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Atlanta MS BI and Power BI Group Meeting on January 7th

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MS BI fans, join us for the next Atlanta MS BI and Power BI Group meeting on January 7th, Monday at 6:30 PM at the Microsoft office in Alpharetta. The main presentation will be “Predictive Analytics with Power BI”. I’ll walk you through the existing Power BI features for predictive analytics. Mark Tabladillo will show you exiting AI features that are coming up soon. CDATA will sponsor the event and do us a 15-min demo of their Power BI connector. For more details, visit our group page and don’t forget to RSVP (use the RSVP survey on the main page) if you’re planning to attend.

Presentation:Predictive Analytics with Power BI
Date:January 7, 2019, Monday
Time6:30 – 8:30 PM ET
Place:Microsoft Office (Alpharetta)

8000 Avalon Boulevard Suite 900
Alpharetta, GA 30009

Overview:Predictive analytics, also known as data mining, machine learning, and artificial intelligence (AI), is an increasingly popular requirement. Fortunately, you don’t have to be a data scientist to benefit from machine learning in Power BI. This session is organized in two parts:

  • Part 1 – We will revisit the existing machine learning features in Power BI, including Quick Insights, Explain Increase/Decrease, linear forecasting, integration with R and Python.
  • Part 2 – We will look at exciting new features that are coming up in near future, such as integration with Azure ML and Cognitive Services, and automated machine learning.
Speaker:Mark Tabladillo Ph.D. is a data scientist at Microsoft. His career has focused on industry application of advanced analytics, using a variety of analytics tools including SAS, SQL Server Analysis Services, Cortana Intelligence (including Microsoft R Server and Microsoft Machine Learning Services), R, and Python. He was a founding member of the Atlanta Microsoft BI User’s Group in 2010.

Through his Atlanta-based company Prologika (https://prologika.com), a Microsoft Gold Partner in Data Analytics, Teo Lachev helps organizations make sense of their most valuable asset: their data. Teo has authored and co-authored several bestselling books on organizational and self-service data analytics, and he has been leading the Atlanta Microsoft BI and Power BI group since he founded it in 2010. Teo has been a Microsoft Most Valued Professional (MVP) Data Platform since 2010.

Sponsor:CData Software is a leading provider of data access and connectivity solutions. We specialize in the development of Drivers and data access technologies for real-time access to on-line or on-premise applications, databases, and Web APIs. Our drivers are universally accessible, providing access to data through established data standards and application platforms such as ODBC, JDBC, ADO.NET, OData, SSIS, BizTalk, Excel, etc.

https://cdata.com

Prototypes with Pizza“TBD”


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Atlanta MS BI and Power BI Group Meeting on December 3th

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MS BI fans, join us for the next Atlanta MS BI and Power BI Group meeting on December 3th, Tuesday at 6:30 PM at the Microsoft office in Alpharetta. I will discuss Power BI dataflows. A3 will sponsor the event. For more details, visit our group page and don’t forget to RSVP (use the RSVP survey on the main page) if you’re planning to attend.

Presentation:Understanding Power BI Dataflows
Date:December 3, 2018, Monday
Time6:30 – 8:30 PM ET
Place:Microsoft Office (Alpharetta)

8000 Avalon Boulevard Suite 900
Alpharetta, GA 30009

Overview:If you’re a business user, you might know about Microsoft Flow. If you’re a BI pro, you might have used the SSIS Control Flow and Data Flow. But do you know about the Power BI dataflow? Data preparation is often the most labor-intensive component of an analytics project and getting this right is vital if the results are to be accurate. While the growth of self-service BI has empowered users to answer important questions, ensuring well managed data is available to all employees remains one of businesses biggest challenges. Requiring no additional cost, dataflows are a building block of the Power BI ecosystem, providing a no-code/low-code approach using Power Query to create curated datasets that can be easily consumed by business analysts. Attend this presentation and you’ll learn:

  • How to stage data with dataflows
  • How dataflows can be used to create curated datasets
  • How dataflows can be created with the click of a button, ingesting data from many well knows SAAS solution, such as Dynamics and Salesforce
  • More advanced integration scenarios with Power BI Premium
Speaker:Through his Atlanta-based company Prologika (https://prologika.com), a Microsoft Gold Partner in Data Analytics, Teo Lachev helps organizations make sense of their most valuable asset: their data. His strategy formulation, trusted advisory and mentoring, design and implementation services empower clients to apply effectively data analytics in order to understand, improve, and transform their business processes. Teo has authored and co-authored several bestselling books on organizational and self-service data analytics, and he has been leading the Atlanta Microsoft BI and Power BI group since he founded it in 2010. Teo has been a Microsoft Most Valued Professional (MVP) Data Platform since 2004.
Sponsor:A3 Solutions is the developer of A3 Modeling. Empower your finance team with the only tool that supercharges end-user Excel into Enterprise Excel. Why incur the risk and cost to replace your Excel models? Just add A3! The San Francisco-based company’s product is in use at some of the world’s largest manufacturers, financial firms and retailers including Honda Manufacturing, Williams Sonoma, T.Rowe Price, and Fox TV, in addition to many mid-sized organizations. http://www.a3solutions.com/
Prototypes with Pizza“New relationship view, paginated reports, and filter pane” by Teo Lachev


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Atlanta MS BI and Power BI Group Meeting on October 30

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MS BI fans, join us for the next Atlanta MS BI and Power BI Group meeting on October 30th, Tuesday at 6:30 PM at the Microsoft office in Alpharetta. Neal Waterstreet will tackle the important and pervasive issue of bad data quality. ZAP BI will sponsor the event. And your humble correspondent will introduce you to Power BI Home and data profiling. For more details, visit our group page and don’t forget to RSVP (use the RSVP survey on the main page) if you’re planning to attend.

Presentation:Data Quality – Plain and Simple
Date:October 30, 2018, Tuesday
Time6:30 – 8:30 PM ET
Place:Microsoft Office (Alpharetta)

8000 Avalon Boulevard Suite 900
Alpharetta, GA 30009

 

Overview:Data quality is a subject that comes up repeatedly in many organizations. Most executives are concerned about the quality of the information used in their decisions. We talk about “good data” and “bad data” but what do those terms mean? In this presentation, we will first define what data quality is and look at how to measure it with data quality dimensions. Then, we’ll explore common causes for data quality issues and how to perform a data quality assessment. Finally, we’ll review the results and discuss some strategies and tools that can help improve the quality of the data in your organization.
Speaker:Neal Waterstreet is a BI Architect/Consultant with Prologika (https://prologika.com) ad he has more than 20 years of industry experience. Neal is skilled in the entire BI spectrum, including dimensional modeling, ETL design and development using Integration Services (SSIS), designing and developing multidimensional cubes and Tabular models using Analysis Services (SSAS) and Master Data Management using Microsoft Data Services (MDS). He’s also involved with the database community with the Atlanta BI and Power BI User Group and the Atlanta Modern Excel User Group.
Sponsor:ZAP’s mission is clear: to connect your business with data. Game-changing insight that impacts business performance only happens when you analyze data by business process or team objective, as opposed to by file type or IT system. This is what ZAP enables. https://www.zapbi.com/
Prototypes with Pizza“Power BI Home and data profiling” by Teo Lachev


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Atlanta MS BI and Power BI Group Meeting on August 28

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MS BI fans, join us for the next Atlanta MS BI and Power BI Group meeting on Monday, August 28th, Tuesday at 6:30 PM at the Microsoft office in Alpharetta (our regular venue room is being renovated). If you haven’t been at the new MS office, prepare to be impressed! Mark Tabladillo, Ph.D, from Microsoft will show you how to advanced analytics with Power BI. Accelebrate will sponsor the meeting.  For more details, visit our group page and don’t forget to RSVP (use the RSVP survey on the main page) if you’re planning to attend.

Presentation:Advanced Analytics with Power BI
Date:August 28, 2018, Tuesday
Time6:30 – 8:30 PM ET
Place:Microsoft Office (Alpharetta)

8000 Avalon Boulevard Suite 900
Alpharetta, GA 30009

Overview:Power BI has become an increasingly important data analytics tool.  This presentation focuses on the advanced analytics options currently available in Power BI.  Attendees to this talk will see:

·         Microsoft’s perspective on advanced analytics development:  the Team Data Science Process

·         What the general options are for advanced analytics on Azure

·         What the specific native advanced analytics capabilities are in Power BI

·         Some ideas on pairing Power BI with other technologies in advanced analytics architectures

See https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/power-bi-expands-self-service-prep-for-big-data-unifies-modern-and-enterprise-bi/ for the latest announcements.

Speaker:Mark Tabladillo Ph.D. is a data scientist at Microsoft. His career has focused on industry application of advanced analytics, using a variety of analytics tools including SAS, SQL Server Analysis Services, Cortana Intelligence (including Microsoft R Server and Microsoft Machine Learning Services), R, and Python.  He was a founding member of the Atlanta Microsoft BI User’s Group eight years ago, and this group’s second presenter.
Sponsor:Don’t settle for “one size fits all” training. Choose Accelebrate, and receive hands-on, engaging training precisely tailored to your goals and audience! Our on-site training offerings range from ASP.NET training and SharePoint training to courses on ColdFusion, Java™, C#, VB.NET, SQL Server, and more.
Prototypes with PizzaFeatured Power BI enhancements


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Atlanta MS BI and Power BI Group Meeting on July 30

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MS BI fans, join us for the next Atlanta MS BI and Power BI Group meeting on Monday, July 30th at 6:30 PM at the Microsoft office in Alpharetta (our regular venue room is being renovated). If you haven’t been at the new MS office, prepare to be impressed! Scott Fairbanks from CCG will show you how to create a tailored user experience with Power BI. Your humble correspondent will demonstrate Power BI killer features that will be announced at the Microsoft Business Applications Summit tomorrow. CCG will sponsor the meeting.  For more details, visit our group page and don’t forget to RSVP (use the RSVP survey on the main page) if you’re planning to attend.

Presentation:How to Create a Tailored End User Experience with Power BI
Level: Intermediate
Date:July 30th, 2018
Time6:30 – 8:30 PM ET
Place:Microsoft Office (Alpharetta)

8000 Avalon Boulevard Suite 900
Alpharetta, GA 30009

Overview:Power BI can deliver value in a variety of ways. With its ease of use, high levels of adoption, and growing market share, Power BI is being integrated into Analytics Solutions all over the world. In this session, attendees will see the power in leveraging Workspaces and Apps within Power BI to create a packaged, custom solution tailored to meet the needs of the consumer. With the end user experience in mind, this session will discuss the development process, design considerations, and the Power BI Service deployment of a collection of customized dashboards in a single App.

Discussion Points Include:

• Power BI Desktop

• Power BI Service

• Workspaces

• Apps

• Visualizations

• Interactions

• Formatting

• Mobile View

• Row level security

• Publishing

• Consuming

Speaker:Scott Fairbanks is a consultant that has been involved in Data and Analytics for 12+ years. Scott has always been interested in computing technology, and fell naturally into the role of helping others get value out of their analytics investment as a consultant with CCG. Over the course of his career, Scott has worked with many of the various BI product suites, including IBM’s Cognos, SAP’s Webi, and Tableau. In recent years, he has been swept up in the demands of the changing analytics environment and has been diving into the Microsoft Azure and Power BI space along with so many companies making the move to the cloud.
Sponsor:CCG is an award-winning consulting firm with a passion for helping clients solve their operational and strategic challenges through innovative Business Intelligence (BI) services. We believe business intelligence is more than a technical solution; it’s an opportunity to create lasting cultural change across an organization. Our experts focus on quickly gaining a big-picture understanding of your business to develop optimized, tailored BI solutions that empower you to drive greater decision-making at the speed of your data.
Prototypes with PizzaPower BI killer features in the July 2018 release.


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Atlanta MS BI and Power BI Group Meeting on June 25

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MS BI fans, join us for the next Atlanta MS BI and Power BI Group meeting on Monday, June 25th at 6:30 PM. Your humble correspondent will share 10 ways  Power BI can help augment your existing or envisioned Power BI strategy. DevScope will sponsor the meeting and demo their PowerBI Robots offering.  For more details, visit our group page and don’t forget to RSVP (use the RSVP survey on the main page) if you’re planning to attend.

Presentation:10 Ways to Empower Your BI Strategy with Power BI
Level: Intermediate
Date:June 25, 2018
Time6:30 – 8:30 PM ET
Place:South Terraces Building (Auditorium Room)

115 Perimeter Center Place

Atlanta, GA 30346

Overview:Not sure what value Power BI can bring to your BI infrastructure? Join me to discuss 10 ways Power BI can help augment your existing or envisioned Power BI strategy. If you’re interested in the Power BI but you’re not sure how it fits within your organizational data strategy, this event is for you. Discussion points include:

•              Organizational BI

•              Self-service BI

•              Cloud vs. on-premises deployments

•              Predictive analytics

•              External reporting

•              Integrated solutions

Get your Power BI questions answered and see demos along the way.

Speaker:Teo Lachev is a consultant, author, and mentor, with a focus on Microsoft Business Intelligence. Through his Atlanta-based company “Prologika” (a Microsoft Gold Partner in Data Analytics) he designs and implements innovative BI solutions that bring tremendous value to his clients. Teo has authored and co-authored several SQL Server BI books, and he has been leading the Atlanta Microsoft BI and Power BI group since he founded it in 2010. Microsoft has recognized Teo’s expertise and contributions to the technical community by awarding him the prestigious Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) status since 2004.
Sponsor:DevScope is a young, dynamic and experienced company, specialized in mentoring and development services in Web environments, and a pioneer in the region, integrating Microsoft technology, products and solutions. DevScope implements business and technology solutions with established and emerging technologies every day. DevScope projects are usually based on the latest technologies available from Microsoft, and many times, those same technologies are not yet available in the market.
Prototypes with PizzaDevScope Power BI Robots by Rui Romano, DevScope

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Atlanta MS BI and Power BI Group Meeting on May 21

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MS BI fans, join us for the next Atlanta MS BI and Power BI Group meeting on Monday, May 21st at 6:30 PM. Paco González will take us into a deep dive into Microsoft Cognitive Services and how to integrate them with Power BI. SolidQ will sponsor the meeting. And your humble correspondent will introduce you to Power BI Premium incremental refresh. For more details, visit our group page and don’t forget to RSVP (use the RSVP survey on the main page) if you’re planning to attend.

Atlanta BI Group May 21st Meeting Reminder

Please RSVP to help us plan food by 2 PM on the day of the meeting by latest:

  1. Go to the Atlanta BI home page (atlantabi.pass.org).
  2. Choose Yes and submit the RSVP survey found at the right top corner of the page.

Please note that the voting system tracks votes by cookies. If you don’t see the option to submit the survey, clear your browser cookies, or right-click the Internet Explorer icon, and then click Start InPrivate Browsing. Free covered parking is available at South or North Terraces. Or, use the free open non-ticket parking next to North Terraces (coming north on Ashford Dunwoody, turn left on Perimeter Center Terrace and them immediately right). 

