The outcomes
of these analyses are then the basis for making various business decisions. The
market analysis of demand and supply is one of important steps in taking strategic
decisions in a company. Likewise, an analysis of the development and course of
diseases as well as the impact of different medications on the course of illnesses
is indispensable in order to choose the most efficient methods of treatment. Many
other applications include, among others: stock market, banking, insurance, energy
management, and science. Data warehouses and OLAP applications are core components
of decision support systems.
Since the late 1980s, when the data warehouse technology developed, most of large
and midsize companies worldwide have been building their own DWs into their
information system infrastructures and have been successfully applying this technology
in business. Major commercially available database management systems
(e.g., Oracle9i/10g, IBM DB2 UDB, Sybase IQ, Computer Associates CleverPath
OLAP, NCR Teradata Database, Hyperion Essbase OLAP Server, MS SQL Server,
SAP Business Warehouse, SAS Enterprise BI Server) include the DW and OLAP
technologies in their database engines. However, despite some substantial achievements
in this technology, it still is and will be a very active research and technological
field. The OLAPReport (2004) estimates that the total worldwide OLAP market
constantly grew from less than $1 billion in 1994 to less than $5 billion in 2005,
and it will grow up to $6 billion in 2007.
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