Microsoft SQL/Analysis Services - o2olap for Excel

Developer: O2OLAP Limited

Microsoft Analysis Services (OLAP) and SQL Server are outstanding products but lack some key capabilities for finance and analyst users such as spreadsheet modelling, freeform reports and writeback. O2OLAP for Excel overcomes these limitations, allowing users to take advantage of the inherent architectural and commodity cost benefits of Microsoft technologies. New market leading functionality enables users to create executive information systems (EIS) without having to write or support a macro.

The combination of Microsoft technology and o2olap for Excel makes a compelling solution for financial reporting, management reporting, financial consolidations, currency translations, budgeting, planning, forecasting, executive information systems (EIS), data mining and data warehouse solutions.

Below is the structure and overview of o2olap with the o2olap functionality in the white area. This is from our extensive help file and can be used with the necessary associations attached. o2olap is more than just a browser, and is an Excel development environment for Analysis Services.

Analysis Services is within the yellow area.
SQL Server is within the blue area. This could be another data source. Included are the dimension, fact, writeback and comments/hyperlinking tables.
Cube Browser - browse the cubes using o2olap.
Profile/Profiles - Maintain profiles of information for different applications. E.g. Separate profiles for Executives, Finance, Marketing, etc.
Workbooks - These are your normal excel workbooks that can contain cube browsers or dynamically linked views.
Reports - This is an automated reporting mechanism to output and data mine information in various ways.
Queries - These are queries that cannot be done through a cube browser and no MDX knowledge is required.
Webs - Lists of web pages.
* Imports - Excel import sheets to process information through Excel.
Journals - Excel journal sheets to enter information. This includes narrations.
Loads - Batch processes to upload disconnected worksheet data to the cubes.
* Loops - Excel loop sheets to process information from the cube to different areas of the cube. You can do calculations on the data prior to sending the data back to the cube.
+ Dimensions & Member Properties - These are Excel based so users can maintain and develop applications quickly without have to know SQL Server. Spreadsheet databases/cubes are quick to set up.
Mailings - Outlook integration and mailing functionality.
Contacts - Update and model Outlook information into Excel.
OLAP - Maintenance procedures for o2olap and Analysis Services.
Distributions - Distributes Profiles and their associated files.
Briefings - Distribute a list files.
Batches - Can batch all o2olap processes into a batch.
Dimension Sets - Excel based sets for Analysis Services.
+ Calculated Members - Excel interface
+ Calculated Cells - Excel interface
+ Actions - Excel interface
+ Named Sets - Excel interface
+ Cubes - You can create and managed cubes through Excel.

The Excel interface can be used for both development and the maintenance of Analysis Services applications. o2olap allows for very quick development from within an Excel environment.

o2olap have streamlined and simplified the development process so the user does not have to think too much about all the processes involved. Development times are reduced which translates to saved development costs.

Considerable performance gains have resulted from new market techniques being employed within this new release. O2OLAP for Excel is the fastest Excel based OLAP reporting toolset for Microsoft’s Analysis Services, as well as the fastest Excel based browser on the OLAP mday! Why not try a copy today.

Enhancements Include :

Improved Data Collection and Writeback Functionality.New techniques employed allow for faster retrieval and loading of data to Microsoft’s Analysis Services.
Improved Budgeting and Forecasting Techniques. New functionality added to O2OLAP for Excel allows for users to quickly model, create, allocate, update and consolidate budget and forecast information. Also included are improved techniques in managing and controlling this whole process.
Improved Multiple Hierarchy Control.New techniques available allow for a more controlled and streamlined approach to the maintenance of multiple hierarchies within an OLAP environment. This is particularly pertinent within a financial reporting environment where it improves data integrity and reduces reconciliation.
Extended Modelling Capabilities.New functions have been added to extend the modelling functionality within O2OLAP for Excel. You do not have to be limited to a static matrix approach for OLAP reports. As always you can model and browse information from more than one cube in a report.

Key Features :

An Excel based browser that provides highly flexible analysis and exploration capabilities including ad hoc summarisation, which is optimised for financial users.
Provision of modelling capabilities through the inclusion of spreadsheet writeback and input journals.
Ability to easily produce customised storybooks with out coding that enable non technical users to view and manipulate data in an attractive and intuitive manner.
Rapid report production incorporating text, tables and graphics with consistent formats using templates

Benefits to Users :

Provides the fastest way to deliver Microsoft Analysis Services (OLAP) solutions, information and reports to an enterprise. No MDX is required to generate a data view.
Provides business intelligence out of the box with the power of improving business knowledge management.
Integrates and streamlines the management, consolidation, budgeting, planning, forecasting and data analysis reporting environments for a competitive advantage.
Helps in successfully producing and analysing enterprise data, and using that data to make key business decisions.
Provides the Excel objects development environment that no Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) macros are required. Executive information systems (EIS) are a synch with this rapid application development environment (RAD).
Enables data capture (writeback), entry and analysis through power Excel objects for the Microsoft's SQL Server and Analysis Services (OLAP) cubes.
Helps data mining and presenting your data warehouse solution information for data analysis.
Enables finance to develop applications without high levels of technical knowledge or coding.
Completely consistent with a Microsoft centric IT strategy and enables IT to have an appropriate level of control over finance activities without inhibiting effectiveness.
Low cost through the use of Microsoft technologies
Enhanced openness and integration with existing applications such as the Microsoft SQL Server and the Microsoft Office suite.

