Analysis Services Extends the OLAP Cube

Compared with its forerunners, SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services is a more fully realized platform for corporate developers and ISVs building online analytical processing (OLAP) and data mining applications. OLAP and data mining help businesses analyze their processes for better efficiency and exploit their markets more effectively. A more general data model for defining cubes, support for thin clients, increased scalability, and a development environment based on Visual Studio will further strengthen SQL Server’s position in the OLAP market and could help drive upgrades to SQL Server 2005.

As with previous versions, however, Analysis Services is primarily a platform for application development—business users will need additional products, such as Excel, to navigate and view Analysis Services data.

What Is Analysis Services?

SQL Server Analysis Services is a development and management platform for creating OLAP and data mining applications, which help business users analyze historical business data and spot correlations and patterns in those data (analyzing quarterly sales results and forecasting revenues, for instance). These applications typically consist of client tools for viewing and filtering data, and an OLAP server—a database management technology that serves as the engine for updating, querying, and managing the OLAP infrastructure. The central component of the OLAP infrastructure is the OLAP “cube, ” a special database containing historical business data summaries that are typically derived from data warehouses. (For more information on OLAP, data mining, and associated terms, see the sidebar “Where Do OLAP, Data Mining Fit?“. For an overview of cubes and related concepts, see the illustration “What Is a Cube?“.)