Cognos PowerPlay draws information from relational databases to model and build PowerCubes ("Cubes"). Cubes are optimized data sets that enable users to perform analysis with quick response times. They can be small or large, containing more than a billion rows of data and 2 million categories. With such rich and fast-response data sources, you can analyze multiple aspects of your business???to see how a value changes over time; how it compares across geography; how it changes against any other business dimension.