OLAP (On-Line Analytical Processing) is a concept that refers to streamlining the query of a large number of data within the area of business intelligence. To do this, different data structures are used. These are usually multidimensional, also known as OLAP cubes, and they store data that summarizes large databases or transactional systems. OLAP cubes are considered as an extension of the two dimensions of a spreadsheet.

An OLAP (Online Analytical Processing) is a solution used in the field of Business Intelligence whose objective is to streamline the query of large amounts of data. It is intended to show any correlation, within an important volume of data.


For this it uses multidimensional structures (or OLAP Cubes) that contain summarized data from large Databases or Transactional Systems (OLTP). It is used in business reports for sales, marketing, data mining, etc.

The foremost characteristic that powers OLAP is the fact that it is the fastest when it comes to the execution of SQL statements of the SELECT type.

Why use OLAP?

One of the main advantages that OLAP cubes offer to organizations is the ability to offer reliable systems for data processing in order to be used to carry out analyzes and reports that allow the improvement of productive operations, optimization of the competitiveness based on the market and smart decision making.

It should be noted that it is not feasible to use OLAP cubes in all organizations, so it is first convenient to analyze the advantages and disadvantages that their implementation would entail.

Cubes offer advantages compared to ordinary relational models when it comes to fast and secure reports, in addition to other factors such as those listed below:

- Segmentation of data based on, for example, a product or a quarter.

- Deepening with a tool called Drill Down, for example, from a quarter, showing data for a particular month.

- Synthesization through a tool called Drill Up, which would work in reverse to Drill Down.

- Rotation, using a tool called Drill Anywhere that allows you to move from one feature to another that belongs to another type of hierarchy. For example, going from analyzing breakdowns by quarters to a breakdown by subfamily of a product.

- Filtered to obtain, for example, the sales of a city in a certain month

In short, OLAP cubes allow information to be navigated and requested quickly and easily.

How do OLAP cubes work?

The analysis of each of them is based on the dimensions of the hypercube (OLAP cube). An OLAP cube contains data of a certain variable, which you want to analyze, and it provides a logical view of the data that is presented by the information system that is making use of them to the data warehouse. In OLAP cubes, each of the data available is arranged in order by means of tables and has the number of dimensions that are needed. OLAP cubes use multi-level structures that contain summarized data from large Databases or Transactional Systems (OLTP).

Types of OLAP systems

The following are the different types of OLAP systems used by organizations:

- ROLAP: Its acronym refers to the relational online analytical processing function, which is basically a system built using OLAP tools together with a classic relational database. ROLAP is one of the types of systems most used today by organizations. Its main characteristic is that it is capable of scaling large amounts of data, although it offers lower performance during querying (compared to others).

- MOLAP: MOLAP is the acronym for Multidimensional Online Analytical Processing. This system makes use of multidimensional databases. It offers the advantage of being one of the fastest tools thanks to its automatic functions and also, being one of the most compact tools thanks to the use of the data compression method. Its main disadvantage lies in the fact that due to its difficulty in loading large amounts of data, its processing can be slow.

- HOLAP: It emerges as the combination of ROLAP and MOLAP tools, being a hybrid online analytical processing system. They make use of two types of databases to save the information. This means that they use a relational database and a multidimensional database, making use of each of them based on the requirements of each of the data that must be prosecuted.

These three types of systems are not the only existing ones since there are other derivations such as WOLAP systems (which are oriented towards the web) or RTOLAP systems (which are based on desktops).