Exploring Excel 2013 as Microsoft’s Business Intelligence Client

A little over six months ago, I wrote an article on Magenic.com about Excel 2013’s Impact for BI Users.  This coincided with the Office 2013 Preview release.  I discussed the addition of Power View and PowerPivot into the product.   Last week, I followed that article up with another on the fact that Excel appears to be Microsoft’s BI client platform now and into the future.

It appears that I am not alone in this assessment.  Michael Koploy of Software Advice, a company that reviews BI software, did a Q&A session with Rob Collie, a.k.a. PowerPivotPro ( T | B ), where Rob came to some similar conclusions.  He notes that “the inclusion of PowerPivot in 2013 is a major inflection point” for users to implement BI in Excel more fully.  I really like his take on the relationship between BI specialists and IT pros and the end users of Excel.  Microsoft has been pushing a concept of BI for the masses and ironically today’s Excel is the helping this happen.  Check out the rest of the Q&A about whether Excel is the next great BI tool for more insights from Rob.

As I start to deliver more solutions with customers using Excel, SharePoint and soon Office365, I am going to kick off a new series here on my blog – Excel 2013 BI Tips.  My goal is to document those tips, tricks and discoveries from my journey with the new Excel.  Some of them may be seem common, but I just don’t want to forget so I will be noting them as well.  Join me for this interesting journey through Excel and BI.

SQL Saturday #149 and CodeMastery–Minnesota Events

We are less than two weeks away from SQL Saturday #149 in Minneapolis on September 29, 2012 with two preconference sessions on September 28.  In case you haven’t heard, we are having the main event on a Saturday.  Yes, the precons are on Friday this year.  Check out the details here.  I am really excited about this event as we have a great group of local, regional, and national speakers at this event.  There are nine rooms being used for this event, so go out to the site and build your schedule.

The following Tuesday, Magenic is hosting CodeMastery with a BI track at the Microsoft Technology Center in Edina, MN.  This event includes a sessions on managing the BI stack in SharePoint and xVelocity.  The other track is Windows 8 development with sessions on WinRT and Game Development.

I’m a Speaker at Both Events

Besides plugging these two awesome events on their own, I am also a speaker for both events.  Here is what I will be speaking on at each event:

SQL Saturday #149: A Window into Your Data: Using SQL Window Functions

In this session, I will walk through the window functions enabled by the OVER clause in SQL Server.  Come join me as we celebrate the SQL Server 2012 release of analytic functions and expansion of aggregate functionality to support tasks such as running totals and previous row values.  Thankfully, this is a demo heavy session as it is one of the last sessions of the day.

CodeMastery: Data Mining with the Tools You Already Have

The next week, I will be presenting on data mining tools which Microsoft has made available to us in SSAS and Excel.  The goal of this session is to help developers understand how to implement data mining algorithms into their business intelligence solutions.

I look forward to seeing you at both events.  They are priced right, FREE!

#meme15: Reasons I Like My Job

When Jason ( B | T ) posted this assignment, I thought it would be a fun topic to write on.  Before I get into my reasons, some history is in order.  I will have been employed at Magenic ( T ) for over 8 years.  My employment has not been contiguous, as I left for about 4 1/2 years.  In my first stint at Magenic, I came into consulting with no idea what I was getting into.  When I left, 5 1/2 years later, I was doing a lot of travel while leaving my wife with 4 kids under 10 at home.  My reason for leaving Magenic was to be closer to home with less travel.  Now, on to the topic because the reasons I like my job and the reasons I returned are very similar.

Reason #1:  My wife likes where I work

When I mentioned to my wife that I was ready to go back into consulting, she noted that going back to Magenic would be good for me and for the family.  As it turns out, Magenic provided me with a supportive and fulfilling environment which meant a better home life.  Furthermore, she likes how they treat our family as if they matter as well.

Reason #2:  This too shall pass …

I work in consulting.  I really like the freshness of each contract and the knowledge that no matter how bad it looks, it will pass as well.  Keeps the work new and exciting without the burden of working on the same thing for years.  (FYI – did that for 4 1/2 years.  I like consulting better.)

Reason #3:  I get paid.

I don’t do the job for free and I still get a paycheck.  Given the economy of the day, this is a valid reason for liking my job.

Reason #4:  Blah, blah, blah

One of the reasons I came back to Magenic is the fact that they enabled me to find more speaking engagements.  While blogging for me at times can be a chore, speaking at user groups, SQL Saturdays, conferences and other events is fun.  It is one of the things I really love about my job.  This year I will likely get over ten speaking engagements in with over 12 sessions delivered on various SQL Server and BI topics.  Yes, this is fun.

Reason #5:  Coworkers and peers

My final reason is my coworkers and peers.  I get to work with a lot of smart, fun, and driven people.  It is refreshing to go to work and see how each and everyone is finding ways to push the envelope.  Not only that, many I am able to count as friends who I would keep in contact with whether or not we worked at the same place.

I am really pleased with where I work and enjoy what I am doing and who I work with.  I can only hope that I can help improve it for those around me.  What I found interesting about this meme is that it did not prompt a “career” response.  My job enables me to pursue my career, which is awesome.  I could do this elsewhere, but why?

Upcoming BI and Data Events with Magenic in Fall 2012

As I started looking over my event calendar, I was amazed at how many events Magenic is sponsoring, hosting or providing speakers for over the next couple of months.  As always, one of my goals is to make everyone aware of opportunities to increase their knowledge in BI and data or even network with other data pros.  Not all of the events are Magenic events, but Magenic has stepped up to sponsor or provide speakers for the event.  I will update this blog with more details as they become available, but I want to get you thinking about the possibilities to learn and connect.

BI Summit (Chicago, August 23, 2012)

This event is coming up very soon.  Register today to hear about BI topics that matter to you as a customer and in particular as a business user.  Ted Krueger ( B | T ) and Aaron Lowe ( B | T ) will be showing off some of the new Microsoft BI capabilities.  I will be joining them for the round table at the end of the day.  Sign up today as space is limited!

Code Mastery (Chicago, September 12, 2012)

Not to be outdone, a few weeks later Magenic’s Code Mastery event comes to Chicago.  There is an opening session by Ted Krueger discussing query tuning for developers and admins alike.  Then, a full track will be offered on a variety of BI topics.  The speakers include your truly, James Phillips ( T ), and Aaron Lowe.

SQL Saturday #156 (Providence, September 15, 2012)

Join James Phillips at this event as well.  If you see him at Code Mastery in Chicago then at SQL Saturday in Providence let him know.  I am sure we all would be interested in how and why you traveled the country to hear him.  He will be speaking on SSIS 2012 and loading data warehouses.

SQL Saturday #149 (Minneapolis, September 28-29, 2012)

We are loaded to bear for this event.  Steve Hughes and Ted Krueger will be conducting preconference sessions.  Beyond that, a number of Magenicons have submitted sessions.  We expect the final list before the end of the week and I will update this post when they list is finalized.  Magenic is also a Gold Sponsor for this event.  Oh, and this year the precons are on Friday with the full event on Saturday.  Thought we would try something new this year.

8/15/2012 UPDATE:  Magenic speakers announced:  Ted Krueger, Aaron Lowe, Jeff Prom and I have sessions at this event.

Code Mastery (Minneapolis, October 2, 2012)

This event is still being finalized, but hold the date!  We have a BI track that includes implementing BI with SharePoint.  Our speakers include Jeff Prom ( B ), Josh Owens ( T ), Curtis Smith and Greg Moser ( T ).  Look for more details coming soon.

Minnesota SQL Server User Group (Minneapolis, October 14, 2012)

Magenic is the sponsor for October’s user group meeting and Jeff Prom will be speaking on Data Quality Services. 

PASS Summit (Seattle, November 6-9, 2012)

And the Summit wraps up a busy fall season.  I have two sessions at this conference.  Ted will be a part of Ask the Experts and Birds of a Feather.  A number of other Magenicon’s will also be in attendance.  We will look forward to wrapping up a this fall’s data and BI community events at the Summit.

Join Magenic’s data pro’s at any of these conferences or meetings.  Magenic is a huge promoter of business intelligence and data related education within the SQL Server community.  We look forward to seeing you at any of these events.