SQL Server Analysis Services 2012 Cube Development Cookbook

Enabling write-back feature

The write-back feature allows data analysts to perform what-if analysis and is typically used for budgeting applications. For example, an operations manager might want to see what the profit margins would look like if her team were to achieve a cost reduction of 10 percent. Although not frequently used, write-back is a useful feature.

Analysis Services does not overwrite any values in the existing fact tables from which it sources data. Rather, it creates a new partition for storing the write-back data. The new partition is based on a table that could be stored in the same database as the primary fact table or in a different relational database. SSAS derives requested values at the query execution time by aggregating ...