What is BI(Business Intelligence)?

Business Intelligence:
Business Intelligence is a technology based on customer and profit oriented models that reduces operating costs and provide increased profitability by improving productivity, sales, service and helps to make decision making capabilities at no time. Business Intelligence Models are based on multi dimensional analysis and key performance indicators (KPI) of an enterprise.

What is OLAP(Online Analytical Processing)?
OLAP, an acronym for Online Analytical Processing is an approach that helps organization to take advantages of DATA. Popular OLAP tools are Cognos, Business Objects, Micro Strategy etc. OLAP cubes provide the insight into data and helps the topmost executives of an organization to take decisions in an efficient manner.

Technically, OLAP cube allows one to analyze data across multiple dimensions by providing multidimensional view of aggregated, grouped data. With OLAP reports, the major categories like fiscal periods, sales region, products, employee, promotion related to the product can be ANALYZED very efficiently, effectively and responsively. OLAP applications include sales and customer analysis, budgeting, marketing analysis, production analysis, profitability analysis and forecasting etc.

ROLAP
ROLAP stands for Relational Online Analytical Process that provides multidimensional analysis of data, stored in a Relational database(RDBMS).

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

HOLAP
HOLAP(Hybrid OLAP) a combination of both ROLAP and MOLAP can provide multidimensional analysis simultaneously of data stored in a multidimensional database and in a relational database(RDBMS).

DOLAP
DOLAP(Desktop OLAP or Database OLAP)provide multidimensional analysis locally in the client machine on the data collected from relational or multidimensional database servers.

Dimensional Modeling
Dimensional Model comprises a fact table and many dimension tables and is used for calculating summarized data. Since Business Intelligence reports are used in measuring the facts(aggregates) across multiple dimensions, dimensional data modeling is the prefered modeling technique in a BI environment. A Fact table contains various measures or facts like sales amount, loan amount etc., whereas a Dimension table describes the particular entity like time, state etc., based on which the required facts are measured.