SSAS - Where do you start using it?

I'm in the middle of designing a SSAS db. I get the theory and the use of this stuff. Here's the thing, I've got a logging database that logs interesting order statuses which I would like to measure time to complete. I've got these tables (not implemented), to measure status times

time_dimension

user_dimension

status_dimension

status_fact - dimension references and timeInStatus measure

So my question is, do I create regular database and stage these things up for an SSIS task to pull into a SSAS db, or do I just create an SSAS db and describe the regular db with SSAS?

Naturally I'm new at this, but this type o开发者_运维百科f analysis has been an interest of mine for a looong time! Your help is appreciated.

If your source DB (the logging one) is really nicely normalized around the data you need, you can probably get away without the stage.

Performance may suffer, development may suffer, etc.. I think a DW (stage) db is almost a necessity to fully leverage SSAS though...