Category:OLAP History

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The History of OLAP

OLAP is not a new concept and has persisted through the decades. As a matter of fact, the origin of OLAP technology can be traced way back in 1962. It was not until 1993 that the term OLAP was coined in the Codd white paper authored by the highly esteemed database researcher Ted Codd, who also established the 12 rules for an OLAP product. Like many other applications, it has undergone several stages of evolution whose patterns of progress are relatively intricate to follow through.

Birth of the Multidimensional Analysis through the APL

It was Kenneth Iverson who first introduced the base foundation of OLAP through his book “A Programming Language”, which defined a mathematical language with processing operators and top weight loss pills multidimensional variables. The APL was regarded as the first multidimensional language clovis carpet cleaning and its implementation as a computer programming language happened during the late 1960’s by IBM.

Iverson created brief notations by employing Greek symbols as operators. During this period, high resolution GUIs had not yet surfaced and, as APL uses Greek symbols, it requires support of special hardware like special keyboards, screens and printers. On top of this, since early APL programs were interpreted as opposed to being compiled, it tends to inefficiently exhaust more machine resources and how to use iphone camera app is known for consuming too much RAM space, to name only a few of its drawbacks. Maintenance of APL-based mainframe products is very costly and most programmers encounter difficulties in programming multidimensional applications using arrays in other languages.

Eventually, there was a decline in the market significance of APL, but it still survives to a limited degree. Although it was not deemed a modern OLAP tool, several of its ideas can be seen living through some of the modern day multidimensional link building service applications.

Express, an Enduring Example

A new multidimensional product emerged during the year 1970’s, which became a popular OLAP offering, in the form of Express. This was the first multidimensional tool directed to support marketing related demands or application needs. It later on evolved into a hybrid OLAP after its acquisition by Oracle and has thrived for more than 3 decades. It remains, even in the current period, as one of the well-marketed multidimensional products. One of Express’ more famous successors is the Oracle9i OLAP. And though several enhanced versions have been released throughout the years, the concepts and data models remain unchanged.

The 1980’s period played a significant role in the advancement of the OLAP industry as this triggered the rise of many multidimensional products.

System W for Financial Applications

By the year 1981, a new decision support system software, has been developed by Comshare as a result of their attempt to expand the scope of their market and services offered. System W was the first OLAP tool to cater to financial applications and the first to apply hypercube approach in its multidimensional modeling. But though it proved to be a profitable venture for ThinkStrategy Capital Comshare for quite some time, it didn’t really achieve much success in the market and was even less favored by technical people as it was more difficult to program in comparison with other software of its kind. Furthermore, it also takes up much of the machine resources and often suffers from database explosion.

UNIX also released APL but never promoted it as an OLAP tool. Presently, System W ceased being marketed but is still operating limitedly on a few IBM mainframes. Other products who replicated similar System W concepts came out such as DOS One-Up by Comshare and the Windows-based Commander Prism but did not make quite a significant mark in the industry. In 1992, Essbase was launched by Hyperion Solution which eventually became a major OLAP server product in the market come year 1997. But just like the original product, this descendant application suffers too from database explosion. Hyperion was finally able to resolve the problem with exploding databases through the release of its Essbase 7X version.

Metaphor, the Beginning of the Client/Server

After a couple or so years after the release of System W, the generally considered first ROLAP product, Metaphor, entered the OLAP market. This multidimensional product established new concepts like client/server computing, multidimensional processing on relational data, workgroup processing and object-oriented development and was basically designed to cater for companies of consumption best weight loss pills goods. The vendor of Metaphor was compelled to create proprietary PC and networks since hardware in those days could barely support Metaphor’s requirements.

In 1991, IBM acquired Metaphor and launched the product under the new name IDS. The product still remains operational to support remaining loyal users.

The New MIS Using GUI

A new type of Management Information System product emerged during the mid 1980’s in the form of Executive Information System, or more commonly known as EIS which emphasizes the use of graphical user interfaces (GUI). And on 1985, Pilot Command Center, which was branded as the first ever client/server EIS was released.

