BI Basics: MDBMS

I've been hanging out at the comp.databases.olap group for a hot minute and there seems to be something of a need for some terminology. I think this is a good idea considering that I actually have used both MSAS and Essbase (And Pilot Timeserver, but let's not go there).

There's Wikipedia for a start, but I feel more comfy editorializing here. I'm always going to editorialize because I'm all about results, and I've gotten my best results over the past 17 years with Essbase and I see no sign of that changing. So you'll please forgive my bias as I state it clearly. I have been using Essbase for 9 years.

Anyway, let's start with Multidimensional Database. I know this is a controversial place to start because there are basically only a few vendors who make them even though there are lots of people in the OLAP and DW arena.

As far as I know, there are:

Hyperion Essbase

Microsoft Analysis Services

SAS

TM1

Oracle Express

Neteezza

The rest are off brands. There's also a specialty indexing offering from Sybase, but then again, that's Sybase - meaning if you don't already know about it, you're probably never going to buy it. It ain't cheap. Same thing with Teradata.

A multidimensional database, is by definition, proprietary. There are basically two standards and none of them is ODBC or JDBC. They are MDX and XMLA. MDX is rather like an SQL variant, and XMLA is something I don't really understand. What I do understand is that both Hyperion and Microsoft support both of those standards as does SAS. This industry is not about a lot of standards, primarily because there is only deep knowledge about it in a relatively few companies. Nobody just jumps into the BI arena, although there are some up and coming Open Source players.

Multidimensional queries are generally accepted as the best way for users to navigate through numerical data which allows them to come to some analytical understanding of their business. That may not be categorically true, however there are some tried and true methodologies that support the industry. It's not just theory, it works.

All of the above listed products can be thought of as Multidimensional Database Management Systems, more or less. SAS, Essbase & MSAS are the fully featured systems. The others are a bit more specialized and narrow. I didn't mention SPSS/Showcase or IBM's DB2 OLAP because both of them are OEMs of Hyperion Essbase.

Comments

[Joerg Narr]

hotmail.com

Hi, good that you are doing this. In the vendor's list you put in Netezza. From my knowledge they provide relational technology on certain hardware. Oracle has migrated Express into 9i/10g where it is called Oracle Analytic Workspace or Oracle OLAP Option. In Germany very popular (and even to some extend overseas) is MIS Alea. Other vendors I know of are MIK with MIK-OLAP and Thinking Networks with TN Planning. All three vendors are situated in Germany but are all in business with companies like Deutsche Telekom, Deutsche Bank or other Top-30-companies.

Regards

Jörg

[Sheila]

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