Understanding Attributes

You can use the Essbase attribute feature to retrieve and analyze data not only from the perspective of dimensions, but also in terms of characteristics, or attributes, of those dimensions. For example, you can analyze product profitability based on size or packaging, and you can make more effective conclusions by incorporating market attributes, such as the population of each market region, into the analysis.

Such an analysis could tell you that decaffeinated drinks sold in cans in small markets (populations less than 6,000,000) are less profitable than you anticipated. For more details, you can filter the analysis by specific attribute criteria, including minimum or maximum sales and profits of different products in similar market segments.

A few ways analysis by attribute provides depth and perspective, supporting better-informed decisions: