OLAP Manager

On-Line Analytical Processing (OLAP) is a technology that enables users to access and analyze business information stored in multiple — often large — databases. OLAP structures data in a multi-dimensional format, allowing information to be compared, summarized, and explored from different perspectives. Common OLAP concepts include data cubes and data warehousing.

SEI provides its own OLAP engine for Business Intelligence, enabling you to design, build, and manage cubes tailored to your company’s reporting needs. Before creating cubes, conduct a thorough analysis of the organization’s data requirements to ensure their structure meets business objectives.

Prerequisites

• Ensure the Data Management add-on is active with the license model introduced in 2026. Without it, you cannot view the content that includes OLAP cube data.*
• Create the relevant environment and data sources in the Administration.

How OLAP Manager works

OLAP Manager follows a Design, Build, Use process to manage cube-based analytics:

• Design to define the cube structure by creating dimensions, measures, slices, and linking them to data source fields.
• Build to generate the cube’s structure and objects in the data warehouse, preparing it to store and process data.
• Use to load, refresh, and query cube data for reporting, scheduling automated jobs, and analyzing results.

Benefits of OLAP Manager

• Handling high data volumes: Cubes perform efficiently even with large datasets.
• Comparing and analyzing trends: Cubes are ideal for comparing results over time, such as this year’s data against last year’s.
• Working across multiple sources: Cubes can combine data from diverse origins, such as Sage X3 and legacy ERP systems.
• Improving reporting performance: OLAP structure reduces query time compared to direct database queries.
• Supporting advanced calculations: Cubes can incorporate calculated measures for custom analysis.

Scenario

Identify the data requirements. Define the OLAP cube. Build the OLAP Cube. Create a data model in the Data Model Desginer. Users view the data.

1. OLAP cubes - Create OLAP cubes.
2. Dimensions - Define dimensions.
3. Measures - Define measures.
4. Slices - Define subsets of data based on a list of dimensions.
5. Tables - Add tables to the cube's data source.
6. Joins - Link tables through joins.
7. Fields and calculated fields - Select fields for dimensions/measures.
8. Tracking - Configure tracking to refresh only changed data.
9. Stored procedures - Add procedures to run before cube jobs.
10. Dimensions and measures mapping - Link cube elements to data source fields or calculated fields.
11. Build - Generate cube structures and objects in the data warehouse.
12. Scheduler - Schedule jobs for automated data refresh.
13. Logs - View jobs history and errors.

Options panel

The Options panel provides access to cube configuration, actions, and management tools.

Navigation

It contains functions that open the main cube configuration areas. Use these options to access and edit different components that define the cube’s structure, data sources, and processing schedule.

	Option	Description
	Dimensions	Define and manage dimension elements for the cube.
	Measures	Define and manage measure elements for the cube.
	Data Sources	Configure the cube’s data sources and their fields.
	Slices	Create and manage data slices for performance optimization.
	Scheduler	Schedule jobs to load or refresh cube data automatically.
	Logs	View execution history and error reports for cube jobs.

Actions

It provides commands for working with the currently selected cube. Use these options to build, duplicate, or delete a cube as required.

	Option	Description
	Build Cube	Generate the cube structure and objects in the data warehouse.
	Copy Cube	Duplicate the cube’s structure and settings.
	Delete Cube	Remove the cube from OLAP Manager.

Manage

It contains tools for performing operations on multiple cubes at once. Use these options to run bulk processes, such as building, loading, or refreshing several cubes simultaneously.

	Option	Description
	Manage	Perform bulk actions across multiple cubes, such as build, load all, or refresh.