Essbase Was Invented by Who? When?

With a filing date of April 5, 1990 - Google Patent listing

It appears that there were co-inventors: Wesley C. Sampson & Michael J. Olan

Take a look at a few of the images! Looks like a cube to me!

Let me clear with this post. In my mind there is a difference between who invented Essbase versus who founded/established Arbor Software Corporation.


The Arbor co-founders were Bob Earle and Jim Dorian in 1991. Their company shipped the first version of Essbase (or eSSbase) Online Analytical processing OLAP software. Their company became publicly held on the NASDAQ by 1995. In 1997, Arbor acquired Orlando, Florida-based Appsource. In 1998, Hyperion Software merged with Arbor and combined the company, and renamed it Hyperion Solutions. They sold products called Essbase, Hyperion Enterprise and Hyperion Pillar. In 1999, Hyperion acquired Sapling Corporation, and added products called Hyperion Performance Scorecard and Hyperion Business Modeling. In 2000, Hyperion introduced 2 web based packaged products, Hyperion Planning (same name as today) and Hyperion Financial Management (same as today HFM) and also partnered with WebTrends Corporation along the way. In 2002, Hyperion introduced a new product called Hyperion Business Performance Management Suite. In 2003, Hyperion acquired Brio Technology (which started with DataPivot on the Apple Macintosh.. why has "Hyperion" not given love to the Mac community yet!), Data Prism as well as The Alcar Group. In 2005, Hyperion acquired Razza Solutions (today we call it DRM). In 2006, Hyperion acquired UpStream (today we call it FDMEE). In 2007, Hyperion acquired Decisioneering (Crystal Ball). And also in 2007, Oracle announced the agreement to acquire Hyperion for $3.3B.

It's Here! Smart View Release 11.1.2.5.700

Well, just randomly today I tried the URL .. https://docs.oracle.com/applications/smartview/700/index.html

And it looks like it is available :)

The Read Me is available, let's see what it has to say.

Looks like my HFM friends are getting some new features and functionality for Journals, journals, and more journals!

New Features in this Release - Subtopics

• Inserting Charts Based on Planning Forms
• View Journal Reports in Smart View
• New VBAs to Support Oracle Journals Extension
• New HsAlias Function
• Additional Provider Support for HsDescription
• New Cell Styles Category for Oracle Profitability and Cost Management Cloud
• Additional Features for PowerPoint-based Report Packages

Guess it is time to install, if I could only locate it. Everything so far takes me to downloading 11.2.5.620.

Keep looking. Oracle Docs shows .700 listed -> https://docs.oracle.com/en/applications/?tab=8

Elapsed time between that previous sentence and the next was close to 8 minutes!

Phew, that took forever. But I think that I may have finally found it on Oracle Support -> here.

Looks like I am the second All-Time to download at the time of writing this post. But also guessing that I am the 1st to Blog about it ;)

Why it says 11125000 in the file name, I still don't really understand???

Time to install!!

Downloaded Zip file. Extracted. Looks like 11.1.2.5.700, and yesterday was the day that it was packaged for GA release. Just after 8AM in sunny California.

Msg Box says it installed successfully .. and .. time to start up Excel and find out ..

Well, there it is. Oracle Smart View for Office Version 11.1.2.5.700!

Time to go take it for a test drive vvvvvvrrrrroooooomm vroom

Noticed a new section in the documentation for OAC - Essbase

Finding a new Member Name Display setting???
I don't remember this being there before.
Options/Member Options.Distinct Member Name Only

And, well, that is because that is a setting for Oracle Fusion Financials GL Essbase. From one of my prior posts -> here

On that, I am working on a follow up to the Fusion GL blog post. Continue to stay tuned.

Smart View for Office 11.1.2.5.700

Smart View for Office 11.1.2.5.700 will be available in early April, 2017. Stay Tuned.

This is according to the Oracle Planning and Budgeting Cloud April 2017 Update.

http://www.oracle.com/webfolder/technetwork/tutorials/tutorial/cloud/pbcs/1704-pbcs-wn.htm#_Toc478544601

Per the Update - NEW SMART VIEW FOR OFFICE VERSION
Smart View for Office 11.1.2.5.700 will be available in early April, 2017. This version will contain new features such as PowerPoint chart support for forms, and a new HsAlias function. Additionally, it extends HsDescription function support to Oracle Planning and Budgeting Cloud. The Smart View 11.1.2.5.700 Readme, available on the Help Center, contains a complete list of new features in this version.

Oracle Fusion Financial GL is an Essbase Cube!

Let me start by saying.
I am only slightly surprised at the time I am writing up this blog post.

Why? Good question. I found that there is little to no talk, chatter, blog, twitter, media buzz or hype about this topic.

But, back in the spring of 2007, Oracle bought a company called Hyperion or more formally Hyperion Solutions Corporation and known on the NASDAQ as HYSL for approx. $3.3B. Press Release - Oracle. Many would, can and will continue to speculate as to the answers of why. But this blog post is going to focus on one good reason as to why Oracle bought Hyperion. And this EPM guy is happy to share.. let's take a closer look.

