OLAP Solutions : Building Multidimensional Information Systems

OLAP enables users to access information from multidimensional data warehouses almost instantly, to view information in any way they like, and to cleanly specify and carry out sophisticated calculations. Although many commercial OLAP tools and products are now available, OLAP is still a difficult and complex technology to master. Substantially updated with expanded coverage of implementation methods for data storage, access, and calculation; also, new chapters added to combine OLAP with data warehouse, mining, and decision support tools Teaches the best practices for building OLAP models that improve business and organizational decision-making, completely independent of commercial tools, using revised case studies Companion Web site provides updates on OLAP standards and tools, code examples, and links to valuable resources Although many commercial OLAP products are readily available -- as stand-alone tools and, increasingly, in close association with relational databases -- OLAP remains a difficult and complex technology to master. The second edition of Thomsen's classic OLAP Solutions provides a clear and comprehensive explanation of the concepts and best techniques for deploying OLAP -- no matter what tools you're using. This edition is thoroughly revised, offering expanded coverage of logical issues such as dimensional hierarchies, as well as physical issues of data storage, access, and calculation. Thomsen has also created an entirely new application section that provides a computational cross-value chain model of ten interconnected business processes within the context of a manufacturing company. The practical methods and formulas you'll learn are useful no matter what commercial OLAP tool(s) you use. OLAP enables users to access information from multidimensional data warehouses almost instantly, to view information in any way they like, and to cleanly specify and carry out sophisticated calculations. Although many commercial OLAP tools and products are now available, OLAP is still a difficult and complex technology to master.

• Substantially updated with expanded coverage of implementation methods for data storage, access, and calculation; also, new chapters added to combine OLAP with data warehouse, mining, and decision support tools
• Teaches the best practices for building OLAP models that improve business and organizational decision-making, completely independent of commercial tools, using revised case studies
• Companion Web site provides updates on OLAP standards and tools, code examples, and links to valuable resources

ERIK THOMSEN (ethomsen@dsslab.com) is Chief Scientist at DSS Lab, Inc., where he consults on the design and implementation of OLAP-based decision support systems, teaches at corporations and universities, and conducts research in the field of unified information systems. He also writes the "Analytic Solutions" column for Intelligent Enterprise. He is a coauthor of Microsoft OLAP Solutions (Wiley) Esta nueva edición de OALP (ONLINE ANALYTICAL PROCESS) abarca sistemas de informaicón multidimensional, herarquías, fáruluas y enlaces y una guía para evaluar ls instrumentos de OLAP, comparándolo con otras tecnologías