I can confirm your findings - this domain [simple OLAP] really sucks. As CFO I implemented [all including planning database/dimensions/forms/reports/calculatio

I can confirm your findings - this domain [simple OLAP] really sucks. As CFO I implemented [all including planning database/dimensions/forms/reports/calculations/rules/etc except for programming] 3 OLAP based projects in three multinational companies. Closed source In 2 projects we used Hyperion Essbase, in 1 project we used SAP Business Objects. In all cases we used consultants for programming the cubes and all else per spec. Also, there is MS solution - have not used it. There are a number of OpenSource solutions, including Mondrian, etc - most of them use SQL database (PostGre et all) for storing data and building OLAP cubes. Check SO on OLAP, most Q&A are garbage, but found some good gems. You can start from here http://stackoverflow.com/questions/3705011/what-should-i-have-in-mind-when-building-olap-solution-from-scratch http://stackoverflow.com/questions/3705011/what-should-i-hav... I also saw post of Cubes implementation in Python some time back on HN - Google for Stiivi-cubes-v0.7 and Stiivi-brewery-v0.7. pls keep posted if you'll find smth cool, i.e. easy and simple DIY OLAP. After spending close to several days on Googling, I gave up.