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Essbase uses Oracle SQL*Net, Merants’s data direct drivers, IBM drivers for DB2 and native Teradata drivers to access a wide variety of databases and file formats including all major relational databases and PC data sources. It also works with leading middleware products like IBI’s EDA SQL, Sybase’s MDI gateways, and IBM’s datahub and datajoiner to access legacy and mainframe data sources. It can also read a variety of extract files and Excel and Lotus spreadsheets; Essbase’s (now optional) use of unique names for all dimension members means that it can be quite intelligent when reading report print files or spreadsheets.
Providing the input data is well structured, Essbase can handle string replacement, splitting and joining of fields and simple conditional selection or rejection of records. It automatically recognizes new dimension members and can be instructed to add them into its internal structures. If data has codified names, Essbase can even add new members into the correct place in a hierarchy. Essbase can build very complex hierarchies automatically from the relational source data, including building hierarchies top down or bottom up, shared member hierarchies, aliases, named level or generation, balanced and unbalanced hierarchies, load attributes and so on.
Essbase will automatically recognize when new members appear in the load file and can be instructed what to do with them and where to put them in the hierarchies. Not surprisingly, setting up this process using the data load rules feature is not a task for end-users.
Hyperion Reports also supports XBRL, a reporting format for financial information, that is generally considered to be a standard that will have a growing role (though the adoption rate has been slower than expected). Support was upgraded to XBRL 2.1 from the 7.2.5 and 9.2 releases.
In addition, Essbase Integration Services encompasses Hyperion Application Link which provides direct access to the ERP transactional data in both real-time and batch modes. Direct access can be through application programming interfaces (APIs) such as SAP BAPI and PeopleSoft OpenQuery, or through structured query language (SQL) directly against the relational database management system (RDBMS).
Certified bi-directional data, metadata, and business process integration between popular ERP and CRM applications, such as SAP, Oracle, PeopleSoft, J.D. Edwards and Siebel insulates users from the programming languages, application programming interfaces (APIs) and complexities of the underlying data models of ERP systems. Consequently users can easily download data for decision-making as well as upload budgets and plans back into the transactional system. Data can be streamed directly from source to target applications either on demand or at scheduled intervals.
While they were still competitors, Hyperion and Oracle were the main sponsors of the Java-based JOLAP API, but this did not gain any traction and has quietly been forgotten. Hyperion was also a co-chair on the XML for Analysis specification, with Microsoft and SAS Institute. XML for Analysis has now become close to an ‘industry standard’, though unfortunately not all vendors implement it identically. But Hyperion has worked with Microsoft to ensure that its implementation in Essbase is reasonably compatible with Microsoft’s in Analysis Services 2005. However, whereas XML for Analysis is Analysis Services’ sole native API, Essbase still has several older native APIs, including one using MDX, which is the one being used to link Oracle BI Suite EE to Essbase.
Essbase provides access to SAP database tables and business processes. Whether users need to grab data for an ad hoc analysis, download monthly actuals or upload the annual budget, they have seamless application-to-application integration between SAP R/3 and Hyperion business performance management solutions.
Access is provided to the methods and attributes of SAP business objects without the need of knowing the Business Application Programming Interface (BAPI). A SAP business object exists for each transaction document, such as a journal entry or sales order, and includes all the built-in logic and rules associated with that transaction.
Essbase enables the sending and receipt of SAP intermediate documents (IDocs)
as another vehicle to communicate with SAP R/3.
Access is provided to Remote Function Calls (RFCs) that have been either predefined
by SAP or custom-coded. When using RFCs, users can specify which remote function
or functions they wish to access and the specific parameters of each function.
Data input is allowed via SAP R/3 transaction screens. Adapter input ports are available for each screen method, which correspond to the values of the corresponding fields on the screen in SAP. The approach is helpful when no other method exists for data entry. Batch loading of records is provided to assists in transferring large amounts of input data to SAP R/3.
Hyperion Web Analysis (formerly Analyzer) provides direct access to SAP BW.
THIS PAGE REPRESENTS ONLY A VERY SHORT EXTRACT FROM THE FULL REVIEW.
TO VIEW THE FULL REVIEW YOU CAN PURCHASE THE REVIEW INDIVIDUALLY OR PURCHASE AN ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION TO THE OLAP REPORT WHICH ALLOWS ACCESS TO ALL OLAP REPORT CONTENT.