Installing SSAS and Preparing for Cube Development - Getting Started with SQL Server 2012 Cube Development - page 18

Based on this, you may think that choosing the deployment mode is an obvious de-
cision favoring the tabular mode; however, what really determines the model of your
choice is the business problem that you want to solve. The multidimensional model
contains more possibilities for the developer and allows for more complex tasks.

The following table describes the differences between the multidimensional model
and the tabular mode:

Functionality Multidimensional Tabular

Actions Yes No

Aggregations Yes No

Custom Assemblies Yes No

Custom Rollups Yes No

Distinct Count Yes Yes (through DAX formulas)

Linked objects Yes No

Many-to-many relationships Yes No

Parent-child Hierarchies Yes Yes (through DAX formulas)