJan166 LightboltFeb182 ThunderballJan131 ThunderballFeb149 Analysts prefer to view multidimensional data in cubes, rather than in relational tables. Selection (slice and dice) Aggregation (roll up) Navigation to more detailed data (drill down) Visualization operations (pivot) JanFeb Lightbolt Thunderball Relational table Data cube 1 measure: Sales 2 dimensions: Time, Product

Copyright © 2011, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. About Essbase Sales tracking and analysis Planning and budgeting Performance and variance reporting Product line analysis Executive information systems (EIS) Essbase Customize Administer Develop Report Financial consolidation and reporting Customer and profitability analysis

Copyright © 2011, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Client Tier Essbase Architecture Middle Tier Database Tier Essbase Server Essbase cube RDBMS Administration Services Console Essbase Studio APIsMaxLSmart View Provider Services Essbase Studio Server Administration Services

Copyright © 2011, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Client Tier APIs for developing customized user interfaces A command-based tool (MaxL) for performing batch loading and maintenance during off-peak hours Smart View for performing data retrieval, report design, and low-volume data updates Administration Services Console and Essbase Studio for administering the Essbase environment and building cubes Administration Services Console Essbase Studio APIsMaxLSmart View

Copyright © 2011, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Middle Tier Provider Services for handling data retrieval and submission requests between Smart View and Essbase Server. Administration Services for coordinating development and administration tasks between Administration Services Console and Essbase Server. Essbase Studio Server for handling modeling and deployment activities during cube development in Essbase Studio. Provider Services Essbase Studio Server Administration Services

Copyright © 2011, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Database Tier Essbase Server (where Essbase cubes are stored) Relational databases that support the Essbase environment: –Repositories (log file analysis, metadata catalog) –Relational data files (sources of data and metadata) Essbase Server Essbase cube RDBMS

Copyright © 2011, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Essbase Cube Development Cycle Design & build Essbase cube Load data Calculate & aggregate Report & verify

Copyright © 2011, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Essbase Business Scenarios and Training Environment In the classroom using a single machine, you build an Essbase cube for each of two fictitious companies, each with its own analytical needs. For Bigcorp Corporation, you build a predesigned Essbase cube through a series of classroom exercises. For Country Kitchen Desserts, you design and build an Essbase cube by completing a case study. Bigcorp Corporation Country Kitchen Desserts

Copyright © 2011, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Business Scenario: Bigcorp Corporation Bigcorp Corporation, a high-tech manufacturer of hard disk drives, recently purchased Essbase. Bigcorp has designed— but not yet built—a multidimensional analysis system for analysis and reporting. It needs you to build an Essbase cube that enables analysis in three functional areas: Finance (costs and revenues) Manufacturing(volume) Sales (product and customer) Bigcorp Corporation

Copyright © 2011, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Business Scenario: Country Kitchen Desserts Country Kitchen Desserts (CKD), an international food services company, is growing at a fast pace. CKD needs you to design and build an Essbase database that focuses analysis on cost containment during a period of expected growth. Analysis will be heaviest in the following areas: Finance (income statement and variances) Sales (region, salesperson, product) Country Kitchen Desserts

Copyright © 2011, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Smart View Administration Services Console Provider Services Administration Services Training Environment: Setup Essbase Server Bigcorp CKD

Copyright © 2011, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Training Environment: Developer Interface Interface for Essbase developers and system administrators Navigation frame Object window Message frame Administration Services Console

Copyright © 2011, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Quiz Select the correct description of an Essbase cube. 1.A multidimensional matrix that facilitates analysis from many perspectives 2.A collection of related dimensional tables that are analyzed using SQL queries 3.A three-dimensional data view, similar to an Excel workbook with multiple worksheets 4.A metaphor for relational data storage

Copyright © 2011, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Quiz Essbase is multidimensional database software optimized for both operational and financial analysis. 1.True 2.False

Copyright © 2011, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Quiz Select the correct order of steps for creating a production Essbase database. A. Analyze data B. Create a database C. Calculate data D. Load data 1.D, C, A, B 2.A, C, B, D 3.B, D, C, A 4.C, B, A, D

Copyright © 2011, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Summary In this lesson, you should have learned to: Explain multidimensional analysis and the benefits of multidimensional databases Identify Essbase components and architecture Explain the Essbase development cycle Discuss the two Essbase business scenarios used in this class Describe the setup and development interface for the training environment