Add calculations with Essbase member formulas

Not every business value comes directly from the source data.

Suppose your source contains Sales and Cost, but users also need Gross Margin:

Gross Margin = Sales - Cost

You can define a formula for the Gross Margin member in the Essbase outline. The formula becomes part of the business model instead of requiring each query, report, or user to recreate the calculation.

Both ASO and BSO cubes support member formulas. Therefore, the need for formulas by itself does not determine which cube type you should choose.

The formula languages differ. ASO member formulas use MDX expressions. BSO member formulas use the Essbase calculation language. You can learn the appropriate formula syntax after you choose the cube type.

At this stage, focus instead on identifying which business values are included in your Lakehouse, and which Essbase must derive.

For example, ask:

• Is Gross Margin included in the source, or should Essbase calculate it?

• Are percentages and ratios derived from other measures?

• Do some results depend on values from several dimensions?

• Should calculated results be available consistently to everyone who analyzes the cube?

These requirements help define the calculation model for your application.