Oracle and Simba Technologies have announced the availability of MDX Provider for Oracle OLAP 2.0 for organisations using spreadsheets for business intelligence or reporting on data using Microsoft Office,
This new provider connects Microsoft Excel PivotTable cross-tab and dashboard functionality with OLAP data.
The MDX Provider for OLAP 2.0 introduces support for Microsoft Excel 2010, drillthroughs within Excel, visual slicers and sparklines that enable cell-level formatting with embedded micro-charts for visual trending analysis.
It also features integration with Excel Services 2010 or 2007 to store and share workbooks on Microsoft Sharepoint for collaboration.
In addition, it supports Excel 2007 and 2003 as well as Database 11g Release 2 and 1.
Oracle OLAP, an option to Database 11g Enterprise Edition, is a calculation engine that supports analytical applications including planning, budgeting, forecasting, sales, and marketing to help identify key business trends and model complex business scenarios.
Simba vice president of sales Suzanne Hoffman said that MDX Provider for Oracle OLAP is the de facto solution for integrating the OLAP option of Database 11g with Microsoft Excel and the rest of the Microsoft Office Suite.
"The solution directly connects the multi-dimensional ad hoc query, analysis and reporting capabilities of Excel PivotTables to the power and security of the Oracle Database without creating an additional tier. This drives user performance," Hoffman said.
