Predicta Analytics

Predicta Analytics > Blog > Microsoft BI >
When Stability Becomes a Trap – Living in the SSAS Era

Part 1: When Stability Becomes a Trap – Living in the SSAS Era

Opening Hook:
For more than a decade, FreshGoods Co., a mid‑sized FMCG manufacturer, relied on its BI platform the way it relied on its production lines: dependable, steady, and rarely questioned. Every week, reports pulled from SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS) cubes informed everything – from how much milk powder to buy, to how many cartons of breakfast drinks to ship to retailers.

The boardroom trusted the visibility. The finance team couldn’t imagine life without their SSAS “sales cube.” For the IT department, it just worked. In many ways, SSAS was like the old factory boiler – outdated perhaps, but reliable, and nobody wanted to touch it.

The Comfort Zone:

  • Reports from SSAS had become company rituals.
  • Finance managers pulled their Monday morning sales forecasts like clockwork.
  • The supply chain relied on inventory cubes to plan deliveries.
  • IT took pride in keeping servers humming in the basement.

Everyone felt safe. Until they didn’t.

The Cracks Appear:
By the mid‑2010s, as FreshGoods expanded product lines into new regions:

  • Retail data nearly doubled every year.
  • E‑commerce channels started demanding near‑real‑time analytics.
  • Marketing wanted dashboards on tablets during store visits.

Suddenly, once‑stable SSAS cubes became sluggish. Hardware upgrades ballooned in cost. The CTO warned: “Server upgrades may no longer keep up with demand – we need elasticity.”

But the CFO pushed back: “We’ve invested millions in these on‑prem servers. Why move to the cloud if SSAS is still running?”

The CEO sided with caution. “If it isn’t broken, let’s not fix it.”

SSAS stability kept leadership complacent. Employees didn’t see the hidden risk: stability had become a trap.

Setting the Stage for Change: Then came Microsoft’s announcement: Azure Analysis Services (AAS). A modern, cloud‑based replacement. The IT department’s stomachs sank. Change was coming – whether the business liked it or not.

Cliffhanger Ending for Part 1: In the FreshGoods boardroom, silence followed the CIO’s words: “We either modernise with Azure Analysis Services… or risk being left behind.”

The panic of change had officially begun. Read more in part 2…

Tags: