Announcing Oracle Essbase Cloud Service
Oracle Essbase Cloud Service
Acronym name: ESSCS
At Oracle Open world, Essbase cloud service was announced. This is a cloud based service to deliver the power of Essbase as a software as a service model. This will be a tradition Software as a Service model, similar to Oracle Planning and Budgeting on the Cloud Service that will be priced by user by month. It should be added to the other cloud services under the Enterprise Performance Management applications along with Planning and Budgeting and Enterprise Performance Reporting.
It has some interesting features
The ease of creating and managing Cubes
To create and manage and Essbase cube, you can use the full suite of options within the user interface to create your application. However, one of the great features is that you don’t really have to know Essbase much at all. You can simply upload a spreadsheet, structured or unstructured data, and the application will be created and managed. Similarly, you can export to a spreadsheet.
According to Oracle, they assume 90% of your modeling will be done in Excel and uploaded. You can create ASO, BSO, or Hybrid cubes. Of course, you will be able to LCM applications from on-prem to ESSCS as well.
You can manage your storage types…
A calc script editor is embedded in the interface.
Sandboxing
Users can create sandbox version of their essbase cubes. The concept of sandboxing is not new, and is available in PBCS today. However, ESSCS takes it to a different level by allowing an approval process. Users create sandboxes, and different users can approve or reject those changes to be moved into the production cube.
Sandbox Screens
Here you can approve or reject the sandbox…
Limitations and Usability
It has still not been determined what limitations there will be for ESSCS. Rumors now are that you may be limited to 10 applications, and there will be a storage limit.
The primary reporting wool will smartview. There should be integration into the BICS cloud as well. Currently, Hyperion Financial Reports will not be supported, however there is talk to either support on-premise Financial Reporting or embed is into the ESSCS clouds somehow.
The I.T. Side 