NEWS & EVENTS

E-Guide: Document-Centric BPM     by AuraPortal 
Read this ebizQ E-Guide and learn how case management can help make knowledge-centric work more efficient and systematic. Explore the benefits and challenges of taking a holistic approach to BPM as well as the power and complexity of case management BPM.

SQL Server Insider E-Zine - Volume 5: Top Reasons to Get Started with SQL Server Denali
by Dell Inc., Microsoft and AMD

This issue’s feature article provides a guided tour of some of the features that make Denali so intriguing. Volume 5 will also discuss importing SQL Server data into PowerPivot for Excel, plus offer four tips on boosting SQL Server scalability.

ERwin in the Cloud: How Data Modeling Supports Database as a Service (DaaS) Implementations
by CA ERwin from CA Technologies
Cloud Computing is an emerging market, and there exist an increasing number of companies that are implementing the cloud model, products and services. Read this white paper to find out more about this exciting new technology.
SQL Server Insider E-Zine - Volume 5: Top Reasons to Get Started with SQL Server Denali
by Dell Inc., Microsoft and AMD
This issue’s feature article provides a guided tour of some of the features that make Denali so intriguing. Volume 5 will also discuss importing SQL Server data into PowerPivot for Excel, plus offer four tips on boosting SQL Server scalability.

 

IBM agility@scale: Become as agile as you can be Learn from IBM Rational team’s experiences gained while applying agile/iterative strategies and techniques in organizations around the world, often at a scale far larger than the techniques were pioneered for. Register for the whitepaper today! Microsoft Chose SpreadsheetGear... "After carefully evaluating SpreadsheetGear, Excel Services, and other 3rd party options, we chose SpreadsheetGear for .NET because it is the best fit for MSN Money." said Chris Donohue, MSN Money Program Manager. Download a fully functional SpreadsheetGear trial Today! .NET meets HTML5: The New Visual WebGui Create graphic-rich, data-centric applications for cross Web, Cloud & Mobile platforms' HTML5 while using .NET power to integrate with web services, interrogate databases, perform calculations and apply business logic. Download new version Now!

            

UPCOMING EVENTS

Cloud Intelligence
QuickStart-SQLSoft is excited to announce our next 1 day technology conference that will help you understand what the cloud is and how you can save your company money!

Seating is limited so reserve a seat today!

The Cloud Intelligence Conferences will be taking place at:

• Bellevue, WA - Meydenbauer Center on 5/13/11 - Register Today!
• Mountain View, CA Microsoft Conference Center on 6/2/11 - Register Today!

TRAINING PROGRAMS

Deploying Self-Service Reporting for SQL
Get this whitepaper to learn how you can quickly deploy flexible self-service reporting for SQL.

Helping your organization use its information resources better doesn't have to mean bringing in high-cost, complex BI software that requires specialists, proprietary data stores, and lengthy deployment times.

This paper covers how you can:

	+	Address business users' need for information while reducing load on the IT team
	+	Reduce turnaround time and improve accuracy for reports
	+	Give access to many users with multiple data sources including SQL, Excel and many more
	+	Understand the needs of your users to better serve them

Download this whitepaper and learn how you can deploy a cost-efficient business intelligence solution that will improve the way your organization uses information, collaborates, and makes decisions.

Exchange Server QuickStart-SQLSoft offers the most complete and up-to-date Exchange training available, covering everything from design and implementation to support and troubleshooting. Complete Exchange Server 2010 Training Schedule

SQL Server We offer more than 35 unique individual courses on SQL Server. Everything from SQL BI and Analysis & Reporting Services to full database implementation. Complete SQL Server Training Schedule

Lync Server QuickStart-SQLSoft is proud to be one of the first Microsoft Learning Partners to announce availability of the new Microsoft® Lync™ Server 2010 courses. Complete Lync Server Training Schedule

.NET
We provide the most extensive catalog of .NET courses in the Industry. Whether you are looking for Visual Studio training or an introduction to C#.

Complete .NET Training Schedule

SharePoint
At QuickStart-SQLSoft we offer one of the largest selections of SharePoint Server courses in the nation. Courses ranging from Introduction to full deployment and final configuration.
Complete SharePoint Training Schedule

TechNet Events Presents:
Meet Windows PowerShell - No Matter Who You Are

with Author and MVP Don Jones

You've undoubtedly heard the "buzz" about Windows PowerShell – it's in everything from Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 to SharePoint 2010, Exchange Server 2010, and even SQL Server 2008 R2. But what is Windows PowerShell? A scripting language? A collection of command-line utilities? A .NET programming language? More importantly, what can you do with Windows PowerShell to make administration faster, less repetitive, more consistent, and more efficient?

