Blog
Categories
Best Practices
OLAP & BI Solutions
Data management
Finance and Business Use Cases
Dashboards
Predictive Analytics
Subscribe
Get the latest on OLAP and Business Intelligence straight in your inbox.
FROM OUR SPONSORS
Featured Story
The Importance of Planning and Forecasting in BI
From PARIS Technologies
The budgeting and forecasting process for most organizations is long and tedious and occurs on an annual basis, at least. Companies try to do it more often to improve accuracy and aim to ultimately implement a procedure for continuous planning, rolling forecasts, and driver-based planning.
Unlike any other business process, budgeting and forecasting is unique because it is forward thinking. Business processes like accounting, inventory tracking, invoicing, shipping, etc. are based on actual events from the past and present.
This is a fundamental difference as it also defines how the data from these processes are managed. Essentially, actual events are captured as transactions in ERPs, supply chain systems, invoicing and accounting systems, etc., and data related to it is effectively stored in its databases. On the other hand, budgets and forecasts typically reside in spreadsheets where aggregate data is entered by several people in the organization.
Latest Posts
Hot
Data Warehouse for Business Intelligence
A data warehouse is a great thing in concept, and a wonderful thing in actuality! Who could argue with the concept: “a central repository for data integrated from various sources, organized for reporting and analysis.” Anyone who, in actuality, has worked in Business...
Transform Collaboration in Excel by adding Row-Level Security
Discover Row-level Security in Excel with an innovative add-in from PARIS Technologies. This tool goes beyond basic security options, offering username/password or integrated Windows security for easy access to centralized databases. You can control user permissions...
Unlocking the Games: The Power of OLAP Cubes in Sports Analysis
Rugby fans, prepare to be exhilarated! PARIS Tech has teamed up with David Newton, a luminary in the world of finance and the founder of Newton Carmen, a prestigious Fractional CFO firm. Together, they've fashioned something extraordinary - an OLAP model tailored...
Pivot Table vs. PowerExcel Pivot
This video from our sponsor PARIS Tech compares Microsoft Excel's PivotTable capabilities with the pivot table in PowerExcel. PivotTables are recognized for their ability to organize data effectively, but they are primarily designed for single-user productivity and...
OLAP Technology in the 2023 Rugby World Cup
PARIS Tech has recently joined forces with David Newton, an esteemed figure from Newton Carmen, a renowned Fractional CFO firm. Together, they’ve crafted an extraordinary sports analysis OLAP model tailored specifically for the upcoming Rugby World Cup.
Top-Down Bottom-Up Budgeting with PowerExcel
What happens it that first the Finance team creates the budget from the bottom up, and then senior management delivers top-down directives. Meeting those directives requires adjustment, often leading to a time-consuming and demoralizing cycle in Excel to complete the budget.
Scenario Analysis of 2023 Rugby World Cup with OLAP Cubes
This is where OLAP technology can be especially helpful: we can demonstrate to ourselves how various scenarios generate different versions, all rooted in distinct assumptions. We can even consolidate all these assumptions into a single workbook, allowing us to work with these assumptions where the numbers exist or where actual calculations occur.
OLAP Cube Analysis for Rugby World Cup 2023
Unique perspectives can unveil insights that other technologies might not provide. In this case, I’ve employed OLAP to investigate a distinct facet of Rugby World Cup data—specifically, the concept of “dream killers.”
Retail OTB (Open to Buy) Planning with PowerExcel
OTB (Open-to-Buy) is a forward-looking metric based on future projections. In retail, it involves assessing current stock and estimating the exact amount of stock needed to achieve a predetermined target. It’s a blend of sales forecasting and stock planning, requiring accurate data and meticulous calculations.
Learn OLAP
Resources
Types of OLAP Systems
MOLAP, ROLAP, HOLAP... what's the difference? And modern OLAP for this century.
History of OLAP and BI
Learn about the history of OLAP technology with this comprehensive inforgraphic