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Power View Connectivity to Multidimensional (DAXMD) Released
June 1, 2013 / No Comments »
Microsoft released Cumulative Update 4 for SQL Server 2012 Service Pack 1. This is more than a regular cumulative update as it includes enhancements to both Power View and Analysis Services to support connecting Power View to OLAP cubes, also known as DAXMD. For more information, read the official announcement by the Analysis Services product group. Now, business users can easily author ad-hoc reports and interactive dashboards by leveraging your OLAP investment. As a proud contributor to the DAXMD TAP program, I'd delighted with the results as I discussed in my blog "DAXMD Goes Public". I hate to dampen the spirit but be aware that only the SharePoint version of Power View has been extended to support Multidimensional. We don't know yet when the same will happen to Power View in Excel 2013. Anyway, this is a very important BI enhancement and it's time to plan your DAXMD testing and deployment.
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Microsoft Kerberos Configuration Manager for SQL Server
May 24, 2013 / No Comments »
Anyone who has gone through configuring Kerberos knows that it's not fun. After having done a few installations, my personal record for configuring Kerberos for SharePoint, SSAS, SSRS, SQL Server, and PerformancePoint was 4 hours but I had all parties including the AD administrator in the same room. In an attempt to facilitate troubleshooting Kerberos, Microsoft released Microsoft Kerberos Configuration Manager for SQL Server. It's a simple diagnostic tool for troubleshoot Kerberos issues related to SQL Server. Once you install and start the tool, you connect to the desired instance (requires SQL Server standard authentication to a remote server). Then, the tool checks the service account and discovers what SPN's are registered for that account and what delegation options are configured in Active Directory. If it finds inconsistencies, it is capable of generating a script that your AD administrator can run or applying the fix interactively. As a side note,...
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Best Practices for Implementing Enterprise BI Solution at SQL Saturday 2013
May 19, 2013 / No Comments »
SQL Saturday 2013 in Atlanta was a raging success. Some 555 people attended which made it the most attended SQL Saturday even ever. I've uploaded the slides from my presentation "Best Practices for Implementing Enterprise BI Solution" to the Prologika site and Slideshare. The presentation had a great attendance and reviews. Thanks to everyone who attended it and it was great meeting all of you! "Learn best practices to make your organization a center of BI excellence! I'll walk you through lessons learned during our implementation of an enterprise end-to-end BI solution. Working experience with the dimensional modeling and the Microsoft BI stack is assumed." Best Practices for Implementing Enterprise BI Solution from Teo Lachev
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Leveraging Data to Revolutionize a Mature Business by Bijal Patel at Atlanta BI Group on May 20th
May 14, 2013 / No Comments »
Due to Memorial Day, we'll move our next Atlanta BI Group meeting to May 20th. The meeting will be sponsored by Strategy Analyzer. Our speaker will be Bijal Patel (Director of Data and Integration Services at Cox Media Group) and the topic is "Leveraging Data to Revolutionize a Mature Business". "Learn how the integration, management and analysis of data is helping Cox Media Group reinvent its business model. Leveraging SSIS, BizTalk, MDS and several other leading technologies, Cox Media Group is finding new ways to reach its customers and deliver innovative media products and services to its established customer base." This looks like a very interesting "from the trenches" presentation given the experience of the speaker and the business of its organization. I hope you can join us. Please register and RSVP on the Atlanta BI Group website.
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Presenting at SQL Saturday in Atlanta
May 5, 2013 / No Comments »
I'll present at SQL Saturday in Atlanta on May 18th. Initially, I was planning to talk about dashboard options with the Microsoft BI stack but the organizers had a call for more advanced content. To accommodate this request, I'll present Best Practices for Implementing an Enterprise BI Solution where I'll share proven practices harvested from real-life projects. "Learn best practices to make your organization a center of BI excellence! I'll walk you through lessons learned during our implementation of an enterprise end-to-end BI solution, which is discussed in the Records Management Firm Saves $1 Million, Gains Faster Data Access with Microsoft BI case study published by Microsoft. Working experience with the dimensional modeling and the Microsoft BI stack is assumed." I'm looking forward to seeing you on May 18th.
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Default Parameters in Power View
May 4, 2013 / No Comments »
Scenario: You need to configure a Power View report to show data for a dynamic date, such as the current date or the last date with data. However, as it stands Power View doesn't support expressions. Workaround: Add a Boolean calculated column to the Date table that returns TRUE for the date of interest. For example, if you want the report to show data for today's date, the expression might be: =if([Date]=TODAY(), True, False) where [Date] is the column with date data type. Then, use this column as a filter in Power View. Unfortunately, this workaround has a significant limitation. If the report needs another filter on the Date table, such as to allow the user to overwrite the default filter on the current date, this approach won't work because filters on multiple attributes are interpreted as an AND condition (Date is 1/1/2013 AND TodayDate=True). Inability to specify OR filter...
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Best Practice and Creative Data Visualization by Jen Underwood for Atlanta BI
April 29, 2013 / No Comments »
It looks like Atlanta BI Group will have a record attendance tonight with 74 people registered! Jen Underwood will present Best Practice and Creative Data Visualization. This fun, informative, and inspirational session covers both best practices and creative options for data visualization. We will showcase data visualization techniques in Excel, Power View, Reporting Services, Visio, and a variety of other Open Source projects and Third-Party data visualization offerings. The possibilities are endless with the right mix of tools, tips, and tricks.
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Windows Azure Infrastructure Services
April 16, 2013 / No Comments »
Microsoft announced today the availability of Windows Azure Infrastructure Services which is a collective name for running Virtual Machines and Virtual Networks in the cloud. Scott Guthrie's blog on this subject is very informative. Pricing get slashed too to be competitive with Amazon. What's interesting is that these cloud VMs can be configured as an extension to your existing network. In the BI world, this would allow us to source data from existing on-premises data sources albeit probably over a much slower connection, such as to host your ETL, data mart and SSAS in the cloud or just the analytical layer. Speaking of connection speeds, the Azure bandwidth is actually good (5-15 GB/s) although it's likely that is likely you'll hit a bottleneck with your ISP on your way to and back from the cloud. And, speaking of BI, check the SQL Server Business Intelligence in Windows Azure Virtual Machines...
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About Tableau 8
April 5, 2013 / 5 Comments »
Jen Underwood highly recommended I attend the Tableau 8 tour on Tuesday to witness firsthand its new features. Naturally, I couldn't resist of comparing everything I saw with Microsoft BI. I took some time after the pretention to take 8.0 for a spin and reconfirm my understanding. Here are the top five things I liked about Tableau. Simplicity – A few months ago, I blogged about my top 5 Microsoft BI wish list. My number 1 wish was a continued focus on integration and simplification. Tableau 8.0 nailed it down as far as simplicity, at least on the visualization side of things. One desktop tool and its server-based counterpart. A tool whose sole purpose is BI. Not something that was bolted on another tool as a BI add-on. No layers to integrate with and configure on the server side, and error logs to sieve through. Visualization - Visualizations are yet...
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Data Warehouse Physical Design Best Practices Session by Carlos Rodrigues at Atlanta BI Tonight
March 25, 2013 / No Comments »
It looks like Carlos will deliver another slam tonight with a record number of some 63 people registered and counting… Join our Atlanta BI meeting at 6:30 to see his Data Warehouse Physical Design Best Practices presentation.
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