OLAP (Cont.)

How an OLAP Works
There are multiple steps of OLAP:
  1. Data is first extracted from various data sources and formats. This data is then stored in the data warehouse.

  2. The data is cleaned, transformed, and stored in OLAP cubes.

  3. Once in the OLAP cubes, information is then pre-calculated and pre-aggregated in advance for further analysis.

  4. Lastly, the user gets the data from the OLAP cubes by running queries against them.
OLAP cubes enable four basic types of multidimensional data analysis:
  • Drill-down,
  • Roll up,
  • Slice and dice, and
  • Pivot.