
Ask HN: Is OLAP/SSAS data just a buzzword for 99% of companies? - hd4
I think the growing number of requests from recruiting agencies for developers with OLAP&#x2F;SSAS&#x2F;Cube experience&#x2F;knowledge may have a lot to do with how Microsoft (and others) are pushing this as part of their database &quot;stack&quot;, even though 90% (tbh I think it&#x27;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&#x27;s a buzzword that doesn&#x27;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.
======
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.

------
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 ^^

