The Hyperion Essbase multidimensional database stores and organizes data. It is optimized to handle applications that have large amounts of numeric data and are consolidation-intensive or computation-intensive. In addition, the database organizes data in a way that reflects how the user wants to view the data.
A dimension is a perspective or view of a specific dataset. A different view of the same data is an alternate dimension. A system that supports simultaneous, alternate views of datasets is multidimensional. Dimensions are typically categories such as time, accounts, product lines, markets, budgets, and so on (see Figure 1). Each dimension contains additional categories that have various relationships one to another.
In contrast to the multidimensional view, worksheets stores data in two dimensions, usually time and accounts, as follows:
Figure 1. Multiple Views from a Five-Dimensional Database
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A Hyperion Essbase application contains an unlimited number of dimensions, so you can analyze large amounts of data from multiple viewpoints. The following illustration shows four views of multidimensional data. You can retrieve and analyze the data with the Hyperion Essbase Spreadsheet Add-in software:
Figure 2. Hyperion Essbase Components
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