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What's New: Analytics for IT Professionals in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 [AX 2012]
Updated: February 1, 2013
Applies To: Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R2, Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Feature Pack, Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012
This topic describes the new features for online analytical processing (OLAP) in Microsoft Dynamics AX.
The following features have been added in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R2.
New cubes
Microsoft Dynamics AX provides cubes you can use to analyze your business data. The following cubes are included with Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R2. The cubes that are new in this version are followed by an asterisk (*).
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Accounts payable cube
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Accounts receivable cube
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Budget control cube*
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Budget plan cube*
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Environmental sustainability cube
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Expense management cube
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General ledger cube
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Inventory value cube*
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Production cube
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Profit tax totals cube*
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Project accounting cube
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Purchase cube
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Retail cube*
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Sales and marketing cube*
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Sales cube
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Workflow cube
For more information about the cubes, see the Cube and KPI reference for Microsoft Dynamics AX.
Windows PowerShell commands have been added for deploying cubes
If you are using Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R2, you can use Windows PowerShell commands to deploy the default cubes that are included with Microsoft Dynamics AX. For more information, see Deploy the default cubes.
Upgrade information
The instructions for upgrading the cubes differ based on the version of Microsoft Dynamics AX that you are upgrading from. The following table describes upgrade scenarios.
| Scenario | How to upgrade |
|---|---|
| You are upgrading from Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 to any version of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012. | When you upgrade, you must create new cubes to display the information that your old cubes displayed. For more information, see How to: Upgrade Microsoft Dynamics AX cubes. |
| You are upgrading from the initial release of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 or Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Feature Pack to Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R2. | When you upgrade to Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R2, use the Analysis Services Project wizard to upgrade the cubes. For more information, see How to: Upgrade Microsoft Dynamics AX cubes. |
Support for data partitions
A Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R2 installation may consist of multiple data partitions. You must deploy cubes for each partition in your installation.
For example, suppose that you have two partitions: Partition 1 and Partition 2. To deploy the cubes that are included with Microsoft Dynamics AX for both of these partitions, follow these steps:
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Start the Analysis Services Project wizard.
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Select the default Analysis Services project, which is named Dynamics AX.
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Deploy the project for each partition in your installation by selecting the partitions. In this example, you would select Partition 1 and Partition 2.
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Complete the wizard.
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Open SQL Server Management Studio and connect to the Analysis Services instance. Notice that there is now a database (and cubes) for each partition.
For more information about data partitions, see Data partitioning architecture. For more information about how to deploy cubes for each partition, see Deploy the default cubes.
Improvements to the Business Overview web part
Business Overview web parts, which are used on Role Center pages, can display financial indicators or key performance indicators (KPIs).
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A financial indicator is a data calculation across various time periods. An indicator represents a measure in an online analytical processing (OLAP) cube.
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A KPI is a business metric, such as the total revenue, gross profit margin, or current ratio. A KPI can help you track your organization’s progress toward a performance goal.
The following enhancements have been made to the way that you display indicators and KPIs in the Business Overview web part in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R2.
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| You can apply multiple filters to indicators and KPIs | Suppose that you have selected to display your organization’s sales total. You can filter this KPI so that it displays only the sales that were made in 2012 by a specific salesperson. In this case, the filters resemble the following filters:
|
| You can filter by relative dates or actual values | Suppose that you have selected to display your organization’s sales total. If you want to filter this KPI by a relative date, you can display only the sales that were made last year, last month, or last quarter. If you want to filter this KPI by an actual value, you can display only the sales where Year = 2012. |
| You can split the data | You can display the individual elements that the whole indicator or KPI is made of. For example, suppose that you have selected to display your organization’s sales total. You can split the sales total by salesperson to display the sales totals of all salespeople, or you can split the sales total by region to display the sales totals of each region. You can also filter the list of elements. For example, you can display only the top 10 salespeople or the 10 regions where the fewest sales were made. Alternatively, you can filter out the regions where no sales occurred. |
| You can link to menu items or URLs | You can format the name of the indicator or KPI as a hyperlink. The hyperlink can direct users to the following items:
|
For more information about how to use the Business Overview web part, see Manage business overview information.
The following features have been added in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012.
New cubes
Microsoft Dynamics AX provides cubes you can use to analyze your business data. The following cubes are included with the initial release of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012. The cubes that are new in this version are followed by an asterisk (*).
-
Accounts payable cube
-
Accounts receivable cube
-
Customer relationship management cube
-
Environmental sustainability cube*
-
Expense management cube
-
General ledger cube
-
Production cube
-
Project accounting cube
-
Purchase cube
-
Sales cube
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Workflow cube*
For more information about the cubes, see the Cube and KPI reference for Microsoft Dynamics AX.
Deployment of cubes
The process for deploying the default Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services cubes that are included with Microsoft Dynamics AX has changed in the following ways.
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| The Setup wizard has changed | To deploy the default cubes that were included with Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009, you had to install the analysis extensions when you ran the Setup wizard. In Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, the Setup wizard has been changed. The Setup wizard no longer includes an option for installing the analysis extensions. When you run the Setup wizard, you can select the Analysis Services configuration option. When you select this option, the Setup wizard will:
The Setup wizard does not deploy the default cubes that are included with Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012. To deploy the cubes, you must run the Analysis Services Project wizard. |
| The Analysis Services Project wizard has been added | The Analysis Services Project wizard has been added to Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012. This wizard helps you complete the following tasks:
For more information, see Working with Analysis Services Projects. |
Upgrade information
If you are upgrading from Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 to Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, you must create new cubes to display the information that your old cubes displayed. For more information, see How to: Upgrade Microsoft Dynamics AX cubes.
Configuration of cubes
The default cubes that are included with Microsoft Dynamics AX require that you enable all configuration keys. In Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009, if you disabled a configuration key, you had to manually update your Analysis Services project in SQL Server Business Intelligence Development Studio. During this update, you removed the measures, dimensions, and key performance indicators (KPIs) that were no longer available (because the configuration key was disabled).
In Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, if you disable a configuration key, you must complete the following tasks:
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Run the Analysis Services Project wizard to remove the measures, dimensions, and KPIs that are no longer available. For more information, see How to: Configure an Existing SQL Server Analysis Services Project.
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Modify or remove the reports that require the configuration key.
Date dimensions
In Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, you can add date dimensions to your cubes. Therefore, you can now examine the data in a cube by using different time periods, such as months, quarters, or weeks.
To add date dimensions to your cubes, follow these steps:
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Use the Date dimensions form to specify the date dimensions by which you want to examine the data in a cube. For more information, see How to: Create a Date Dimension for a Cube.
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Run the Analysis Services Project wizard to add the date dimensions to your cube. For more information, see How to: Update an Existing SQL Server Analysis Services Project.
