Microsoft® SQL Server 2008 R2 Analytics & Data Visualization [Paperback]

Doug Harts (Author), Jim Dugan (Author), Tricia Almas (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 9, 2010 | ISBN-10: 0071601430 | ISBN-13: 978-0071601436 | Edition: 1

Master the Next-Generation Business Intelligence Tools in SQL Server 2008 R2

Effectively convey meaningful business insights to users across your enterprise with help from this practical guide. Written by a team of business intelligence experts, Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 Analytics & Data Visualization shows how to achieve greater information absorption using the latest reporting tools. Learn how to build maps and gauges, integrate OLAP data, and develop dashboards. Security, performance tuning, and cloud computing techniques are also covered in this comprehensive resource.

• Design and deploy chart-based reports using SSRS 2008 R2
• Display geo-spatial map data with location-based indicators
• Visually represent metrics and KPIs on graphs and gauges
• Distribute reports through SharePoint and PerformancePoint
• Create and publish web page parts, dashboards, and mash-ups
• Set up and manage cloud-based services using SQL Azure
• Incorporate data mining and forecasting features with Visio
• Integrate large amounts of data using PowerPoint for Excel
• Derive matrix, table, and chart data from OLAP cubes

Doug Harts is a Services Executive at Microsoft currently helping U.S. Federal agencies implement Microsoft technology roadmaps. He is the author of Microsoft Office 2007 Business Intelligence, and maintains a BI community website at www.OfficeBIcentral.com.

Jim Dugan is a Solutions Architect with the Microsoft Healthcare and Benefits team in Microsoft Federal. He previously served as Technical Director of Microsoft's Technology and Innovation Center in Reston, Virginia.

Tricia Wilcox Almas is a Technical Architect for Business Intelligence Solutions for MicroLink, LLC, a Microsoft Gold Partner. She has been developing solutions and managing IT projects for more than 25 years.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Doug Harts is a Services Executive at Microsoft currently helping U.S. Federal agencies implement Microsoft technology roadmaps. As a former Chief Technology Officer of the Microsoft Gold development partner that published the market’s first SQL Server web-based ad-hoc report tool that co-launched with Reporting Services in 2000, Doug has been involved with Business Intelligence research and design at Microsoft-Redmond and commercial and public organizations around the world. As a current member of the Microsoft Business Intelligence Field Advisory Council, Doug contributes to the design and development of Business Intelligence technology in the SharePoint Cloud environment. Doug is also the author of Microsoft Office 2007 Business Intelligence. (McGraw-Hill, 2007), and maintains a BI Community website at www.OfficeBIcentral.com.

Jim Dugan is a Solutions Architect in Microsoft Healthcare and Benefits team in Microsoft Federal. Jim has been in the information technology field for over 25 years and with Microsoft for 14 of those years. Jim has contributed to many large scale projects for commercial, Federal and humanitarian efforts. Jim previously served as Technical Director of Microsoft’s Technology and Innovation Center in Reston, Virginia. Jim resides with his wife and three kids in Arlington Virginia. Jim can be found with other Business Intelligence community people at www.OfficeBIcentral.com .

Tricia Wilcox Almas is a Technical Architect for Business Intelligence Solutions for MicroLink, LLC, a Microsoft Gold Partner. Tricia has been developing solutions and managing IT projects for over 25 years, and has extensive experience helping Non-profit and government organizations get the most out of their IT investments. Tricia enjoys building data warehouses and cubes, and delivering reporting and performance management solutions for her clients. In her rare leisure time, she assists with fundraising events for Challenger Little League and Special Olympics, and enjoys time with her husband of 25 years and two teen-age sons.

Product Details

• Paperback: 576 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Osborne Media; 1 edition (September 9, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071601430
• ISBN-13: 978-0071601436
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #125,257 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #62 in Books > Computers & Technology > Microsoft > Development > SQL Server
  • #86 in Books > Computers & Technology > Databases > SQL

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good but dead links, December 20, 2010

By 

bshak - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Microsoft® SQL Server 2008 R2 Analytics & Data Visualization (Paperback)

Good book was anxious to use the examples however like others found it was a dead link, It would be nice if the publisher's website would have the downloads and sample code but nothing there as well. I am hoping one of the authors reads this and gets the code up somewhere as it is essential to follow some of the examples.

UPDATE: Per the publisher and authors on the site - they have seen the reviews about the dead links and " We have committed to getting the samples up and downloadable by next week." This was dated 1/26/11 on OfficeBICentral.com

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great SSRS visualization deep dive and overviews of other Microsoft business intelligence technologies, November 1, 2010

By 

Jenifer A Underwood - See all my reviews

This review is from: Microsoft® SQL Server 2008 R2 Analytics & Data Visualization (Paperback)

This book opened with a quick introduction to selecting appropriate ways to effectively communicate data relationships. Then an excellent deep dive into creating advanced, interactive data visualizations and thematic maps with SQL Server Reporting Services was covered. Several other chapters contained higher level overviews and tutorials of additional Microsoft business intelligence technologies including Azure, PowerPivot, SharePoint and the Excel Data Mining Add-In.

If you are an experienced Reporting Services developer looking for guidance on advanced visualizations, this would be a great resource for you. I picked up some tips on using the new mapping layers and shared axis charting! Although the book did touch upon dashboard design, I definitely wished that topic would have been expanded. If you have never worked with Azure, PowerPivot, SharePoint and the Excel Data Mining Add-In, the quick walk-throughs are nice for gaining a fast, basic understanding of those tools capabilities.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Starts strong... weak links, December 17, 2010

By 

Midwest Eric - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Microsoft® SQL Server 2008 R2 Analytics & Data Visualization (Paperback)

This book starts out well with an introduction to Visualization. It looks like its going to be a great "stey by step" resource but the examples fall flat (too many leaps and gaps) and examples use samples from sources not well linked... (couldn't you have just stuck with Adventure Works?). Really, I think the this is just a step better than the SQL Server out of the box tutorials.