Creating a Report Model based on an Analysis Cube - Pros and Cons

If you follow my blog, you probably know by now that I developed a report model based on the Analysis Services cube I already had. I even got around to updating the report model.

And then, my users started using it. And you know, whatever we do just seems so wonderful to us, until our users find all sorts of flaws with what we did… so yes, my users did open my eyes to quite a few problems that may occur when you build a report model based on a cube.

I even found myself contemplating doing the model all over again based on the relational database, but my boss decided otherwise. Still, he did ask me, "So Ella, if it has all these flaws, why did you do it in the first place?" The thing is, that though I saw all sort of information out there about how problematic it may be to build a report model based on a cube and all the preparation you need to do in the SSAS project, I never remember seeing a sort of warning about all the pros and cons of using a report model based on a cube. So I thought perhaps I would make a post out of it, especially now, that I also had the fortune of building a report model based on the relational DB in another project.

So here are the main points in my view: