Delivering Business Intelligence with Microsoft SQL Server 2005: Utilize Microsoft's Data Warehousing, Mining & Reporting Tools to Provide Critical Intelligence to A [Paperback]

Brian Larson (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0072260904 | ISBN-13: 978-0072260908 | Publication Date: January 23, 2006 | Edition: 1

Transform disparate enterprise data into actionable business intelligence

Put timely, mission-critical information in the hands of employees across your organization using Microsoft SQL Server 2005 and the comprehensive information in this unique resource. Delivering Business Intelligence with Microsoft SQL Server 2005 shows you, step-by-step, how to author, customize, and distribute information that will give your company the competitive edge. It's all right here--from data mining, warehousing, and scripting techniques to MDX queries, KPI analysis, and the all-new Unified Dimensional Model. Real-world examples, start-to-finish exercises, and downloadable code throughout illustrate all of the integration, analysis, and reporting capabilities of SQL Server 2005.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Transform disparate enterprise data into actionable business intelligence

Put timely, mission-critical information in the hands of employees across your organization using Microsoft SQL Server 2005 and the comprehensive information in this unique resource. Delivering Business Intelligence with Microsoft SQL Server 2005 shows you, step-by-step, how to author, customize, and distribute information that will give your company the competitive edge. It's all right here -- from data mining, warehousing, and scripting techniques to MDX queries, KPI analysis, and the all-new Unified Dimensional Model. Real-world examples, start-to-finish exercises, and downloadable code throughout illustrate all of the integration, analysis, and reporting capabilities of SQL Server 2005.

ESSENTIAL SKILLS FOR DATABASE PROFESSIONALS

• Understand the goals and benefits of business intelligence
• Manage Analysis Services databases using BI Development Studio
• Improve performance and decrease latency using proactive caching
• Create interactive reports using SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services
• Enable ad hoc reporting using Report Models and Report Builder
• Integrate with applications using ADOMD.NET and the Report Viewer Control
• Design and create relational data marts and OLAP cubes
• Perform powerful data analysis using MDX queries and scripts
• Perform complex operations with Integration Services
• Uncover behavior patterns and proclivities using data mining

About the Author

Brian Larson is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, with degrees in Physics and Computer Science. He has 20 years of experience in the computer industry and 16 years of experience as a consultant creating custom database applications. Brian is currently Chief of Technology for Superior Consulting Services in Minneapolis, Minnesota, a Microsoft Consulting Partner for Reporting Services. He is a Microsoft Certified Solution Developer (MCSD) and a Microsoft Certified Database Administratior (MCDBA).

Brian served as a member of the Reporting Services development team as a consultant to Microsoft. In that role, he contributed to the original code base of Reporting Services.

Brian has presented seminars and provided training and mentoring on Reporting Services across the country. He is a contributor and columnist for SQL Server magazine and is currently writing the B.I. Powers column appearing on the SQL Server magazine website. In addition to this book, Brian is the author of Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services, also from McGraw-Hill/Osborne.

Product Details

• Paperback: 776 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Osborne Media; 1 edition (January 23, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0072260904
• ISBN-13: 978-0072260908
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7.2 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #739,869 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Brian Larson is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, with degrees in physics and computer science. Brian has worked in the computer industry since 1985 and has been a consultant creating custom database applications since 1989. He is currently the Vice President of Technology and BI Practice Manager for Superior Consulting Services in Minneapolis, Minnesota (http://www.teamscs.com). Brian is an MCITP: Business Intelligence Developer 2008 and a Microsoft Certified Database Administrator (MCDBA).

Brian served as a member of the original Reporting Services development team as a consultant to Microsoft. In that role, he contributed to the initial code base of Reporting Services.

Brian has presented at national conferences and events, including the SQL Server Magazine Connections Conference, the PASS Community Summit, and the Microsoft Business Intelligence Conference, and has provided training and mentoring on Reporting Services and business intelligence across the country. He has been a contributor and columnist for SQL Server Magazine.

Brian began his writing career collecting rejection letters for some very bad science fiction short stories. Brian got the last laugh on all of those cruel editors by sneaking a bit of science fiction into his Reporting Services books. The sample company used in all of the examples is an intergalactic shipping company staffed by robots and employing faster than the speed of light travel to offer previous day delivery. The company back story may be fanciful; the business examples, however, are all down to earth!

Brian lives with his wife Pam in suburban St. Paul, Minnesota. Pam will tell you that their first date took place at the Luther College computer center. If that doesn't qualify someone to write computer books, then I don't know what does.

Brian can be contacted at [e-mail].

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Delivering BI w/ Microsoft SQL Server 2005 by Brian Larson, March 15, 2006

By 

John M. Cunha "ThotWorks" (Windham, NH USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Delivering Business Intelligence with Microsoft SQL Server 2005: Utilize Microsoft's Data Warehousing, Mining & Reporting Tools to Provide Critical Intelligence to A (Paperback)

... is a good, hands-on book that will introduce the numerous changes to how BI is implemented with the new Microsoft Products: SQL Server 2005, and VS.Net 2005. This book provides somewhat more of an overview, but one would need to do further reading on each of the topic areas to become both conversant and professionally competent. No single 750 page book could bring you to the depths of: Analysis Services, Integration Services, Reporting Services, Data Mart Development, Data Mining, Deployment of BI using Excel etc... This text will orient you to what is available and how the modules link together, but further study will be required.

The Data Mining section was the most abbreviated for what is perhaps the most complex of the covered topics.

If you have existing expertise w/ SQL Server 2000 (Analysis Services, Reporting Services, Data Transformation Services) and VS.Net 2003 generally, you will find this text to be quite useful as a guide to what has changed with BI; and the changes are procedurally significant. Visual Studio 2005 is now the primary interface to accessing and implementing BI. This text walks you through some concrete examples and you will be able to update your existing procedural knowledge to the new development model.

To avoid problems, install a copy of SQL Server 2005 Developer Edition (if you don't have Enterprise edition at your disposal). I used SQL Server 2005 Standard Edition and had to make several accommodating changes on the fly - to address fundamental feature differences. VS.Net 2005 Pro comes with the Developer Edition of SQL 2005, but you can purchase it separately from Amazon for ~$45.

This text has a few inconsequential editing errors that you should be able to identify fairly easily. If you want an excellent text on Reporting Services, alone, purchase Brian Larson's "Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services" text from Osborne.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a good start, March 15, 2007

By 

S. Taylor "stusrt" (Detroit, MI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Delivering Business Intelligence with Microsoft SQL Server 2005: Utilize Microsoft's Data Warehousing, Mining & Reporting Tools to Provide Critical Intelligence to A (Paperback)

This book is not going to make anyone a SQL Server 2005 expert. But for me it was perfect. I have been designing BI solutions for years, using Oracle or DB2 with Cognos or Hyperion. I have started using Microsoft now, and going through book helped a lot. I don't feel that I'm a MS expert after reading this, but I do feel comfortable with the SQL Server 2005 services.
Think of it this way, it's a good beginner's book for SQL Server Database, Analysis services, Reporting Services, and Integration services - all in one book.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not As Useful If You Already Work In BI, March 21, 2008

By 

C. D. Waage (Denver, Colorado) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Delivering Business Intelligence with Microsoft SQL Server 2005: Utilize Microsoft's Data Warehousing, Mining & Reporting Tools to Provide Critical Intelligence to A (Paperback)

I've already got experience with tools such as Cognos, ProClarity, Informatica and others. I bought this book to figure out how to use Microsoft's BI tools.

The book really is a case study book where you are the business analyst, the data modeler, the systems analyst the ETL guy and the report developer. It is written with a "learn by doing" premise. If you haven't done all of the business requirements exercises, data modeler tasks, etc... you won't be able to do the Integration Services exercises or the MDX exercises in the book. In other words, you must 1) read the book in the order of its chapters and 2) do the exercises in the chapter order.

Additionally, many chapters are a review of the theory (like snowflake vs. star), business requirements gathering and why you have data marts stuff like that. If you already know how to do these things, or you know that you don't have to take on that role, then you probably won't find this book as useful.