Product Description

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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #276974 in Books
• Published on: 2006-01-23
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 776 pages

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.

Customer Reviews

Delivering BI w/ Microsoft SQL Server 2005 by Brian Larson
... 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.

a good start
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.

Not As Useful If You Already Work In BI
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.