OLAP cube powering Excel Pivot. What's a better solution? -

-

i'm looking build dynamic data environment non-technical marketers. want provide large sets of data in excel pivot table form marketers without analytics/technical backgrounds can access relevant performance information. i'm trying avoid non-excel front ends since don't want users have export data when need manipulate in way.

my first thought throw olap cube populated pre-aggregated data, got pushback team olap "obsolete." don't disagree them - there faster data processing architectures out there.

so question this: there other ways structure data marketers can access still manipulate degree in excel? i'm working 50-100m rows of data , need ability scale dimensionality.

this thoughts.

really question thrown @ team. first thought throw olap cube. didn't this. if they're achingly hip consider olap "obsolete", suggest better, more up-to-date alternative?

or, put different way - substance of objection olap solution? (i'm assuming there 1 beyond "ms gave awesome presentation of powerpivot/azure tabular, great free snacks , coffee").

your requirements pretty clear:

  1. easy access non-technical people
  2. structured data don't have interpret raw data
  3. access through excel
  4. scalability

i'll paying close attention other answers question, because i'm interested in finding out don't know something; haven't come across better solution these requirements olap.

what makes me suspicious of "post-olap" sentiment related point (2) in list above. non-technical users can tend think of cube data consume being somehow effortlessly produced, kind of magic. in indicator of success, demonstrating how easy users want well-designed olap system.

but effortlessness illusion: structure raw data form takes design effort, , resulting structure incorporates design decisions , assertions: how can easy use, because hard stuff has been encapsulated in cube design.

i have definite han solo-like bad feeling "post-olap": amounts pandering illusion of effortless transformation of data usable form, , propagates further illusions.

under olap, users wonderful magic usable data structure, , hard work done out of sight developers or me. perhaps wrong can't see data they'd - @ least users can talk , ask want.

my impression of "post-olap" sales pitch tries dispense design work. don't need pesky expensive developers, don't need make specific design decisions (which enable functionality while precluding other functionality), don't need cube-processing time-lags. can somehow deliver this:

  • input data like. don't worry if it's unstructured or full of dirt!
  • any scale
  • immediate access analytics without etl/processing delays
  • somehow, output usable, structured data. structured by... no-one in particular. user can structure like, somehow easy

call me cynical, sounds magical thinking me.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

yii2 - Yii 2 Running a Cron in the basic template -

-
i have seen instructions on running cron in advanced template, cant figure out how on basic template. have following controller in basic controllers folder. <?php namespace app\controllers; use yii\console\controller; /** * cron controller */ class croncontroller extends controller { public function actionindex() { echo "cron service runnning"; } public function actionmail($to) { echo "sending mail " . $to; } } i have navigated root of application , tried these comands yii cron php yii cron im getting unknown comand "cron" i know old question failed find actual answer this. if @ code yii exec file you'll notice requires /common/config/aliases.php file console/config/main.php. can naturally change these or copy on these advanced template. hope solves problem wanting same thing.
Read more

asp.net - 'System.Web.HttpContext' does not contain a definition for 'GetOwinContext' Mystery -

-
i realize question might seem trivial some, it's these types of things find myself fighting quite bit , want make sense of despite seeming losing battle in .net (for me anyway). so, if following: using system.web; ... applicationuser user = system.web.httpcontext.getowincontext().getusermanager<applicationusermanager>().findbyid(system.web.httpcontext.user.identity.getuserid()); that produces error in title , red getowincontext() , error cannot resolve symbol 'getowincontext()' however, if following (remove system.web in front of httpcontext ), works expected (or @ least no errors): using system.web; ... applicationuser user = httpcontext.getowincontext().getusermanager<applicationusermanager>().findbyid(system.web.httpcontext.user.identity.getuserid()); however, if (same line that's working using system.web commented out): //using system.web; ... applicationuser user = httpcontext.getowincontext().getusermana...
Read more

mercurial graft feature, can it copy? -

-
there new feature in mercurial 3, called 'graft' (graft local). job of moving change-set different branch. is there way "copy" change-set branch? i interested in in moving stuff qa branch production branch, still need code reside in qa. want copy. found , have tried few things, maybe it'll become clear more tinkering , reading... does have better way of 'cherry picking' change-sets move cross branch (or trunk)??? graft copies changesets, doesn't move them. hg graft (emphasis mine): this command uses mercurial's merge logic copy individual changes other branches without merging branches in history graph. known 'backporting' or 'cherry-picking' . default, graft copy user, date, , description source changesets.
Read more