Deploying a business intelligence (BI) system is a substantial investment for any organization. One critical component of the BI system is the analytical tool that helps in data processing and analysis. SQL Server Analytical Services (SSAS) is one such tool by Microsoft, widely used and highly impactful in BI applications.
However, setting up an SSAS infrastructure in-house necessitates significant capital investment and expertise. This concern has led to the rise of numerous SSAS Infrastructure Providers, who offer a wide range of services such as SSAS hosting, administration, security, and maintenance. This article will explore SSAS infrastructure providers from several angles, focusing on the technicalities and providing examples.
Perspectives on SSAS Infrastructure Providers
The Cost-Centric Perspective
The primary driving factor for businesses choosing infrastructure providers is usually the cost–both upfront and ongoing. Companies like Rackspace, Azure, and AWS offer various packages catering to diverse budgetary restraints. Through package customization, these providers can effectively manage resources, increasing utilization and reducing costs.
For instance, Amazon’s Redshift Spectrum lets businesses directly run complex queries in Amazon S3, thereby eliminating the need to set up a separate data warehouse.
The Performance-Centric Perspective
Performance is another critical factor while choosing an SSAS infrastructure provider. Since SSAS is resource-intensive–especially during processing–it’s important that your infrastructure provider can comfortably handle such workloads.
A provider like Azure, given its direct affiliation with Microsoft, is often the go-to choice for hosting SSAS. Azure Analysis Services scale automatically based on the demand, reducing server downtime and ensuring optimal performance. Azure’s backup and recovery functions also ensure data security.
The Flexibility-Centric Perspective
Businesses often anticipate future scaling needs. An infrastructure provider that can easily scale up (or scale down) their services based on the client’s changing needs is pivotal.
Google Cloud Platform (GCP), for instance, has pre-configured machine types with a specific number of cores, RAM, and storage. But it may not cater to granular requirements. AWS, on the other hand, offers flexibility with the choice of virtual machines types.
The Technical Comparison
Choosing an SSAS infrastructure provider should be based on its performance, cost-effectiveness, and scalability. However, you should also consider the system’s technical aspects.
- Processing Power and Memory: As SSAS is memory-intensive, sufficient RAM is crucial for its smooth operation. Providers vary in the maximum limit of RAM they offer. Azure provides virtual machines with up to 3.5 TB of RAM, while AWS offers 24 TB on their EC2 High Memory instances.
- Networking Capabilities: The speed and reliability of data transfer can significantly affect SSAS’s performance. Azure’s ExpressRoute offers faster, private connections between Azure datacenters, while AWS Direct Connect does the same for AWS datacenters.
- Storage Options: SSAS requires highly efficient storage solutions to process large data volumes. AWS offers Elastic Block Store (EBS), which provides high performance block storage, while Azure provides several SSD storage options.
- Technical Support and Customer Service: This reflects how quickly infrastructure issues can be resolved. Azure, AWS, Google Cloud, and Rackspace all have strong reputations for their technical support.
From the analysis above, it’s evident that the choice of an SSAS infrastructure provider relies heavily on an organization’s individual needs and circumstances. While Azure might seem an obvious choice due to its close ties with Microsoft, other providers like AWS and Google Cloud may be more suitable based on scalability, cost, and technical requirements. Moving towards an SSAS infrastructure provider is a decision that must consider these dimensions to ensure a balanced, efficient, and effective solution.”
Glen Harrows