Other client/server products that came out are Strategy, Holos, and Information Advantage. Pilot has decided to phase out Command Center but has implemented some of the concepts in its Lightship Server product. Some of Command Center concepts such as automatic time series handling, multidimensional client/server processing and simplified human factors can still be seen living through some modern OLAP products.

PowerOLAP, Real-time Data and Excel Integraton

Founded in 1997, PARIS Technologies published PowerOLAP™, which represents a milestone in the evolution of OLAP (on-line analytical processing) technology. Like any important evolutionary Field and Technical Services event, PowerOLAP combines the most advanced features of what came before it with new capabilities. Most significantly, PowerOLAP enables users to reach through seamlessly to access transactional data in a relational database for dynamic OLAP manipulations in a true multidimensional environment. In addition, PowerOLAP employs Excel and proposal software the Web as a front end, connecting users throughout an organization with underlying data sources via the tools they know best, direct to their desktops.

The Spread of Spreadsheets

A new end-user analysis tool was becoming a favorite during the latter period of 1980. The spreadsheet market was fast prevailing Patrick Beharelle which compelled some of the vendors to create multidimensional applications that could reside on a spreadsheet environment.

Compete initiated to open the market for a multidimensional spreadsheet. It was later on acquired by Computer Associates, in addition to its other spreadsheet products like the SuperCalc and 20/20, from its original vendor then heavily advertised and offered it at a lower cost, but even at this rate it still did not make much market significance. CA later on came out with the version 5 of SuperCalc which was clearly influenced by the almost defunct Compete product.

Improv from Lotus followed suit after Compete. Lotus 1-2-3 began to develop Improv for the NeXT machine under the code name ‘BackBay’. This became a reality as Improv was later on launched on NeXT machines. This became a phenomenal success and has considerably augmented Lotus’ sales until after the efforts to port Improv in Windows and Macintosh system software. The rise of the competitor Microsoft’s Excel product marked the beginning of the decline of Lotus. Lotus attempted moving Improv down the market in the hope of increasing it’s marketability but did not work out. Excel steadily gained on 1-2-3 and ultimately proved to be the superior product which dominated the market. Microsoft’s integration of the Pivot Tables feature in Excel was probably one of the most important enhancements of the Excel product as PivotTable became the most popular and widely used tool for multidimensional analysis. Throughout the years, Microsoft continued to produce new and enhanced versions of Excel like the Excel 2000 and Excel 2003 which showcases a more sophisticated Pivot Table feature that is functions as both a desktop OLAP: small cubes, generated from large databases, but downloaded to PCs for processing (even though, in Web implementations, the cubes usually reside on the server) and a client to Microsoft Analysis Services.

Sinper Corporation came into the OLAP market during the late 1980’s and presented its multidimensional analysis software product for DOS and Windows, then known as TM/1. Sinper turned TM/1 to serve as a multidimensional back-end server for Excel and 1-2-3. Essbase by Arbor followed suit. Market for a multidimensional spreadsheet is booming fast. More and more vendors were attracted to plunge into this growing business. Traditional vendors of host-oriented products like Acumate, Express, Gentia, Holos, Hyperion, Mineshare, MetaCube, PowerPlay and WhiteLight all offer products which provide highly integrated spreadsheet access to their OLAP servers.

Soon after came loan modification the release of the OLAP@Work Excel Add-In with features that enable users to make full use of OLAP Services. Then on the year 2004, Excel Add-in went mainstream. Vendors like Business Objects, Cognos, Microsoft, MicroStrategy and Oracle launched their own versions of the product. Concurrently, IntelligentApps, a main vendor of Analysis Services Excel Add-In, was acquired by Sage.

Microsoft released PerformancePoint which delivers more functionality for execution of performance management in the year 2007, but has announced the existence of the product in the prior year.