Introduction

Cube Calculations are a powerful way to enrich data and are used in CXO-Cockpit when:

• The calculation is not done in the source system

• In some organizations, adding a calculation in the source system can be a very cumbersome or time consuming tasks, due to for example compliance rules.

• The calculation can’t be done in the source system.

• In some underlying systems (for example HFM) the calculation options are limited (such as dynamic rules in HFM) which can’t deal with more complex or advanced rules

• The calculation can be done more easily or with less maintenance in CXO-Cockpit. In CXO-Cockpit we have the most powerful and maintenance friendly language (MDX) available.

Report Builders can use existing Cube Calculations created by the admin but can't adjust them. However, they can create a cube calculation for own use.

 What are Cube Calculations Technically?

• Cube Calculations are Performed in the OLAP Cube
• Calculations are made dynamically when a report is opened
• Cube Calculations are written in MDX
• The MDX calculation is applied at the moment of executing the query

Best Practices

Examples of cube calculations that are often used

• A rolling 12 month total for profit and loss items.
  With cube calculations we can set this up in a very dynamic way
• A profit and loss as a percentage of Sales or a profit and loss per FTE
  We can calculate these percentages for all lines in the profit and loss in one formula
• A Year-on-Year growth percentage
  
  

Examples of all of these calculations are available in reports in our on-line demo environment.

In addition, the cube calculations are also often used for simple calculations such as the sum of accounts or entities.

Considerations around cube calculations and performance - see examples

For an overview of supported MDX functions check the Microsoft website: https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms145970.aspx