Maximising your Essbase

Investments – New Features in V11Investments – New Features in V11

Greg Woods

Intellient

Agenda

•What’s new in 11.1.1.x

•Essbase new features

•Essbase Studio – new component

Essbase 11.1.1 - New Features

Varying Attributes (Slowly Changing Attributes)

Text/date Measures (aka Smartlists)

Backup, transaction logging and replay

ASO features

• Partial Data Clear

• Target of a partition

• Write-back to level 0 (9.3.1)

New Time intelligence, Calc script and MDX functions

XOLAP (Relational Access)

Essbase 11.1.1 - New Features (More)

Oracle BI EE/ Essbase integration (requires OBI EE support)

• OBI EE as a data source for Essbase (Essbase Studio)

• Using Essbase as aggregate persistence storage for OBI EE

Shared Services

• Default to use CSS authentication

• Remove “refresh” requirement for filter assignment

Varying Attributes• A varying attribute enables you to

track changes in attribute values across one or more independent dimensions.

Month April May June July August

Sales 6000 2000 1000 1000 7000

Representative Jones Jones Smith Smith Smith

Varying attribute: Associated with Product dimension, varies with an independent dimension (Time)

Varying Attributes: Benefits

Measures associated with changed attribute values can be compared and analyzed.

Changes in attributes themselves can be tracked and analyzed in reports.

Data can be analyzed based on perspectives.

• Historical perspectives allow you to extend historical data patterns for one attribute during a given time frame into other time frames.

• Point-in-time perspectives allow you to view data associated with past and current attribute values.

Text measure analysis

• Because text measures are stored as numbers, you can perform

calculate averages and summaries

• Example: Find average Rating for a group of customers

Text and Date Measures: Benefits

Text and dates can now be treated as measures in multidimensional reporting.

Qualitative values, such as “satisfied,” can be aggregated through member formulas.

Text measures can be used instead of attributes as a member selection criteria.

Smart View displays text measure data in a drop-down menu.

Backup, transaction logging and replay**BSO Only ***

Backup:

• Copy the files to a specified location during backup

• Database in read-only mode during backup

• Restore from copy at later point. This can be used in conjunction with operational transaction logging and play back capabilities to restore to a previous state.

Transaction logging & replay

• Logging: Track write operations to the database.

• Following events will be logged:

• Outline changes, data load, calculations, lock and send

• Replay: Choose which events to replay or replay all. This feature could be used as pseudo data mirroring.

Backup, transaction logging and replay

• Administration Console

• MAXL

ASO features

Partial Data Clear

• Remove data before load (for example last 3 months)

• Set region of data to 0 or #MISSING with MDX statement

• Logical or Physical clear

Target of partition

• An ASO cube can be a target of a replicated partition. From a BSO cube data is transferred into an ASO cube.

Slice Load

Write-back to level 0

187

67

23

237

96

50

31 49 20

66 82 43

100

191

187

67

23

237

96

50

109

31

15

31 49 20

66 82 43

433

194

88

100

191

Clear

region

Cube before clear Cube after clear

ASO Target of Partition: Benefits

Vertical partitioning

• Consolidate multiple cubes into target

• Target provides unified view into multiple source cubes

Measures with different granularity

• Overcomes limitation of write-back to upper levels

• Cell can be a level 0 member in the source, but an upper-level member in the target.

New calc script functions

@ILANCESTORS

• Returns the specified members and either all ancestors of the members or the ancestors up to a specified distance

@ILDESCENDANTS

• Returns the specified members and either all descendants of the members or the descendants down to a specified distance

@LANCESTORS

• Returns all ancestors of the specified members or the ancestors up to a specified distance

@LDESCENDANTS@LDESCENDANTS

• Returns all descendants of the specified members or the descendants down to a specified distance

@NEXTSIBLING

• Returns the next sibling (the sibling to the immediate right) of the specified member

@PREVSIBLING

• Returns the previous sibling (the sibling to the immediate left) of the specified member

@SHIFTSIBLING

• Returns the specified member or the nth sibling of the specified member

New calc script functions (More)

@ENUMVALUE

• Returns the internal numeric value for a text value in a text list.

@DATEDIFF

• Returns the difference between two input dates.

@DATEPART

• Returns returns the Year/Quarter/Month/Week/Day/DayOfYear/Weekday as a number.

@DATEROLL@DATEROLL

• To the given date, rolls (adds or subtracts) a number of specific time intervals.

@FORMATDATE

• Returns a formatted date string.

@TODATEEX

• Returns the numeric date value from input date-string according to the date-format specified.

