Author: Nigel Pendse
Released: 2005
Pages: 70

This major article on OLAP and spreadsheets includes examples from 15 products and mini reviews of four Excel add-ins for Analysis Services: IntelligentApps, MIS Plain, Visual OLAP and XLCubed.

Contents:

Introduction
Background
Problems with spreadsheets
Multidimensional formulas
Problems with OLAP servers
The best of both worlds?
Convergence
How widely used are spreadsheets as OLAP front-ends?
The perfect add-in
Not as easy as it seems
Costs
When to use (or not to use) an Excel add-in
What to look for in Excel add-ins
Getting OLAP data into Excel
Dealing with dynamic grid sizes
Complex report formats
Hybrid OLAP and relational reports
Advanced queries
Visualization
Drilldown
Drill-through
Automated report distribution
Compatible Web and Excel reports
Languages
Data entry
Model building
Automation, application control and workflow
Excel add-ins for Analysis Services
Success rate with different types of client tools
IntelligentApps
MIS Plain
Visual OLAP
XLCubed