Starting Actuate

[Gill1978]

Hi all,

I've just been handed an Actuate project, bearing in mind my back ground is SQL Server/ transactional database's. Having a look at the Actuate overview, this is based on OLAP and cubes.

The point of the project is to load data from a sql server to an actuate server (is that right) ... so that users/ another team can create their own reports. These reports will be summary reports, based on the volume of tasks done (i.e changes to records, forms sent) from one year to the next. Bearing in mind the sql server database just holds changes to specific data ... not historic data changes.

How would this be done in Actuate ... if I don't have historic changes (as a transactional doesn't hold this). Doesn't look like this is achievable to me.

Any comments would be helpful,

Thanks

Julie

 

[gdwood]

Why would you need to load the data to the actuate server. If you create reports to access the SQL server and pull data in then you should be fine. And you probably don't want users to create their own reports, but it can be done.

You need to figure out your stategy for delivering the reports and then move on from there

 

[Gill1978]

This is the bit I'm struggling with. I stopped panicking ... and I see I can create stored procedures to capture the data that the users will need. So the reports will be developed by another team (not actual users but I call anyone not on my team a user - sorry about that)!!
I was just wondering how to go about designing the original structure of the data I will be gathering from the sql server.

Since the reports will be looking at a summary's of data that cover three years in various forms formats ... would it be more efficient if I created cubes ... or am I just getting over the top about this ...

Thanks

Julie

 

[gdwood]

Sounds like you might be over the top on this. Can you write efficient SQL to pull the data of the server?

Our reports hit data for many more years than that and the SQL works fine. you can go the stored porcedure route, but that just adds more overhead a lot of times.