Atlanta MS BI and Power BI Group Meeting on February 6th (Lakehouse in an Hour)

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Please join us for the next meeting on Monday, February 6th, at 6:30 PM ET.  Patrick LeBlanc (Principal Program Manager at Microsoft and Guy in a Cube) will show you how to implement a lakehouse with Delta lake, Azure Data Factory, and Synapse. For more details and sign up, visit our group page.

WE ARE RESUMING IN-PERSON MEETINGS AT THE MICROSOFT OFFICE IN ALPHARETTA. WE STRONGLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO ATTEND THE EVENT IN PERSON FOR BEST EXPERIENCE. PLEASE NOTE THAT GUESTS ENTERING MICROSOFT BUILDINGS IN THE U.S. MUST PROVIDE PROOF OF VACCINATION OR SELF-ATTEST WITH HEALTHCHECK (HTTPS://AKA.MS/HEALTHCHECK). ALTERNATIVELY, YOU CAN JOIN OUR MEETINGS ONLINE VIA MS TEAMS. WHEN POSSIBLE, WE WILL RECORD THE MEETINGS AND MAKE RECORDINGS AVAILABLE AT HTTPS://BIT.LY/ATLANTABIRECS. PLEASE RSVP ONLY IF COMING TO OUR IN-PERSON MEETING.

Presentation: Lakehouse in an Hour

Date: February 6th

Time: 6:30 – 8:30 PM ET

Place: Onsite and online

 ONSITE

Microsoft Office (Alpharetta)

8000 Avalon Boulevard Suite 900

Alpharetta, GA 30009

ONLINE

Click here to join the meeting

Overview: Join us for an action-packed demo-fueled session where we actually build a lake house from source to report in less than an hour. We will walk you through getting your data from your source system, building out your data lake using Delta, transforming your data with Data Flows, serving it with Serverless SQL Pool and in the end connecting it to Power BI! After this session you will be able to start using all of these technologies and make your Analytical environment a success!

Speaker: Patrick LeBlanc is a currently a Principal Program Manager at Microsoft and a contributing partner to Guy in a Cube. Along with his 15+ years’ experience in IT he holds a Masters of Science degree from Louisiana State University. He is the author and co-author of five SQL Server books. Prior to joining Microsoft he was awarded Microsoft MVP award for his contributions to the community. Patrick is a regular speaker at many SQL Server Conferences and Community events.

Sponsor: The Community (thank you for your donations!)

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Atlanta MS BI and Power BI Group Meeting on January 9th (Integrating Azure Synapse Analytics and Power BI)

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The Atlanta MS BI and Power BI Group is resuming in-person meetings! Please join us for the next meeting on Monday, January 9th, at 6:30 PM ET.  Elayne Jones (Data Engineer at 3Cloud) will show you how to integrate Synapse with Power BI. For more details and sign up, visit our group page.

WE ARE RESUMING IN-PERSON MEETINGS AT THE MICROSOFT OFFICE IN ALPHARETTA. WE STRONGLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO ATTEND THE EVENT IN PERSON FOR BEST EXPERIENCE. PLEASE NOTE THAT GUESTS ENTERING MICROSOFT BUILDINGS IN THE U.S. MUST PROVIDE PROOF OF VACCINATION OR SELF-ATTEST WITH HEALTHCHECK (HTTPS://AKA.MS/HEALTHCHECK). ALTERNATIVELY, YOU CAN JOIN OUR MEETINGS ONLINE VIA MS TEAMS. WHEN POSSIBLE, WE WILL RECORD THE MEETINGS AND MAKE RECORDINGS AVAILABLE AT HTTPS://BIT.LY/ATLANTABIRECS. PLEASE RSVP ONLY IF COMING TO OUR IN-PERSON MEETING.

Presentation: Integrating Azure Synapse Analytics and Power BI

Date: January 9th

Time: 6:30 – 8:30 PM ET

Place: Onsite and online

 

ONSITE

Microsoft Office (Alpharetta)

8000 Avalon Boulevard Suite 900

Alpharetta, GA 30009

ONLINE

Click here to join the meeting

 

Overview: Combining the forces of Azure Synapse Analytics and Microsoft Power BI allows you to weave together the full lifecycle of data ingestion, transformation, and visualization. Synapse encompasses the traditional processes of data warehousing, cleansing, and visualizing all within Synapse Studio, fostering unity among teams and driving efficiency across organizations.

Speaker: Elayne Jones is a Data Engineer at 3Cloud. She specializes in data visualization and data modeling using Power BI. She has expertise developing Power Apps and creating Power Platform solutions that drive efficiency within organizations. Elayne is also experienced querying data using the DAX and SQL languages. Elayne has delivered numerous BI trainings and written blog posts on various BI and reporting topics.

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Atlanta MS BI and Power BI Group Meeting on December 5th (Automate and Improve Planning, Budgeting and Forecasting)

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The Atlanta MS BI and Power BI Group is resuming in-person meetings! Please join us for the next meeting on Monday, December 5th, at 6:30 PM ET.  Your humble correspondent will show you how to implement a custom solution for automating planning, budgeting, and forecasting based on a real-life project. For more details and sign up, visit our group page.

WE ARE RESUMING IN-PERSON MEETINGS STARTING DECEMBER 5, 2022, AT THE MICROSOFT OFFICE IN ALPHARETTA. WE STRONGLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO ATTEND THE EVENT IN PERSON FOR BEST EXPERIENCE. PLEASE NOTE THAT GUESTS ENTERING MICROSOFT BUILDINGS IN THE U.S. MUST PROVIDE PROOF OF VACCINATION OR SELF-ATTEST WITH HEALTHCHECK (HTTPS://AKA.MS/HEALTHCHECK). ALTERNATIVELY, YOU CAN JOIN OUR MEETINGS ONLINE VIA MS TEAMS. WHEN POSSIBLE, WE WILL RECORD THE MEETINGS AND MAKE RECORDINGS AVAILABLE AT HTTPS://BIT.LY/ATLANTABIRECS. PLEASE RSVP ONLY IF COMING TO OUR IN-PERSON MEETING.

Presentation: Automate and Improve Budgeting, Planning, and Forecasting

Date: December 5th

Time: 6:30 – 8:30 PM ET

Place: Onsite and online

 

ONSITE

Microsoft Office (Alpharetta)

8000 Avalon Boulevard Suite 900

Alpharetta, GA 30009

ONLINE

Click here to join the meeting

Overview: Business Performance Management (BPM) is a methodology to help the company predict its performance. An integral part of a BPM strategy is a process for Budgeting, Planning, and Forecasting which is typically performed by the Finance department. When it comes to Finance, nothing is simple, and budgeting is no exception.  The temptation is to buy expensive prepackaged software but even that route would require a lot of customization and compromises.

Join this session to learn how to implement your own home-grown solution using Microsoft Analysis Services and Excel. I’ll share lessons learned from a real-life project.

Speaker: Teo Lachev is a consultant, author, and mentor, with a focus on Microsoft BI. Through his Atlanta-based company Prologika he designs and implements innovative solutions that bring tremendous value to his clients. Teo has authored and co-authored several books, and he has been leading the Atlanta Microsoft Business Intelligence group since he founded it in 2010. Microsoft has recognized Teo’s contributions to the community by awarding him the prestigious Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) Data Platform status for 15 years. Microsoft has selected Teo as one of only 30 FastTrack Solution Architects for Power BI worldwide.

Sponsor: Prologika (a Microsoft Gold Partner in Data Analytics and Data Platform and Power BI Red Carpet Partner) helps organizations of all sizes to make sense of data. Your BI project will be your best investment, we guarantee it! prologika.com

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Atlanta MS BI and Power BI Group Meeting on November 7th (Data Science for Power BI Developers)

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Please join us online for the next Atlanta MS BI and Power BI Group meeting on Monday, November 7th, at 6:30 PM ET.  Sandeep Pawar will join us again to show us the Power BI data science features and how you can create ML models. For more details and sign up, visit our group page.

Presentation:Data Science for Power BI Developers
Date:November 7th
Time:6:30 – 8:30 PM ET
Place:Click here to join the meeting
Overview:The use of Data Science tools and techniques has grown in the last few years and BI developers are collaborating closely with the Data Scientists. In this session, we will learn about some of the core concepts in data science, key terminologies and the overall process so that you as a BI developer can effectively collaborate with your Data Science team. You will learn about analogous features in Power BI, their pitfalls, the overall Machine Learning process and the questions you should be asking the next time you are consuming the ML model in Power BI.

 

This session won’t teach you how to create Machine Learning models, rather it will show you how you should consume the Machine Learning models as a BI developer to help your business users.

Speaker:Sandeep Pawar is a Sr. Power BI Architect at Hitachi Solutions America. He has extensive experience in creating data analytics and data science solutions. You can read more about him and his passion for data at www.pawarbi.com or follow him on twitter at @PawarBI.
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Atlanta MS BI and Power BI Group Meeting on October 3rd (Auto-provision embedded report delivery for your customers)

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Please join us online for the next Atlanta MS BI and Power BI Group meeting on Monday, October 3rd, at 6:30 PM ET.  Tom Huguelet (Lucient) will present a real-world case study and the challenges involved in bringing a Power BI application from initial Excel-based POC to an ISV platform that auto-provisions for new clients, using Power BI Embedded Azure Premium Capacity.  For more details and sign up, visit our group page.

Presentation:Auto-provision embedded report delivery for your customers
Date:October 3rd
Time:6:30 – 8:30 PM ET
Place:Click here to join the meeting
Overview:In this session we’ll look at a real-world case study and the challenges involved in bringing a Power BI application from initial Excel-based POC to an ISV platform that auto-provisions for new clients, using Power BI Embedded Azure Premium Capacity.

We will cover:

•            Initial Business Case and Project Team

•            Testing Embedded in a Sandbox Environment (Authentication)

•            Enabling User-Customized Experiences in Embedded

•            Using REST APIs for automatic Provisioning

•            Lessons learned and challenges encountered

Speaker:Tom Huguelet has been engaged in using Business Intelligence, and Dashboards & Analytics to enable Corporate Performance Management since 1999. While coming from a technological background, Tom has always focused on the people and process aspects of how Business Intelligence can create positive changes within an organization. In his role as a Practice Director, he leads and mentors technical teams as well as advises business stakeholders on how to build the cross-disciplinary teams necessary to be successful with Business Intelligence. Tom holds several Microsoft certifications including Microsoft Certified Trainer, is a frequent speaker at industry events, has co-authored 3 books on SQL Server and Data Warehousing, and helped start a BI Roundtable group in Chicago.
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Atlanta MS BI and Power BI Group Meeting on September 12th (Incremental Refresh and Hybrid Tables in Power BI)

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Please join us online for the next Atlanta MS BI and Power BI Group meeting on Monday, September 12th, at 6:30 PM ET.  Shabnam Watson (Microsoft MVP) will discuss how to reduce the dataset refresh time with incremental refresh policies and how to implement tables with hybrid storage. For more details and sign up, visit our group page.

Presentation:Incremental Refresh and Hybrid Tables in Power BI
Date:September 12th
Time:6:30 – 8:30 PM ET
Place:Click here to join the meeting
Overview:Incremental Refresh makes it possible for Power BI to handle large datasets by partitioning the data into segments and making refreshes faster, more reliable, and less resource intensive.

 

Hybrid tables, a new addition, can be easily configured for a table with Incremental Refresh to enable different storage modes for its different partitions. This allows historical data to load into Power BI’s memory (import) for super-fast query performance and to leave the most recent data in the backend (DirectQuery) for near real time results.

Speaker:Shabnam Watson is a Microsoft Data Platform MVP and Business Intelligence consultant with 20 years of experience developing Data Warehouse and Business Intelligence solutions. She has worked across several industries including Supply Chain, Finance, Retail, Insurance, and Health Care. Her areas of interest include Power BI, Analysis Services, Performance Tuning, PowerShell, DevOps, Azure, Natural Language Processing, and AI. Her work focus within the Microsoft BI Stack has been on Analysis Services and Power BI. She is a regular speaker and volunteer at national and local user groups and conferences. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering, a master’s degree in Computer Science, and a Certified Business Intelligence Professional (CBIP) certification by The Data Warehouse Institute (TDWI).
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Atlanta MS BI and Power BI Group Meeting on August 1st (Power BI Automation)

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Please join us online for the next Atlanta MS BI and Power BI Group meeting on Monday, August 1st, at 6:30 PM ET.  We’ll have two presentations by 3Cloud. For more details and sign up, visit our group page.

Presentation:1.   “Power BI Meets Programmability – TOM, XMLA, and C#” by Kristyna Hughes

2.  “Automation Using Tabular Editor Advanced Scripting” by Tim Keeler

Date:August 1st
Time:6:30 – 8:30 PM ET
Place:Click here to join the meeting
Overview:Power BI Meets Programmability – TOM, XMLA, and C#

Tune in to learn how to programmatically add columns and measures to Power BI data models using TOM, XMLA, and C#! XMLA is a powerful tool available in the online Power BI service that allows report developers to connect to their data model and adjust a variety of entities outside the Power BI Desktop application. Combined with a .NET application, this can be a powerful tool in deploying changes to your Power BI data models programmatically.

