A large OLAP cube includes data and dimensions not required for a particular query, or for a collection of queries. A response to a query is generated by using the large OLAP cube rather than using an OLAP cube tailored to the query, and rather than querying the relational database directly. The large OLAP cube may be created after identifying a set of frequently sought data and/or filters used in queries to the relational database. Data may be staged by creating a smaller OLAP cube with data extracted from the large OLAP cube. The cubes may then be queried, browsed, and used to prepare reports or generate flat files.