Infor EPM Perspectives FAQ and next steps
As we are receiving more questions about the recently released Perspectives feature in OLAP, let's use this space to address knowledge gaps and clarify open questions:
Q: What is this? How can I use perspectives today?
A: Subcubes, data areas, perspectives, or MIS dataworlds—these terms all refer to a powerful concept in data analytics that enhances flexibility and granularity in insights. This approach, utilized by various vendors, allows users to create focused views of larger datasets.Consider a large cube with 15+ dimensions. If you frequently analyze only 10 of these dimensions, you can create a perspective limited to those 10. This perspective acts as a window into the source cube, providing several benefits:
- Efficient data access: The perspective draws data directly from the source cube, eliminating data transfer overhead.
- Optimized performance: Calculations are performed once by the OLAP Server, reducing processing time.
- Memory optimization: By focusing on relevant dimensions, the most expensive hardware resource—memory—is used more efficiently.
This method streamlines data exploration, enabling analysts to use tailored views while preserving the integrity and completeness of the underlying data structure.
Q: What is Domain cube that works with perspectives?
A: We enhanced the concept of Perspectives by introducing context-based filtering. This adds a new layer of flexibility and efficiency to data exploration, particularly when dealing with large datasets and multiple perspectives.
This new capability allows users to filter perspectives based on specific context elements, for instance, entities and time periods, so when you choose a particular element of a context dimension, the system displays only the perspectives where that entity was selected as a context element. Adding more dimensions to your selection further narrows down the list of perspectives, showing only those where all of selected elements were defined as context elements.
Let's revisit the earlier example:
- You have a large cube with 15+ dimensions.
- You've created a perspective with 10 dimensions, which is valid only for a specific entity and year.
- And now you and your colleagues have also created numerous other perspectives.
Now, with utilizing Domain cube you can select the specific entity and see only perspectives where that entity was used as a context element. Adding the year further refines the list, showing only perspectives that incorporate both the chosen entity and year as context elements.
Q: Any more details that can be useful to know?
A: Sure! Please remember that Perspectives are a powerful feature in data reporting and analytics, allowing users to create tailored views of larger datasets. To enhance your understanding and use of Perspectives, consider the following points:
- Always refer to the official documentation portal for the most up-to-date information on Perspectives. This will ensure you're using the feature correctly and taking advantage of all available options. Here you can see Perspective documentation from EPM Portal.
- When creating Perspectives, it's required to always include the Measure dimension.
- Thinking about future enhancements, several exciting improvements are planned for Perspectives:
- Refined Dimension Elements: The ability to narrow dimension elements to selected lists, providing more focused and relevant views.
- Enhanced Security: Creation and management of security settings specifically for Perspectives, allowing for more granular access control.
- Writeback Capabilities: This feature will enable users to update data directly through Perspectives, enhancing interactivity and data management.
- Improved EPM Integration: Further adoption and integration of Perspectives management by Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) components, enabling users to create and manage perspectives in more straightforward and simple way.