Use case: Move data between cubes (Process Manager)

This use case provides an alternative approach to solving the business problem described here, and uses Process Manager.

The solution

Use processes to export/import between cubes.

The benefits

The approach described in this use case has the following advantages:

  • You get a consolidated as well as a detailed view of your budget data, in two different cubes.
  • You can accurately forecast using either the consolidated budget or the detailed budget.
  • You can compare actual data to plan data at both the consolidated and the detailed level.
  • No link is required between the cubes.
  • You create can run the processes separately or together, manually or on a schedule.

How it's done

  1. Open Process Manager, create a new process, and insert an Export Data process.
  2. Create a data connector to link FP&A to your text file (or target database table).
  3. In the Export Data process, select the data Source, and for Target select a destination for the data.
  4. In the Layout tab, select the dimensions that you want to extract to columns, and those that you want to extract to rows.

  5. Within each dimension, select what you want to export (for example, specific GL accounts, department members, the all-member roll up of additional dimensions, and so on).

     Note:  If there are dimensions that exist in the source cube but not in the target cube, you must export those dimensions to the All roll up.

  6. To export the data, save and run the process.
  7. In Process Manager, create a new process group and insert an Import process to it.
  8. Optionally, you can use the same data connector that you created for the Export process.
  9. In the Import process, carefully match the dimensions from your intermediate storage location with specific dimensions in the target cube.
  10. In Process Manager, insert an Update Cube process.
  11. To import the data, save and run the process.