Book Image

IBM Cognos Business Intelligence

Book Image

IBM Cognos Business Intelligence

Overview of this book

IBM Cognos is Business Intelligence software that enables businesses to fully utilize their maximum potential. It connects people with information from virtually any data source whenever and wherever they need it so that they can make better decisions, faster.Take the practical, hands-on approach to managing your reporting environment with "IBM Cognos Business Intelligence" - packed with coverage of all the latest features to truly help you maximize your potential.With this in-depth practical guide you will learn how to fully utilize IBM Cognos 10 so that your business can make smarter decisions, achieve better results and gain a deeper understanding of your company's data. You will learn about critical topics like Report Studio, Query Studio, Analysis Studio, Security and Administration as well as in-depth coverage of other features like Business Insight, Business Insight Advanced, and Active Reports, which were introduced with IBM Cognos 10.
Table of Contents (21 chapters)
IBM Cognos Business Intelligence
Credits
Foreword
About the Author
Acknowledgement
About the Reviewers
www.PacktPub.com
Preface
Index

An introduction to multidimensional data


When you first open the package in Cognos Analysis Studio, you will notice that the Insertable Objects area has a list of dimensions, hierarchies, and measures that can be added to the analysis report. The following are a couple of quick definitions for dimension, hierarchy, and measure:

  • Dimension: A dimension is a grouping of data that describes other data. Dimensions contain different levels with members that roll up to one or more hierarchies. For example, a sales representative can be a dimension because you could say that a sales representative has sold a certain amount or has certain accounts roll up to them.

  • Hierarchy: A hierarchy is the way that different dimensions roll up to one another. An easy example of a hierarchy would be time. In a time hierarchy, you can have the various days (dimensions) roll up to a month dimension. From there, the various months (dimensions) roll up to a year dimension. These rollups are levels. A level is a...