Excel and OLAP: ODBC vs. MDX

A question that I often get is "what is the difference between using ODBC and the MDX Provider for Oracle OLAP (from Simba Technologies) to query Oracle cubes"? Given that the Oracle cube is easily queried with SQL, it's a reasonable question.
The answer really boils down to leveraging meta data and automatic query generation.
With ODBC, it's up to the Excel user to write a SQL query to fetch data from the cube. Data can be returned in tabular format or a pivot table. When the data is viewed in a pivot table Excel will aggregate data, sometimes with unexpected results. For example Excel might choose to aggregate a measure such as Sales with COUNT or might try to SUM a measure such as Sales YTD Percent Change. Neither make any sense. It's up to the user to get it right.
With the MDX Provider, Excel understands what all the columns mean. It understands dimensions, hierarchies and levels. It's understand the difference between a key and a label. It knows what a measure is. It allows the server to calculate the data. Query generation is automatic. Business users just choose hierarchies and measures and the MDX Provider does the rest.
Here's a list of some of the advantages of using the MDX Provider for Oracle OLAP as compared to using ODBC and writing your own SQL.

Simba previews Cognos8 Analysis Studio accessing Oracle Database OLAP Option cubes

Hot on the heels of support for BusinessObjects Voyager, and in addition to the native Excel 2003/2007/2010 pivot table access, Simba are previewing the same connectivity for Cognos8 Analysis Studio - the dimensionally aware UI in the Cognos BI suite.

Together with the unique SQL access to the same multidimensional data & calculations in Oracle Database OLAP cubes (meaning that *any* tool or application capable of connecting to Oracle and issuing simple SQL can leverage the power of Database OLAP - like Oracle Application Express for example), plus the existing support for Oracle's own BI tools including

• Oracle BIEE 10g and 11g (see http://oracleolap.blogspot.com/2010/07/first-look-at-obiee-11g-with-oracle.html ) and
• Oracle BI Discoverer Plus OLAP (see http://oracleolap.blogspot.com/2010/08/discoverer-olap-is-certified-with-olap.html ),

together with the big functionality and performance improvements in 11g , there is now every reason to move to Oracle Database 11gR2 and to fully exploit the OLAP Option - whatever your choice of front end tool(s).

For Cognos fans: Here is the Video on YouTube:

More information, see the Simba website : http://www.simba.com/MDX-Provider-for-Oracle-OLAP.htm

Simba previews Oracle OLAP MDX Provider connectivity to SAP BusinessObjects Voyager

Simba technologies have released a short video to preview 'Using MDX Provider for Oracle OLAP to directly connect SAP BusinessObjects Voyager to Oracle Database OLAP Option'

This will be a great capability for users of both Oracle OLAP and BusinessObjects and will futher extend the reach of Oracle database embedded OLAP cubes.





You can get more details on the Simba website

Microsoft Certifies Simba’s MDX Provider for Oracle OLAP as “Compatible with Windows 7”

Simba announced today that Microsoft has certified its MDX Provider for Oracle Database OLAP Option for Windows 7.

The press release is here : http://www.simba.com/news/MDX-Provider-for-Oracle-OLAP-Certified-for-Windows-7.htm

This is great news for MS Office connectivity to your Database OLAP cubes. Already supported was Excel 2010 with its cool new BI features, as well as 2007 and 2003 versions. With Windows 7 support too, even the most up-to-date PCs are in good shape to exploit the OLAP Option.

Remember - via the native Excel pivot table connectivity, other features of MS-Office can also leverage the power, performance and calculation functionality of Oracle OLAP. So for example, your Powerpoint presentation to the senior management team, or the one you use when talking to suppliers or key customers can now contain live charts onto the latest information available in the Oracle Database cubes. Instead of spending time cutting and pasting static images into your slide shows each day, week or period-end you can be focusing on the news in the data and doing a better analysis of the results.

This is the perfect complement to your use of Oracle BI Enterprise Edition (10g or 11g) onto the exact same cubes for the broader BI use-case.

In addition to Microsoft Excel, Simba is gradually certifying other MDX front ends for the OLAP Option MDX Provider - with SAP-BusinessObjects Voyager already available and others due soon.

You can learn all about it on the Simba web site : http://www.simba.com/MDX-Provider-for-Oracle-OLAP.htm

Connectivity into Oracle Database OLAP 11g is market leading: with the same cubes and calculations being accessible via MDX as well as a huge range of SQL based tools and applications, it has never been easier to deploy multidimensional analytics to the masses.

Excel and Oracle OLAP - Reporting No-Agg Measures

I've run into this a few times recently, so here's a quick tip related to using Excel with Oracle OLAP (via the Simba MDX Provider for Oracle OLAP, of course).

Here's a situation that's been reported as a bug, but you really just need to know the right Excel Pivot Table option to choose. Consider a cube that has measures that do not aggregate but is dimensioned by a dimension with a hierarchy. In this case, there is a cube with a Store dimension with levels Store > Store Type > All Stores. The stores are located in different countries and sell in local currencies. There is a Local Currency measure, with sales reported in whatever the local currencies might be (Euros, Dollars, Yen, etc.) and a Dollar Sales measure with the U.S. Dollar conversation. As a common currency, Dollars can be aggregated. Local currencies can't be aggregated.

Here's a sample report in Excel.



Note that Dollar Sales is reported for Direct and Indirect but Local Sales is not. That's correct because Local Sales doesn't aggregate.

But what if I happen to select only Local Sales (which is null at the aggregate members Direct and Indirect). By default, Excel will display the report as shown below.



This isn't very useful because I can't drill down on the Direct member to get at the stores. The solution is simple, but a lot of people seem to miss it. Just choose the Show items with no data in rows PivotTable option.



Now you will be able to see the Direct and Indirect members, allowing you to drill to stores.



Now, after the drill.

Excel Update - Beta Version of MDX Provider Now Available

A quick update on using Excel to query an Oracle11g cube ....

Yesterday Simba announced availability beta 1 MDX provider for Oracle OLAP. I've been using prerelease version of the provider for a few months now and have been very happy with it. There's still some features to be added and some performance work to be done, but I think the beta 1 version is well worth trying. In my experience, the MDX provider is pretty stable and I very much like Excel as a front end to Oracle cubes.

To sign up, visit the MDX Provider for Oracle page at http://simba.com/MDX-Provider-for-Oracle-OLAP.htm . You can also find a video demo on this page.

Using Excel with Oracle OLAP

I did two webcasts about using Excel with Oracle OLAP this week. They were incredibly sucessful. If you've never looked at Excel 2007 pivot tables, I'll tell you that they are very good. Using the MDX Provider for Oracle OLAP, Excel makes a direct/native connection to the Oracle database and has the ability to query OLAP cubes in a multidimensional context.

I won't every try do to justice to this solution in this blog. It's really best to just see it in action. I've posted a video on simba.com (go to http://simba.com/MDX-Provider-for-Oracle-OLAP.htm and click on the product demo link).

You can also sign up for the beta test at simba.com. Do yourself a favor - try it out.



Querying an Oracle OLAP Cube using Excel.