System Requirements

Pentium III or later

Disk space: 60 MB

Memory : 128 MB or more

Platform : Windows 2000/2003

Microsoft Office 2000/XP/2003

Microsoft’s SQL Server 2000, which includes Reporting Services, Analysis Services, Data Transformation Services, and Data Mining.

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Additional Information: Services - o2olap for Excel
Microsoft SQL/Analysis Services - o2olap for Excel	Buy Online	$850.00
Microsoft's Analysis Services - o2olap for Excel	Buy Online	$850.00

Additional Information

Technologies for OLAP & Business Intelligence solutions include

Microsoft Office 2000, XP and 2003
Microsoft’s SQL Server 2000, which includes Reporting Services, Analysis Services, Data Transformation Services, and Data Mining.
Microsoft Office Business Scorecards Solution Accelerator
o2olap for Excel

o2olap for Excel (o2olap) is an innovative, mature and flexible Excel add-in for Microsoft’s Analysis Services, that allows users to leverage their existing Excel knowledge within an Analysis Service environment. O2olap, whilst capturing the power of the Microsoft Analysis Services platform, also leverages the power of Excel and the Excel knowledge that users already have, to provide for a rich and productive reporting and modeling environment. O2olap has streamlined and extended the functionality to enabling a more complete, productive, risk-free and cost saving working environment. O2olap enables analysts and financial reporters to be more proactive without having to understand the complex code, or wait for IT assistance. The combination of o2olap’s toolset, flexibility, innovation and completeness make it the fastest and easiest Analysis Services development environment and with the leading OLAP Excel browser.

o2olap BI solutions help deliver business insight to all employees, leading to better, faster, and more relevant business decisions. By combining the data management abilities of Microsoft SQL Server 2000 with the power and ease of o2olap and Microsoft Office Systems, organizations can benefit from comprehensive yet cost-effective solutions. The o2olap and Microsoft reporting and analysis platform deliver an end-to-end BI solution for company-wide decision support needs, enabling the transformation of data into knowledge, knowledge into action, and action into success. BI solutions can help organizations understand customer buying patterns, identify sales and profit growth opportunities, and improve the overall decision-making.

o2olap can help you if you

Have silos of data locked in spreadsheets and want to centralize this information into spreadsheet databases held within Microsoft’s OLAP offering, Analysis Services. This provides for a more structured maintenance and updating, together with reducing the risk inherent within a spreadsheet environment.
Want to integrate your enterprise resource planning (ERP) into your reporting solutions. O2olap budgeting and forecasting techniques are extensive and complete.
Want to integrate your general ledger application into your Analysis Services solution. This includes for the Microsoft Business Solutions products Great Plains, Axapta, Navision and Solomon
Want to capture and writeback data to Analysis Services, including in a freeform manner.
Want to provide users with fewer, but more flexible modelled freeform Excel reports.
Want to combine the power of Excel modeling functionality to populate your Analysis Services cubes. Are interested in creating and maintaining Microsoft Analysis Services applications through Excel.
Reduce your dependence and maintenance cost associated with Excel based macros.

Wouldn’t it be great if…….

IT could have a standard OPEN architecture based on Microsoft commodity products.
Finance got what they wanted to do the job, whilst ensuring they are in-line with IT strategies
There was an alternative to monolithic applications

O2OLAP

A productive, flexible environment optimised for finance users
Enables Finance to Use Analysis Services without complex code or IT help

Give finance the tools they need and still get all the benefits of a Microsoft Architecture.

User Comments in 2004

Ronberg It Press Release for Microsoft Axapta -Extract: "Other alternative products for Business Intelligence have up to this point been insuperable for smaller organisations using Microsoft Axapta. Products such as Targit, Business Objects and Cognos have a solution, but at a cost, which only makes it interesting for larger organisations to apply Business Intelligence solutions on top of Microsoft Business Solutions systems. .... The data warehouse solutions are being used as a ’data-engine’ for Microsoft’s Reporting Services, with the solution being supported by ‘o2olap for Excel’.

Microsoft July 2004: "A Classic Microsoft BI Partner ... o2olap have some interesting BI capabilities that may be of interest to you in providing wrapper functionality to your ERP solutions."

Head of an Oracle BI consulting arm - 10 years BI experience: "The good news is that I have tried the example of your product and found it very good (easily comparable to xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [leading Analysis Services client covered by OLAP analyst]) ... I think your product is going places."

Experienced SQL/Excel Reseller: "I just want to say one word about o2olap: Excellent!"

Experienced OLAP User: "I have been working with o2olap closely since installing a Microsoft Analysis Services based management information solution at my company. We chose O2OLAP as our data browser because it offered the most user friendly and flexible interface. It enabled us to create the complex models we needed with ease and gives the rapid response times expected from a modern management information system. The views in particular make it possible to carry out large and complex queries extremely rapidly on cubes in excess of 10 million records. Anyone looking for an Excel browser for their Microsoft Analysis Services solution would do well to look at O2OLAP."

Experienced US OLAP Consultancy: "I loved the speed that views were done in! I liked the "one-stop-shopping" to set up the views. There is one place to make all of my choices. My first impression is that O2OLAP has most features that people will want and is probably easiest to use. We have been forced to use tools other than XXX lately and found them more difficult, so the fact that he said that was a compliment!). I looked a little into the Profiler and think the idea is wonderful. Lets you do things that users always ask to do".

Database Analyst for a large global company: "O2OLAP for Excel is the most complete product I have seen for Microsoft Analysis Services. … O2OLAP’s Cube Browser is a PivotTable on steroids."