Oracle Essbase 9 Implementation Guide- P47 docx

Chapter 6
[ 215 ]
Another method is the reporting of your data using the MDX query language that
has been included with Oracle Essbase since version 7.x. MDX queries can be written
in a similar way to an SQL query and executed in batch or through the EAS MDX
query editor screens.
Export data
What always happens when you have a good system with good data, which is
in demand by other departments in your company? Why, it seems as though
everybody has to get some of it loaded into their own system, that's what happens.
If there is anything that could be remotely described as a drawback to an Essbase
system, it would be the data exporting functionality. Where traditional RDBMS
systems allow the selection of data for export to meet almost limitless criteria,
the Essbase method is a bit less robust.
First of all, instead of an interfacing system establishing a connection with your
database and fetching data into something like a recordset or a cursor, with Essbase,
you are limited to using an Essbase report script and extracting the required data
into a at le. The at le can then be sent to the downstream system so they can
load it into their tables as needed. Unfortunately, the selection arguments available
when building an Essbase report script are somewhat limited. We'll get more into
report scripts in a moment!
Forecast analysts
The forecast analyst is one person who takes full advantage of Essbase's unique data
calculating abilities. For starters, a forecast analyst wants to see what the data looks
like out into the future. When we say "future" we mean future periods based on what
is most commonly tagged as the Time dimension in the database outline.
The forecast analyst has data which, on a period to period basis, is dependent on
the previous period's numbers. Consider that a Gross Stock number for the current
month is the result of the prior month's Gross Stock number, plus the current month's
production (units produced), less the current month's sales (units sold). If we would
like to know the resulting Gross Stock numbers for the next six months, all we need

to do is update the forecasted sales numbers and the forecasted production numbers
in the database, run a small database calculation script, and we now have forecasted
Gross Stock numbers.
This material is copyright and is licensed for the sole use by Paul Corcorran on 5th July 2009
8601 ave. p #1, , lubbock, , 79423
Download at Boykma.Com
Using your Essbase Cube
[ 216 ]
This type of data analysis can be performed over and over with the results
repeatedly retrieved into the same Microsoft Excel worksheet until the forecast
analyst is satised with the resulting data.
In the preceding screenshot, notice how changing just one Sales value has affected
all of the future Gross Stock values. All you had to do was send back the new value,
calculate your data, and then retrieve into your worksheet. You literally get your
results immediately. Just try that with a typical relational database.
Better still, you could add a member formula to the Gross Stock
member and tag it as a Dynamic Calc member. Then all you would
need to do is send the data back and retrieve the new values.
Planning analysts
Planning analysts perform many of the same data analysis tasks as forecasting
analysts, but there are some noticeable differences.
Because of Essbase's dynamic data calculating abilities, Essbase is the perfect tool
for planning analysts who not only need to look at forecasted data like a forecast
analyst, but also need to look at several versions of forecasted data and the variances
between them. With a Scenario dimension in your Essbase database outline, you can
enter different forecast data for the same time periods at the same time. You can then
calculate the data and almost immediately look at several different strategies for your
business' planning activity.
This material is copyright and is licensed for the sole use by Paul Corcorran on 5th July 2009
8601 ave. p #1, , lubbock, , 79423

Download at Boykma.Com
Chapter 6
[ 217 ]
How is that for results? As you can see in the previous gure, a planning analyst
can easily see three or more different scenarios that represent the same market
conditions, yet allow differing factors to display long term effects.
Budget analysts
Yes, most of these different analysts seem like they perform somewhat similar
tasks. That is true for the most part and budget analysts are not very different
from the others, at least in terms of procedure.
An Essbase database is ideal for a budget analyst, as it is for most any type of
data analyst. Essbase's ability to dynamically calculate large amounts of data
is a key factor in the successful budget analyst's job to provide the company's
decision makers with powerful, accurate data. It is this data that helps them
make intelligent business decisions.
The primary job of the budget analyst is to combine the data created by the
planning and forecast analysts with actual historical data to establish baseline
data. This baseline data will be used to gauge the company's performance going
forward against the actual data as it occurs and the forecasted data as planned.
Good, accurate data can have an effect on the very course a company travels. By
using the wide assortment of analytical calculation commands in conjunction with
the unparalleled exibility of the Essbase database outline, a good budget analyst
can create reports that show:
• How the company actually performed compared to the long range
budget forecast
• How the company continues to perform compared to the monthly
revised forecast and the long term budget forecast
• How the company needs to perform to meet its goals and objectives
Hey, they don't call it business intelligence for nothing!
This material is copyright and is licensed for the sole use by Paul Corcorran on 5th July 2009

