This adds to the fact that the multidimensional data structure is optimized for rapid ad hoc information retrieval (
OLAP Council 1995), which greatly facilitates the data exploration and analysis process.
It is not possible to rely on the vendors' own descriptions and membership of the long-defunct
OLAP Council was not a reliable indicator of whether or not a company produces OLAP products.
It was a founding member of the
OLAP Council and, more recently, a founding member of the XML for Analysis (XMLA) and Java OLAP Interface (JOLAP) working groups.