Building Integrated Business Intelligence Solutions with SQL Server 2008 R2 & Office 2010 [Paperback]

Philo Janus (Author), Stacia Misner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 3, 2011

Master Microsoft's Business Intelligence Tools

Building Integrated Business Intelligence Solutions with SQL Server 2008 R2 & Office 2010 explains how to take full advantage of Microsoft's collaborative business intelligence (BI) tools. A variety of powerful, flexible technologies are covered, including SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS), Excel, Excel Services, PowerPivot, SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS), Server Reporting Services (SSRS), SharePoint Server 2010, PerformancePoint Services, and Master Data Services. This practical guide focuses on deveoloping end-to-end BI solutions that foster informed decision making.

• Create a multidimensional store for aggregating business data with SSAS
• Maximize the analysis capabilities of Excel and Excel Services
• Combine data from different sources and connect data for analysis with PowerPivot
• Move data into the system using SSIS, InfoPath, Streamsight, and SharePoint 2010 External Lists
• Build and publish reports with SSRS
• Integrate data from disparate applications, using SharePoint 2010 BI features
• Create scorecards and dashboards with PerformancePoint Services
• Summarize large volumes of data in charts and graphs
• Use the SSRS map feature for complex visualizations of spatial data
• Uncover patterns and relationships in data using the SSAS data mining engine
• Handle master data management with Master Data Services
• Publish the components of your BI solution and perform administrative tasks

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Phil Janus is a senior technology specialist with Microsoft. He has presented before thousands of users and developers on various topics, including SQL Server and BI, and has worked with large organizations on BI implementations.

Stacia Misner, MCITP, MCTS, is a consultant, trainer, and author specializing in Microsoft BI technologies. She has written several books and articles on SQL Server and is a frequent speaker at SQL Server conferences.

Product Details

• Paperback: 496 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Osborne Media; 1 edition (February 3, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071716734
• ISBN-13: 978-0071716734
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 0.9 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #300,934 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book !!! March 28, 2011

By Phil Milner

Format:Paperback

NOTE: source and sample code for book at the DataInspirations web site (see comments section for exact link)

This is a Well-written book on the latest version (R2) of the Microsoft Business Intelligence tools
Additionally, it has two important features that really make it stand out:

1. It explains the whole set of Microsoft BI tools and MS's vision for BI
2. It explains trends in BI such as how to integrate unstructured data & structured data

The scope of this book is wider than the usual, tool-centric book. That makes it extremely valuable. It's relatively easy to obtain information on tools. It's much more difficult to obtain information on using the right tool for the right job. It's also difficult to obtain simple and comprehensive information on how Microsoft's tools relate to each other.

Finally, this is a great book for many audiences. Both the new and experienced developer community will benefit from the breath of the information. They will also benefit by seeing how the MS BI tools relate to each other and to glimpsing Microsoft's BI vision.
These last two features, tool integration and vision, make this a great book for the IT manager or executive. It provides them an overview of Microsoft BI and also provides additional material to pursue that overview.