8601 ave. p #1, , lubbock, , 79423
Download at Boykma.Com
Using your Essbase Cube
[ 218 ]
Financial analysts
Okay, these are the guys you need to watch out for. What the nancial analyst does
is take in everything all of the other analysts do and crunch it into money numbers.
It seems as though a nancial analyst in a company typically carries a lot of weight.
Well, lucky for you and for your programming in Essbase.
Once again, Essbase comes through for you and your customer. Essbase provides
a full complement of nancial calculation functions which will satisfy the most
discriminating number cruncher. From such computations as compound interest,
discounts, and growth, you can be sure that the nancial picture of your company
is in good hands.
The real target users of your Essbase data
As an IT person you may ask, "Why do I need to know who the Essbase data
user is?" Well, because of the usefulness and versatility of your Essbase data to
the decision makers in the company, the real end-user of your Essbase data is
usually an executive or some other big shot. In fact, you may not even know it,
but the data in a typical Essbase database system usually shows up in reports
that are used at the highest levels of the company.
Your job is to make these people happy. Thankfully, Essbase makes your job
easy in so many ways.
Ways to extract your Essbase data
There are many different ways to extract data from an Essbase database. We have
described several of them at different times in this book, depending on the topic
being covered. For the sake of organization, we will list the various methods of
extracting data from your Essbase database here:
• Essbase Add-in for Microsoft Excel: It seems like we can't say enough about
this particular tool. Designed to work seamlessly with the world's most

popular spreadsheet program, the Essbase add-in is the tool of choice of data
analysts everywhere. Yes, you can pull data out of your Essbase database with
the add-in and load up an Excel worksheet. Even though Microsoft Excel has
a limit of 65,536 rows through the 2003 version and many more rows available
in Microsoft Excel 2007, it seems that Essbase can have a hard time handling
spreadsheets that contain more than 1,000 rows. Performance rapidly degrades
and you can even experience timeouts. We highly recommend that you pay
attention to this and at the rst signs of trouble with large spreadsheets, you
split them into smaller subset spreadsheets.
This material is copyright and is licensed for the sole use by Paul Corcorran on 5th July 2009
8601 ave. p #1, , lubbock, , 79423
Download at Boykma.Com
Chapter 6
[ 219 ]
• Oracle Smart View: This tool is separate from the Essbase add-in and in fact,
must be purchased as a separate component to be used with the Essbase suite
of applications. As will be discussed at great length in the Appendix, Smart
View is a dynamic data retrieval tool that allows the user to pull data directly
from an Essbase database into any of the Microsoft Ofce components. This
allows for the creation of Microsoft PowerPoint presentations that never need
data updating as fresh data can be retrieved in real time into the slides. The
same holds true for Microsoft Outlook emails and Microsoft Word documents.
Oh yes, and it also works with Microsoft Excel.
• Essbase Query Designer: This tool is a part of the Essbase add-in and
is a menu pick from the Essbase menu in Microsoft Excel. The Essbase
Query Designer tool allows you to create simple to complex Essbase
queries. This is accomplished through the use of an easy to use visual
query wizard. The saved query can be opened and retrieved in Microsoft
Excel to return your data.
• Essbase Report Script: The Essbase report script will be discussed in great

detail in the next section. An Essbase report script can be created from
scratch as an ASCII text le or conveniently, a report script can be created
by Essbase, as a by-product of the Query Designer function. Essbase
report scripts can be executed within a Microsoft Excel worksheet, Essbase
command script or MaxL script, or from an Essbase API call.
• Essbase MDX Query Language: Essbase MDX can be easily described as
a structured query language for multidimensional databases. MDX queries
for the most part use simple and easy to understand statements to extract
data from your Essbase database. MDX queries can be executed in much
the same manner as Essbase report scripts or MaxL scripts.
All of the above mentioned methods are used to report or extract the data that is in
your Essbase database or cube. Some of the above mentioned tools go beyond the
scope of the Microsoft Excel add-in and can be used by the other Microsoft Ofce
products as well like Oracle Smart View. The Essbase add-in is the most complete
tool in terms of functionality and ease of use. Included with the Essbase Add-in for
Microsoft Excel is the Essbase Query Designer (EQD), which allows you to visually
design custom reports from Essbase. The downside to the EQD is that
the reports are only usable in Microsoft Excel.
The Essbase report script can be used to run reports from a batch program and
automatically send a morning report to key persons. While the formatting can be
orderly, the report is still an ASCII based report without the pretty colors or graphs.
And then there's MDX, which is a nice option, but the scripts do tend to require
a bit of maintenance. However, the resultant output is in a very usable format.
This material is copyright and is licensed for the sole use by Paul Corcorran on 5th July 2009
8601 ave. p #1, , lubbock, , 79423
Download at Boykma.Com