Unified Calculation ManagementEssbase and “Classic” EPM Apps

Calculation Manager

• Single interface for Hyperion Planning, Financial Management and Essbase

• Graphical flow: Better • Graphical flow: Better understanding of calculation process

• Re-usable rules: Sharing among applications

• Essbase BSO: Deployment step will push calc scripts to Essbase server.

Challenges in managing Essbase

Applications

Based on the same or different

dimensions

Source from the same or

different sources

Reinventing the wheel in many cases

Many, many applications

Cubes based on cubes

Sharing data

Many dimension

maintenance procedures

Many data load

procedures

Essbase Studio = Cube Factory

• Single graphical modeling environment

• Integrate cube creation capabilities of EIS and EAS

• Promote reuse and consistency (Hierarchies, Metrics, Dimension Elements)

Next Generation

tool for Metrics, Dimension Elements)

• Standard methodology for deploying Essbaseapps

• Manage change through impact analysis and artifact lineage

• Update data source administration and access

tool for Essbase App building and

Administration

Essbase Studio Data Sources

Available Data Sources

• Oracle Database

• OBIEE

• EPMA

• SQL Server

• DB2• DB2

• Terradata

• Delimited text files

Unavailable Data Sources

• Excel files (you can save as delimited CSV files)

Drill Anywhere – Essbase Studio

Can drill back to sources not related to cube definition

Dynamic association of drill through reports

Automatic association of report to matching models

Drill through supported for both metadata (member) and data (cell)

Support for test / preview

Drill through support from HVE

Drill Anywhere – Essbase Studio

Several options for drill back targets

Financial

Relational Databases

EssbaseCubes

BI+ repository

Financial Data

Management (back to GL

source data)

Uniform Resource Locator

Custom SQLCustom Java

method

Essbase Studio

•Right Panel -•Data source definitions

•Mini schemas (data source

internal mappings)

•Left Panel –•Hierarchies

•Logical elements

•Measures

•Cube schemas

•Essbase Models

•Center Panel –•Work area for editing

objects

•Cube deployments

•Drill through reports

Hierarchy name

Essbase Studio

Multiple chains built

using different

dimension elements

denoting levelsPreview option

Different type of drill through reports

possible

Columns required in this specific

report

Aggregation function chosen to be

operated on the results of the query

Defining drill through reports

Ability to edit the template SQL and

provide custom SQL instead

Test function to preview the report at

a specific context

Custom color coding indicating member

cells have a drill through report

associated

Custom color coding indicating data cells

have a drill through report associated

Defining drill through reports

Tool tip showing the various reports

applicable at the context of the cell.

Dynamically generated tool tip

Deployment Options

BSO

ASO

XOLAP

Data, Metadata or both

Each node can be double-clicked to make

that the point of focus in the lineage view

Data lineage

Studio vs. EAS

EAS Studio

Sources: Flat File, Relational Sources: Almost any source

Copy / Paste btw outlines? Share Dimensions & Hierarchies

Load data Load data

Dynamic outline updates Dynamic outline update

Edit/View server, app, db properties Can view some app & db properties but not Edit/View server, app, db properties Can view some app & db properties but not

comprehensive; no server properties

Edit/View sessions, locked objects, etc. Not possible

View log files Not possible

View security; define filters Not possible

Not possible Drill Through

Not possible XOLAP

Studio vs. EIS

EIS Studio

Slow performance at times; streaming loads Improved performance; optimized SQL

Not possible Impact Analysis

Relational sources More sources (EPMA, OBI, etc.)

Drill through limited to tables in the EIS model or

URL

Drill back to sources not related to cube

definition

Adding a new report requires a rebuild of the Dynamic association of drill through reportsAdding a new report requires a rebuild of the

outline

Dynamic association of drill through reports

Drill through reports not reusable across cubes Automatic association of report to matching

models

Drill through only on data Drill through on either member or data

Not possible Can test and preview drill through queries

Advanced Relational Access, Hybrid Analysis XOLAP

Studio vs. EPMA

EPMA Studio

Dimension Management Tool Dimension metadata from a source

Application Management Tool for Essbase,

Planning, Financial Management

Application Management Tool for Essbase

Created Essbase cubes Created Essbase cubes

Doesn’t work well for Essbase management Designed for working with EssbaseDoesn’t work well for Essbase management

today (buggy)

Designed for working with Essbase

Basic data Synchronizations across Hyperion

apps

Data loads from relational and other sources

Cannot pull Studio dimensions/data into EPMA

(with built in features)

EPMA is a source for Studio

In its second generation In its first generation

Thank YouThank You