Tag Archives: bism

Spring/Summer 2012 Conference Wishlist: DevCon, SQLBits, TechEd, and More


[Image via Huffington Post]

It’s 81 degrees out right now. In March. In Boston. We’re racing the kayaks out on the Charles this afternoon. El Niño, te amo. Nice weather tends to give me Magellan syndrome, and what better way to (semi) productively harness that than by researching cool sessions at upcoming conferences? The following were selected for their edgy subject matter. You may translate “edgy” any way you like.

I would love to see a conference devoted to SQL Azure Labs projects like Data Explorer, but that aside, I think this list sums up my current MSFT-related interests. If I’ve skipped yours, do chime in in the comments!

  • Topic: BI Reports
  • Conference: DevConnections
  • Session: Data Visualization Choices
  • By: Paul Turley (b | t)
  • Hook: Get the scoop behind Reporting Services, PowerPivot, Tabular Semantic Models, Report Builder, BIDS, SharePoint, PerformancePoint, Excel, Excel Services and the new Power View reporting tool.
  • Where: Las Vegas, NV
  • When: 3/26-3/29 (better book those plane tickets now!)
  • How much: $1595
  • Topic: Data Quality Services and Master Data Services
  • Conference: SQLBits X
  • Session: Take Good care of your Data: Introducing SQL 2012 DQS &MDS
  • By: David Faibish (in)
  • Hook: “The new exciting Data Quality Services and the improved Master Data Services in conjunction with SSIS provides the IT and IW with an attractive solution that allows full lifecycle data management.”
  • Where: Novotel London West, London
  • When: 3/29 (yep, same “buy those tickets stat” admonishment!)
  • How much: £350.00
  • Topic: Azure
  • Event: Windows Azure Kickstart
  • Hook: “You have chance to spend a day with some of the nation’s leading cloud experts and to learn how to build a web application that runs in Windows Azure. “
  • By: Microsoft Azure team
  • Where: Minneapolis, Independence, Columbus, Overland Park, Omaha, Mason, Southfield, Houston, Creve Coeur, Downder’s Grove, Franklin, and Chicago
  • When: 3/30-5/8 (check the listing for your city’s date)
  • How much: Free
  • Topic: Hadoop on Azure
  • Conference: Hadoop Summit
  • Session: Unleash Insights on All Data with Microsoft Big Data*
  • By: Alexander Stojanovic (b| t)
  • Hook: “Accelerate your analytics with a Hadoop service that offers deep integration with Microsoft BI and the ability to enrich your models with publicly available data from outside your firewall. “
  • Where: San Jose Convention Center
  • When: 6/13-6/14
  • How much: $499 (until 3/31), $599 (4/1-6/3), $700 (on-site)
  • Topic: Exchange 2010 SP2
  • Conference: TechEd Europe
  • Session: Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 SP2: In’s and Out’s
  • By: Exchange Product Team
  • Hook: “Come and see how we have tamed this beast and turned it into something even your own mother could understand.”
  • Where: Amsterdam RAI
  • When: 6/26-6/29
  • How much: €1,695 + VAT (before 3/31), €1,995 + VAT (after 3/31)

 

*Sessions for Hadoop Summit are selected by the community. Results coming soon.

Everything You Wanted To Know About Power View—But Were Afraid to Ask

Before you decide whether Power View is the best damn thing to happen to self-service BI since graph paper or is just a smoke and mirrors, CamelCaseless extension to PowerPivot, you need to know its gist. The following blog posts and videos will give you just that, from a (mostly) business user perspective. Read ’em, and then get cracking with the CTP3 version, available for download here.

  • Dan English’s (b | t) “Intro to BI Semantic Model & Delivering Self-Service Reporting with Power View (Crescent)” video and slide deck

A comprehensive MSBI presentation that covers the BI Semantic Model concept, Power View and SQL Server Analysis Services with Power Pivot in SQL Server 2012.

Continue reading Everything You Wanted To Know About Power View—But Were Afraid to Ask