Come find out. Don Jones, Microsoft MVP Award recipient, Microsoft TechNet Magazine columnist, WindowsITPro.com contributor, and author of the newly-released Learn Windows PowerShell in a Month of Lunches (Manning) shows you how Windows PowerShell works, and gives you a glimpse at all it can do. He'll show you how everyone from the help desk to high-end administrators can benefit from the shell without scripting, and demonstrate how the shell can be used by scripters and programmers to create reusable tools. Most importantly, Don will introduce some of the key underlying mechanisms of the shell itself, helping you learn how to teach yourself administrative techniques in Exchange Server, SharePoint, SQL Server, System Center, Windows Server, and more.

We're entering an age when a primary distinction between "high-end" IT professionals and "low-end" technicians will be their skill in Windows PowerShell. As Don once famously said, "it's learn the shell… or start asking, 'would you like fries with that?'" Don's helped thousands of IT professionals get started on the Windows PowerShell path – why not make 2011 the Year You Learned the Shell?

For more information or to register,
visit > www.technetevents.com

OR CALL 1-877-MSEVENT

Microsoft SQL Server in a VMware Environment on Dell PowerEdge Blades and Dell EqualLogic Storage White Paper sponsored by Dell and VMware
This white paper provides an overview for deploying SQL Server in a virtualized environment for VMware ESX 3.5 Update 4 (U4) running on the latest PowerEdge M610 and M710 blade servers and EqualLogic PS6000XV iSCSI storage arrays.

View Now

Next-Gen Analytics Enable Effective Relationship Marketing Webcast sponsored by Calpont
Online advertisers are deluged by a complex marketplace, growing data streams, and demands for greater value from online spend. In this webcast, analytics guru James Taylor will discuss market trends impacting web analytics and their underlying data infrastructures, and provide direction for improving analytic performance as web data grows. 

View Now



Register now to attend Microsoft SharePoint Conference 2011

Register now to attend Microsoft SharePoint Conference 2011 SharePoint Conference 2011 will be the only conference to hear experts from Microsoft and around the world share their experience and knowledge about a variety topics.

Perform a search-first migration Not ready to perform a complete upgrade from SharePoint Server 2007? Take advantage of the enterprise search capabilities of SharePoint Server 2010 by performing a search-first migration.

 

Updated Evaluation Guide When you upgrade from SharePoint Server 2010 to FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint, some features are different for end-users, IT professionals, and developers. A

 

PASS Data Warehousing/Business Intelligence Virtual Chapter

PASS Data Warehousing/Business Intelligence Virtual Chapter

Web: http://Bi.sqlpass.org

Twitter: @PASSBIVC

Email: amylewisAZ@gmail.com 

April Calendar - "All About Analysis Services"

 Upcoming Sessions

Tues April 26^th 12PM EST(US)

Developing Date and Role-Playing Dimensions

Speaker: Sandra Mueller

URL: https://www.livemeeting.com/cc/usergroups/join?id=RKQD4F&role=attend&pw=7%60%27HmS%275b

Topic Description:

Let's go from Cradle to Grave with the one dimension in 99.99999% of cubes, the dreaded Date dimension. Without this dimension users wouldn't know if it is worth staying open on a holiday or which day of the week the most fresh produce ships or even what their bonus will be. What should be included in the dimension? Should you use the wizard to generate? In this session, we will explore a generic date dimension load script and configuring SSAS to use the table as the time dimension. We will explore performance considerations of attribute hierarchies compared with usability benefits of user hierarchies. Finally, we will address the advantages of role-playing dimensions to make Order Date, Ship Date and Received Date dimensions. Session Level: Intermediate

Bio:

Sandra A. Mueller is a 16 year MCT. She started with Administration in 1997 and moved into Database Design and performance optimization. In 2004 after activation with the military focus turned to SQL Server 2005 and its Business Intelligence capabilities. She is currently working as a Senior BI Architect with SQL Server 2008R2 OLAP solutions. Sandra blogs on http://www.SandraAMueller.com and is Chapter Leader and founder of the Raleigh NC SQL Server BI User Group (http://www.tripassBI.org).

