HN Explorer

Ask HN: Is OLAP/SSAS data just a buzzword for 99% of companies?

1 points by hd4 ↗ HN
I think the growing number of requests from recruiting agencies for developers with OLAP/SSAS/Cube experience/knowledge may have a lot to do with how Microsoft (and others) are pushing this as part of their database "stack", even though 90% (tbh I think it's closer to 99%) of the companies who ask for this skill will never actually need OLAP databases. I could be wrong, but it does feel to me like it's a buzzword that doesn't really have a huge amount of practical use in most companies. I do a lot of SQL work and constantly get requests for SSAS from medium-tier companies in sectors like law, design, media, insurance.

4 comments

[ 3.2 ms ] story [ 14.9 ms ] thread
moseandre
No. Buzzwords have a short shelf-life and it has passed for OLAP and SSAS [actually, maybe not -- no idea what that is].

I don't know the term for expired buzzwords, though! They do turn people away.

hd4
Where I live, buzzwords probably a longer shelf-life than normal. Also, industry tends to become aware of buzzwords a few years later than everyone else so the dynamic is a little different there.
user5994461
I don't think that OLAP and SSAS were ever known buzzwords ^^
liquidcool
OLAP/MOLAP/ROLAP are interesting technologies to BI folks. Companies say they want to do more BI/analytics, and DBAs/BI managers see an opportunity to get experience with some cool tech, so they say that's the correct path. Now they've got it, even if some indexes and query tuning on a regular DB would have been fine, and want someone who can support it.

And if you think OLAP is unnecessary, you should see how many devs brought in Hadoop unnecessarily.