Oracle Database Analytic Views can be visible in OAC data source object explor

Aaron Zhong-Oracle

Description

From Oracle Database 12.2, one of the biggest news in the Data Warehousing / Analytics area was the introduction of the Analytic Views, that as per Oracle's definition are Metadata objects that enable the user to quickly and easily create complex hierarchical and dimensional queries on data in database tables and views.

OAC can connect to oracle data source and visualize data of "analytics view" type directly. 

Use Case and Business Need

The wave of self-service BI tools like Tableau or OAC provided products capable of querying almost any kind of data sources in a visual and intuitive way directly in the end user hands. An easy and direct access to data is a good thing for end user but, as stated above, requires knowledge of the data model, joins and aggregation methods.

The self-service tools can slightly simplify the process by providing some hints based on column names, types or values but the cruel reality is that the end-user has to build the necessary knowledge of the data source before providing correct results.

This is why we've seen several times self-service BI tools being "attached" to OBIEE: get corporate official data from the unique source of truth and mash them up with information coming from external sources like personal Excel files or output of Big Data processes.

If OAC can read "analytics view" type directly from Oracle Database, it will really help business users to analytics data from Oracle database.

 

Original Idea Number: f85392da65

Gabby Rubin-Oracle

Hi Aaron,

We are actually looking into doing that, however, let's discuss internally the use cases and usage of AVs as it will help us design the solution. 

In general, the ability to use unique Oracle Database capabilities is something that we constantly target (in addition to our support for other sources as well). As an example, the upcoming OML integration and exposing DB Advanced Analytics functions in Data Flows (both are targeted for 5.7). We want to make sure that we are focusing our efforts in those features that will have the most impact and will bring the greatest value to our users, so more details will be helpful here.

Thanks,

Gabby