Contact URL: http://www.SandraAMueller.com

Wed April 27^th 12PM EST(US)

Tuning Analysis Services Processing Performance

Speaker: John Welch

URL: https://www.livemeeting.com/cc/usergroups/join?id=HH5D8J&role=attend&pw=cpzkD%3CF4x

Topic Description:

You’ve got your Analysis Services cube created, and deployed in production. However, you notice that every night, the cube is taking longer and longer to process, and users are starting to complain about their data not being ready when they arrive in the morning. If you’ve found yourself in this situation, or want to avoid being in it in the first place, come to this session. We’ll cover how to benchmark processing performance, track down bottlenecks, and how to tune things to get the best performance for processing your cube.

Bio:

John Welch is BI Architect with Varigence. Varigence builds tools and frameworks that enable the creation and management of end-to-end business intelligence solutions with unprecedented ease and speed. John has been working with business intelligence and data warehousing technologies for 9 years, with a focus on Microsoft products in heterogeneous environments. He is a Microsoft Most Valued Professional (MVP), and a frequent presenter on SQL Server BI topics.

Fri April 29^th 12PM EST(US)

Creating dynamic calculations using DAX formulas in PowerPivot

Speaker: Javier Guillen

URL: https://www.livemeeting.com/cc/usergroups/join?id=SZSB5Q&role=attend&pw=BdD%5B_7.%2CG

Topic Description:

Data Analysis Expressions (DAX) is the expression language used to create custom calculations in PowerPivot. In a similar way to MDX, it can evaluate an expression in different ways depending on the context in which the calculation occurs. The ability to manipulate formula evaluation context enables the creation of reports that involve complex business calculations. This session will explore DAX formula evaluation context and how to manipulate it. A brief comparison with MDX will be established in order to contrast the process followed by each language when establishing how calculations should resolve their outputs.

Bio:

Javier Guillen (MCTS/MCITP Sql Server 2008 BI) is a Business Intelligence consultant for Mariner, in Charlotte NC. He has designed and developed BI implementations in Microsoft and SAP environments primarily for financial organizations. Prior to being a BI consultant, he was a .Net / C# application developer for a number of years. He is very interested in SSAS/MDX & PowerPivot/DAX, as well as the extensibility of Microsoft BI tools through their programmatic interfaces.

Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Conference (“WPC”) 2011 in Los Angeles.

Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Conference (“WPC”) 2011 in Los Angeles.

Microsoft WPC is the premier Microsoft & partner event to learn about Microsoft’s roadmap and directions for the upcoming year, experience the latest products, & network w/ Microsoft employees & other partners.  There  is around 40,000 participate  with Business Partners, Microsoft Executives, Microsoft Product Managers, Staff and Vendors from all over the world, from more than 130 countries.  Microsoft World Partner Conference provides a unique, five-day-event including of the planning your business strategies in the upcoming year, getting an in-depth look at innovative cloud platforms & services, such as Office 365, Windows Azure™, Windows Server® 2008 R2 Hyper-V™, & Dynamics® CRM Online.
Learning how 2 expand yr possibilities w/ investments in integrated cloud services, Windows® 7, & Windows PHN 7.

Microsoft priorities at the partner business  meeting to prepare new fiscal year 2012 in July
Register for an All-Access Event Pass to the 2011 Worldwide Partner Conference by April 25, you’ll not only get the Early Bird discount, but a chance 2 win* 1 of 5 fabulous VIP Packages.  

This is a honorable opportunity and I look forward to  seeing you at this event in Los Angeles.

Happy Easter

.....to our Christian readers and friends! We survived the annual Easter egg hunt on Friday, which was moved indoors due to inclement weather, and now it's off to church. If Easter is here, can spring be far behind?

SQL Server 2008, SharePoint Documents, Data Tools and Webcasts

There are many white papers, BI and Data (SQL Server 2008, SharePoint documents, and Data tools) documents and webcasts that I have selected to tweet you as professionals.  I have really learned tremendous knowledge when I am sending my tweets.  Nothing encourages me to re-tweet someone’s tweet more than the knowledge that they re-tweeted me which I always thank people who re-tweeted me.

I hope you will find these documents interested and helpful.  Please have comments if needed. 

Thank you.

Empowering Enterprise Solutions with SQL Server 2008 R2 Enterprise
by Intel and Microsoft
Microsoft® SQL Server® 2008 R2 Enterprise is a comprehensive data platform that provides built-in security, availability, and scalability features coupled with robust business intelligence (BI) functionality.

