Data Academy is a browser-based data warehousing framework developed for SQL Server using Microsoft .NET.

Features

Here are some of Data Academy's key features:

Ease of Use

• Doesn't require any client side components to be installed.
• Allows easy changes and design corrections to your data warehouse.
• Lets you expand or fine-tune existing data warehouses.
• Has a centralized administration audit and error logging interface for each module.
• Has a user configuration facility that allows each user to access relevant areas of data for their role.

Flexibility

• Handles rogue data flexibly with the ability to hold back only the bad data in a staging area or quarantine everything in the load.
• Allows UDF-based field-level transformations.
• Can integrate existing SSIS packages in your data warehouse.
• Lets you import/export individual module instances.

Power

• Supports incremental data load, including deletes.
  
• Has an auto-correct facility to correct the data in the staging area.
• Has transform, pivot and un-pivot engines supporting flexible output options (such as grouping, aggregation and summarization).
• Allows field mapping.
• Creates star schemas and constellation schemas.
• Handles slowly changing dimensions in star schemas.
• Handles inferred (missing) members in star schemas.
• Generates SQL Server Analysis Services (OLAP Server) cubes.
• Supports multi-dimensional hierarchies (e.g. City >> County/State >> Country).
• Lets you assign dependencies between output objects to create a sequence in which data loaders, transformations and cubes can be run.
• Has a data warehouse SQL business rules repository.
• Allows critical information to be distributed to decision makers.
• Supports grouping and summarizing (within TRANSFORM-it and STAR-it modules).
• Supports table indexing (within LOAD-it and TRANSFORM-it modules).

Technical Benefits

• Makes native SQL operations more friendly thanks to its intuitive "point and click" interface.
  
  
• Loads data from virtually any data source: Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, ODBC (level 3 compliance required), Access, Text Files, etc...
  
  
• Has a semi-guided process with meta data pre-populated fields, which helps reduce deployment time and common manual tasks.
  
  
• Allows all generated code to be accessed and edited.
  
  
• Has an administrative user interface to monitor and administer the progress of the data warehouse.
  
  
• Makes SQL Server Analysis Services OLAP Cubes accessible to all SQL database developers.
  
  
• Organizes data warehouse builds into a single visual process for your daily extract/transform routine.
  
  
• Doesn’t require interaction during the run-time process (automated run - runs in a "lights-out" fashion).
  
  
• Can schedule SSIS packages using the SQL Agent or your own enterprise scheduler.
  
  
• Requires no extensive designing or prototyping effort because data warehouses can easily be fine-tuned or expanded.
  
  
• Promotes teamwork and makes developer handover easier thanks to a standardized development process.

 Business Benefits

• Enables your development team to build data warehouses faster, more easily and with fewer errors.
  
  
• Adds process standardization to help achieve greater development and end-user productivity by enabling SQL developers to spend less time on common data warehousing tasks and free their skills for designing and developing more demanding projects.
  
  
• Delivers a data warehouse that is easily maintainable and has low resource dependence. By using transparent and standardized routines, dependency on the original developers is reduced allowing any skilled Data Academy data warehouse developer to take up maintenance and ongoing development.
  
  
• Reduces the total cost of ownership (TCO) with affordable initial entry costs and also reduces on-going maintenance and administration costs. View the Data Academy ROI calculations.
  
  
• Is a centralized and comprehensive data warehousing tool that can benefit different parts of your organization regardless of the data sources.
  
  
• Gives end users a clearer insight into their data facilitating trends, reporting and analysis.
  
  
• Connects transparently to any relational or OLAP-based reporting tool that supports SQL Server 2005 and Analysis Services.
  
  
• Improves end user satisfaction with timely, accurate and pertinent data.