Automation Using Tabular Editor Advanced Scripting

See examples of how advanced scripting in Tabular Editor can be used to automate the creation of DAX measures, calculation groups, and provide insights into your model while reducing development time and manual effort.

Speaker:Kristyna Hughes’s experience includes implementing and managing enterprise-level Power BI instance, training teams on reporting best practices, and building templates for scalable analytics. Currently, Kristina is a data & analytics consultant at 3Cloud and enjoy answering qualitative questions with quantitative answers. Check out my blog at https://dataonwheels.wordpress.com/ and connect on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristyna-hughes-dataonwheels/

Tim Keeler is a data analytics professional with over 17 years of experience developing cost-to-serve models, business intelligence solutions, and managing teams of other data professionals to help organizations achieve their strategic objectives. Check my blog at https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-keeler-32631912/

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Atlanta MS BI and Power BI Group Meeting on July 11th (Pushing the Query Folding limits with Power Query)

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Please join us online for the next Atlanta MS BI and Power BI Group meeting on Monday, July 11th, at 6:30 PM ET.  For more details and sign up, visit our group page.

Presentation:Pushing the Query Folding limits with Power Query
Date:July 11th
Time:6:30 – 8:30 PM ET
Place:Click here to join the meeting
Overview:One of Power Query’s most powerful features is its ability to translate the Power Query formula language (M) back to a source systems native language and in this session, we’ll push the limits and possibilities to avoid “breaking the fold” and explore some potential dark magic with List functions. A base understanding of T-SQL is helpful though not required for this session.
Speaker:From financial services to felines, the World Wide Web to professional wrestling – Alex Powers has an affinity for the conventional and unconventional when it comes to information. A self-proclaimed Excel and Power BI Enthusiast Alex Powers enjoys contributing to online forums and sharing his passion for empowering others using Microsoft technologies.
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Atlanta MS BI and Power BI Group Meeting on June 6th (How Power Query Thinks)

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Please join us online for the next Atlanta MS BI and Power BI Group meeting on Monday, June 6th, at 6:30 PM ET.  For more details and sign up, visit our group page.

Presentation:How Power Query Thinks: Taking the Mystery Out of Streaming and Query Folding
Date:June 6th
Time:6:30 – 8:30 PM ET
Place:Click here to join the meeting
Overview:How does Power Query produce the table data your expressions ask it to output? Query folding is one key concept—where behind the scenes, part or all of your M code may be rewritten into the data source’s native query language then offloaded to the source for execution. Streaming, though perhaps a less familiar term, is even more fundamental, as it describes how table data (as well as list and binary data) flows between functions in M.

 

Understand these concepts, and you’ll be better positioned to write more efficient mashups, debug problems and avoid unexpected variability in results. Join this session to learn about these key concepts—in a nutshell, to learn about How Power Query Thinks when you ask it to produce table data!

 

Speaker:Author of the Power Query M Primer Series, an in-depth dive into the Power Query language, Ben Gribaudo is a seasoned architect, developer and data engineer.
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Atlanta MS BI and Power BI Group Meeting on April 4th

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Please join us online for the next Atlanta MS BI and Power BI Group meeting on Monday, April 4th, at 6:30 PM ET.  Michael Carlo (Power BI MVP) will show how to speed up your data modeling experience by using DAX templates. For more details and sign up, visit our group page.

Presentation:World’s Fastest DAX – Using Quick DAX Templates
Date:April 4th
Time:6:30 – 8:30 PM ET
Place:Click here to join the meeting
Overview:DAX is easy to Learn but hard to master.

This session is all about using the Growing Community Driven Library of Quick DAX Templates. Learn how to find the templates and use them in your daily workflow to drastically speed up your Data Modeling Experience.

Session Covers the following topics:

1. Introduces the concept of Templatized DAX

2. Consuming a Quick DAX Template using Power BI External Tools

3. Discusses how to create your own templates and use them

Multiple demos of working directly inside the tooling for consuming and creating Quick DAX templates.

Speaker:Michael Carlo is very passionate about data and analytics. He spent a massive amount of time learning Power BI. Through this learning process he felt that others may also be interested. Thus, he created a website, a knowledge repository for all things PowerBI (powerbi.tips). This site is uniquely set up for people to read and learn about data modeling and visualizations within Power BI.
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