Patent ID: 7031955

Claim:
A system for optimization using multi-dimensional data, comprising: a server operable to: using a multi-dimensional data model, organize data stored at one or more data storage locations, the multi-dimensional data model including a plurality of data dimensions each including a hierarchy of members; receive input from a user specifying a problem instance to be solved using an optimization engine, the problem instance specified by the user in a multi-dimensional format, the optimization engine being unable to solve the problem instance in the multi-dimensional format, the problem instance including: a problem domain including all data in the multi-dimensional data model located hierarchically below one or more specified intersections in the multi-dimensional data model, each intersection identified by specifying a member in each data dimension; an evaluation level specified by identifying a particular level in the hierarchy of each data dimension; an objective function including a data measure or a combination of data measures to be optimized; and one or more problem constraints; and communicate the problem instance in the multi-dimensional format; and a transformation module operable to: receive the problem instance in the multi-dimensional format; transform the problem instance into a format appropriate for the optimization engine, the transformation including parsing the received problem instance to identify pre defined multi-dimensional syntax and translating the multi-dimensional syntax to a syntax appropriate for the optimization engine; communicate the transformed problem instance to the optimization engine to be solved; receive a solution associated with the problem instance from the optimization engine; transform the solution into the multi-dimensional format; and communicate the transformed solution to the server.