Presentation:Artificial Intelligence, Cognitive Services, and Power BI
Level: Intermediate
Date:May 21, 2018
Time6:30 – 8:30 PM ET
Place:South Terraces Building (Auditorium Room)

115 Perimeter Center Place

Atlanta, GA 30346

Overview:Microsoft Cognitive services is a series of services based on Microsoft Research using Deep Learning techniques, ready for you to enrich your unstructured data. Microsoft Services includes: Vision (Computer Vision, Emotion, Face, Video), Speech/Language (Speaker Recognition, Spell, Sentiment, Language, Key Phrases, Topic detection, Linguistic Analysis), Knowledge, and Search. These services are consumed by using the Cognitive Services APIs. Power BI enables you to consume the APIs to enrich your unstructured data inside your Power BI solutions. During this session, we will cover how to consume the API using Power Query to then visualize the results with Power BI visuals. We will also consume the Cognitive services API by using a R script inside Power BI. This session is structured with a B2C Survey case study solution with a real time Dashboard using a streaming dataset.
Speaker:SolidQ North America’s CEO, Paco González specializes in helping organizations become “data driven” from a strategic and technical perspective. He is a speaker at small and large conferences such as PASS Summit, Ignite, DevWeek London, or PAW. Paco focuses in Business Analytics and Artificial Intelligence. Paco has published several books and whitepapers. A Microsoft Certified Trainer and Microsoft Certified Professional. Paco is based in Atlanta.
Sponsor:The tools and technologies to manage information will constantly evolve, but the need for accurate and actionable information is timeless. SolidQ delivers services for Microsoft platforms that help you architect, integrate and optimize your use of data. The result? Our clients think bigger and move faster because we help them build the capacity and skills to interact with data in creative, collaborative ways that deliver new insights to the business. At SolidQ we measure our success by your satisfaction – and we guarantee it.

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Atlanta MS BI and Power BI Group Meeting on April 30th

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MS BI fans, join us for the next Atlanta MS BI and Power BI Group meeting on Monday, April 30th at 6:30 PM. Patrick LeBlanc will do a deep dive into Power BI Report Server. TEKsystems will sponsor the meeting. And your humble correspondent will demo several latest Power BI features: buttons and Q&A. For more details, visit our group page and don’t forget to RSVP (use the RSVP survey on the group page) if you’re planning to attend.

Atlanta BI Group April 30th Meeting Reminder

Please RSVP to help us plan food by 2 PM on the day of the meeting by latest:

  1. Go to the Atlanta BI home page (atlantabi.pass.org).
  2. Choose Yes and submit the RSVP survey found at the right top corner of the page.

Please note that the voting system tracks votes by cookies. If you don’t see the option to submit the survey, clear your browser cookies, or right-click the Internet Explorer icon, and then click Start InPrivate Browsing. Free covered parking is available at South or North Terraces. Or, use the free open non-ticket parking next to North Terraces (coming north on Ashford Dunwoody, turn left on Perimeter Center Terrace and them immediately right). 

Presentation:Power BI Report Server: A Deep Dive
Level: Intermediate
Date:April 30, 2018
Time6:30 – 8:30 PM ET
Place:South Terraces Building (Auditorium Room)

115 Perimeter Center Place

Atlanta, GA 30346

Overview:So, you think you know everything you need to know about the Power BI Report Server because you use traditional SQL Server Reporting Services. Well, don’t believe it. In this session we are going to discuss topics such as Configuring Kerberos to resolve connectivity issues. We will discuss different authentication types, when you need them, why you need them and how to use them. We will then jump into configuring your report server to host Excel workbooks using Office Online Server. Finally, we will demonstrate how to configure an SSAS Power Pivot instance for the Excel data model. In addition to these topics, we will discuss other advanced topics such as connectivity and high availability during this demo-heavy session.
Speaker:Patrick LeBlanc is a currently a Data Platform Solutions Architect. Along with his 15+ years’ experience in IT he holds a Master 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:People are at the heart of every successful business initiative. At TEKsystems, we understand people. Every year we deploy over 80,000 IT professionals at 6,000 client sites across North America, Europe and Asia. Our deep insights into IT human capital management enable us to help our clients achieve their business goals – while optimizing their IT workforce strategies. We provide IT staffing solutions, IT talent management expertise and IT services to help our clients plan, build and run their critical business initiatives.
Prototypes with Pizza“Buttons and Q&A Explorer” by Teo Lachev


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Atlanta MS BI and Power BI Group Meeting on March 26th

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MS BI fans, join us for the next Atlanta MS BI and Power BI Group meeting on Monday, March 26th at 6:30 PM. Leo Furlong will introduce you to implementing organizational semantic models with Azure Analysis Services. BlueGranite will sponsor the meeting. And your humble correspondent will demo several latest Power BI features: persistent filters, tooltip pages, and share to anyone. For more details, visit our group page and don’t forget to RSVP (use the RSVP survey on the group page) if you’re planning to attend.

