XML for Analysis (XMLA) is an industry standard for data access in analytical systems, such as online analytical processing (OLAP) and data mining.
XMLA is based on other industry standards such as XML, SOAP and HTTP.
The XMLA specification was first proposed by Microsoft as a successor for OLE DB for OLAP in April 2000.
The 1.0 version of the standard was released in April 2001, and in September 2001 the XMLA Council was formed.
In April 2002 SAS joined Microsoft and Hyperion as founding member of XMLA Council.