SQL Server virtualization: What's new and what's old
by Dell Inc., Microsoft and AMD
SQL Server MVP Denny Cherry calls in to this podcast to discuss the usual challenges of virtualizing SQL Server, the benefits of working through such issues, and if SQL Server 2008 R2 and Hyper-V can help.SQL Server 2008: What to Expectby Global Knowledge
Microsoft SQL Server 2008 has many great new features that will allow you to develop higher performing, more scalable next-generation applications using more than just relational data.  

Tactical Data Quality: How to improve data quality with a tight budget
by Talend In this e-book, you'll learn how to manage data quality efforts during an economic downturn and find out what trends are emerging in the data quality market. You’ll also learn about common mistakes, the financial costs of poor data quality and how data quality tools and strategies can improve data quality.
E-Guide: How to Avoid Business Intelligence Planning Pitfalls
by Dell Inc., Microsoft and AMD This expert e-guide from SearchSQLServer.com provides insight into what it takes to implement a business intelligence plan for your company. Find out how to avoid common pitfalls by starting small and considering prepackaged solutions

E-Guide: Improving Storage Efficiencies in your Storage Environmentby Symantec Corporation
Storage efficiency is the ability to store and manage data that consumes the least amount of space with little to no impact on performance. Download this guide for tips on evaluating your data storage efficiency and learn how to increase overall efficiency in your enterprise storage environment.
Leading betting company sees performance gains of approximately 20 percent with Windows 7 implementation from Dellby Dell, Inc.
While its existing platforms ran well, Betfair, the owner of the world's biggest betting community, recognized that a refresh would deliver operational and end-user benefits. Read this case study to see how Betfair worked with Dell and Microsoft to accomplish it's refresh and learn about the features and business benefits of their solutions.
Five Essential Guidelines for Choosing a Business Intelligence Vendorby SiSense Ltd.
To give you a head start on creating evaluation guidelines of your own, we offer a series of best practices that you can easily apply when selecting a BI solution for your organization. The intended audience for this paper is anyone tasked with evaluating BI solutions, such as business analysts and information technology professionals.

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 BI Shakes Out

Between old school and modern visions, bets are laid for the short term and the long haul, says Mark Madsen, president of consultancy Third Nature

    Read full story   |   Email this story

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Business Intelligence Development Carries Human Touch

Deep analytics, big data and mobile expected to lead iterative BI push: Manthan Systems report

    Read full story   |   Email this story

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DataFlux
Building a Unified View of Enterprise Data:
Strategies for Long-term Success

More and more organizations are turning to creative data management techniques to improve operational efficiency, cut costs and increase revenue. Master data management (MDM) encompasses innovative data quality, data governance and data management techniques.

While your organization may not be ready to take full advantage of enterprise-wide MDM, you can still achieve immediate data improvement benefits derived from better data quality and data governance practices.

Join David Loshin, President, Knowledge Integrity, Inc. and Jill Dyché, VP, DataFlux, at our upcoming seminar to gain a deeper understanding of MDM, including a straight-forward discussion on how your organization can benefit from making critical data-oriented improvements.

Dates and Locations:

• Tuesday, April 12 – Irvine, CA
• Thursday, April 28 – Denver, CO
• Tuesday, May 3 – New York, NY
• Tuesday, May 10 – Chicago, IL
• Thursday, May 12 – Dallas, TX
• Tuesday, May 24 – Reston, VA

For more information - including event agenda, speaker bios and complimentary admission, visit the seminar Web site.

To register, call Kirby VanOrden on (617) 431-9723 or apply online.

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April 1, 2011

Gartner Enterprise Architect Summit

How do you win hearts, motivate minds and change behavior? A growing number of organizations think the answer is “gamification”—the application of game rules, objects, actions and space to non-game environments.

The desired result is new levels of motivation and behavior modification, all of which can be leveraged both inside and outside of the organization to support transformation and competitive advantage. It’s just one of the many leading-edge ideas you can explore at the upcoming Gartner Enterprise Architecture Summit 2011, June 22 – 23 in San Diego, CA—your source for unparalleled EA thought leadership.

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The Importance of Real-Time Executive Dashboards

Available Now

Find out why 90% of IT executives think that real-time, customized dashboards will improve service levels and problem remediation. Check out this webcast and find out how real-time dashboards can give you an up-to-date, accurate overview of the information your enterprise relies on to be successful in today's competitive marketplace.