Presentation:Introduction to Azure Analysis Services
Date:March 26, 2018
Time6:30 – 8:30 PM ET
Place:South Terraces Building (Auditorium Room)

115 Perimeter Center Place

Atlanta, GA 30346

Overview:Azure Analysis Services (AAS) is an exciting tool within the Azure Data Services tool set. In this session, we’ll learn about the basics of AAS including how to create the service in the Azure portal, options for developing solutions and deploying them, processing data, scaling up and out, security, pricing, and where AAS fits in an overall modern data architecture. At the end of this session, you’ll have a basic understanding of how to get started with the tool and know how it could fit in your organization.
Speaker:Leo Furlong is an experienced Data and Analytics Principal at BlueGranite with extensive experience implementing Digital Transformation Strategy using on-premise and Azure cloud technologies.
Sponsor:At BlueGranite we help our clients utilize data as a strategic asset, delivering data architecture and data integration solutions to drive insights and analytics across your organization. Our solutions monitor trends, measure performance, and provide real-time analytics for rapid, informed decision making. We leverage industry leading technology from Microsoft to build modern data platforms that reduce operating costs, increase market share, improve workforce efficiency, and so much more.


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Atlanta MS BI and Power BI Group Meeting on February 26th

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MS BI fans, join us for the next Atlanta MS BI and Power BI Group meeting on February 26th at 6:30 PM. Stacey Jones will explain how Power BI can integrate with other systems, such as Dynamics and Salesforce. SentryOne will sponsor the meeting. And your humble correspondent will show you two latest Power BI features: report sharing and date tables. For more details, visit our group page and don’t forget to RSVP (use the RSVP survey on the group page) if you’re planning to attend.

Presentation:

Integrating Power BI with Dynamics and Other Solutions

Level: Intermediate

Date:

February 26, 2018

Time

6:30 – 8:30 PM ET

Place:

South Terraces Building (Auditorium Room)

115 Perimeter Center Place

Atlanta, GA 30346

Overview:

Microsoft has differentiated itself for many years as the company that not only sells software, but software that works well together. For example, many companies sold suites of office productivity software, but none sold software that worked as well together as Microsoft Office. We continue that legacy today with Power BI, the leading BI software in the industry, and the integration story is improving, working well with Dynamics as well as leading 3rd party software packages, such as Salesforce!

Speaker:

Stacey Jones is a Data Solutions Architect and Business Intelligence Evangelist at Microsoft’s Technology Center (MTC) in Atlanta, GA. He has 25+ years of industry experience spanning Database Administration in both Oracle and SQL Server, Database Development, Data Modeling, and most recently as a Data Architect focused in Business Intelligence. He is an industry recognized expert in database tuning, query tuning, and Business Intelligence. He has taught many classes on these subjects and has plenty of real life experience putting out database performance fires. His experience spans the health care and transportation industry. Stacey is active on LinkedIn, you can see his profile at https://www.linkedin.com/in/stacey-jones-05989124 for more information on his industry honors and awards.

Sponsor:

SentryOne, formerly SQL Sentry, enables data professionals to monitor, diagnose, and optimize server performance across physical, virtual, and cloud environments. Our software provides unparalleled insight, awareness, and control over the true source of performance issues. Headquartered in Huntersville, North Carolina, SentryOne products are sold and supported directly and through authorized resellers and partners.

Prototypes with Pizza“Report sharing and Date tables” by Teo Lachev

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