Setting the stage and getting into the background. We are going to look into the Oracle Cloud ERP. Stop! Yes, I said ERP and NOT EPM! But please, keep reading, because I think that you as an EPM-er, just like me, will get a kick out of what I am going to share.

Basic facts. A search on Oracle.com of this phrase "Oracle Fusion Financials Release 11" returns 1 result. Huh? Stop the presses, 1 result. Not sure why.

Anyway, if you follow the link there is an Implementation Guide, wonder what is in there? Nothing I found very interesting in the "Common Implementation Guide".
Let's keep looking. And I am going to look at the "Financials Implementation Guide".

Well, look at that, in the Overview section, there is something called "Financial Business Intelligence Analytics", and has a sub-section "General Ledger Business Intelligence Analytics" .. wonder if there is more on this???

Going back to the Contents, this is interesting, "35 Define Financial Reporting", what is this?

This is it. I am hooked in. Hook. Line. And Sinker!

Like an FDMEE fish swimming upstream >o

*wink* <insert EPM joke here> *wink*

Well, and now you had me at hello .. Smart View! My dear, dear, good ole' friend. I didn’t know you also spent time with the General Ledger, ERP??!

Who is this that you have not told me about??

But even better, many of your other EPM reporting friends are here with you! Financial Reporting, Financial Reporting Workspace, Financial Reporting Studio.. tell me more!

Components

Financial Reporting Center is comprised of numerous components:

• Financial Reporting: Financial users and analysts access live reports and books or published snapshot reports and books from previously scheduled batches in a variety of formats. Other functionality includes:

• Refreshing report data using runtime points of view or parameters
• Drill through capability from parents to other parents
• Drill down to detail balances, journal lines, and subledger transactions.

• Smart View: Financial analysts view, import, manipulate, distribute, and share data from your Oracle Fusion General Ledger balances in Microsoft Excel.
• Account Monitor and Account Inspector: Financial analysts monitor and track key account balances in real time at every level of your dimensions and hierarchies. These tools provide multidimensional account analysis and drill down capability.
• Financial Reporting Workspace: Reporting administrators create, open, save, and delete folders and store report objects, reports, and snapshot reports.
• Financial Reporting Studio: Report authors use an object-oriented graphical report layout with report objects, such as text boxes, grids, images, and charts, to design reports.

Okay, so now we are done. Not yet. Although this led us to a little bit of a dead end. I am working currently on Oracle Financials Cloud Release 11. And what I just found makes me want to find out and learn more!

Wonder what is new for Oracle Applications Release 11? Video Spotlight on Financials

Am I seeing this right in the video!? Multidimensional analysis..

And at 2 minutes and 37 seconds of this video, did i hear what I think I just heard?!?! ".. these are based on multidimensional cubes.. they can be updated on demand..".

And then a minute later at 3 minutes and 30 seconds, ".. with Release 11 we are also delivering powerful modern reporting and analytics.. analytical applications for mobile devices using BI mobile app designer.."

And then we get to the "Analyze | One Location for Reporting and Analytics" at approx. 3 minutes and 55 seconds. ".. reports based on .. BI Publisher, Oracle Transactional Business Intelligence, Hyperion Financial Reporting, General Ledger Sunburst, and BI mobile App Designer.."

Also, an interesting fun fact to note. The name of the Application that is used in that video is the same as .. well .. this one! :)

Which one is that you ask since you didn't click on the link to watch the video.

That was the video for Oracle PBCS. Yes, I said. PBCS! The sample application for PBCS is called Vision.

PBCS: Vision

Fusion Financials: VISION

Well, that is fun, nice and interesting all at the same time.

But I am not easily getting to the rabbit that I am chasing.. until I stumble onto, this, the "Financial Reporting Center: How It Works". I am mentally turned around for a second because for a brief moment I forgot if I was researching an EPM something or another, and remember that I was looking into and researching Fusion Financials Cloud ERP. And notice, it uses the word "cube"!

This to me is the EPM Hyperion reporting toolset that I am familiar with, plain as day. The configuring Financial Reporting section is all of the classics that I have seen for years before, Hyperion Financial Reporting (HFR) Studio, BI Publisher, Smart View, words like Workspace.

Now, being a Smart View kind of guy. I had to see or try to see if I could see this for myself. We have an Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP, so why not try.

I already have Smart View installed, latest version 11.1.2.5.620. Now what do I need? The Configure Smart Client View for Users says that I should be able to take the Workspace URL that ends in /workspace/index.jsp and replace that ending with what I know to be the common Smart View suffix of /workspace/SmartViewProviders

And, there you have it. Open the Smart View Panel. Click on the Shared Connections. After the login. The Panel choices look like this..

I am going to pick my friend Oracle Essbase. And this is what I see..

And sorry for the blur but I have to make sure to protect the innocent.

This is only the first post of many on this topic as I have only scratched the surface.

Hint: If you now know that the GL Balances are in an Essbase cube. And you have many of the same reporting tools to use. What other shared bits are there between this Cloud ERP and the EPM world.. stay tuned!