OLAP

OLAP is an acronym for online analytical processing. It is an approach to quickly provide the answer to complex analytical queries. It is part of broader business intelligence category which also includes ETL, relational reporting and data mining. The typical applications of OLAP are in business reporting for sales, marketing, management reporting, business performance management (BPM), budgeting and forecasting, financial reporting and similar areas. With OLAP cubes development, iDecisions provides the insight into data and help the topmost executives of an organization to take decisions in an efficient manner.

Different types of OLAP are:
ROLAP - Relational Online Analytical Process
This provides multidimensional analysis of data, stored in a Relational database (RDBMS).

MOLAP - Multidimensional OLAP
This provides the analysis of data stored in a multi-dimensional data cube.

HOLAP - Hybrid OLAP
This is the combination of both ROLAP and MOLAP which provides multidimensional analysis simultaneously of data stored in a multidimensional database and in a relational database (RDBMS).

DOLAP - Desktop OLAP or Database OLAP
This provides multidimensional analysis locally in the client machine on the data collected from relational or multidimensional database servers.