How to get started with data analysis

I recently heard Paul Young, author of "The Shack" say that behind each of his books was a question.  I just finished a meeting with an executive and one of the questions he asked was “How do companies start with data analysis?"  We talked about that and other data topics, so I wanted to sum it up. Companies will get into data analysis when they have problems answering three basic questions: Where have we been? Where are we now? Where are we going? The first of these, “where have we been?” is asked when a Company needs to see their…
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Time Value of Data

Time Value of Data

The concept of 'Time Value' of data and the associated costs of data are a segment of the 'BI Basics' session which always brings up a lot of discussion at SQL Saturday.  Here, I will expand on the discussion and hope you will join in below.  This session was given at SQL Saturday in Oklahoma City and Kansas City and can be downloaded here. My background is in economics with a good bit of finance thrown in. In Economics, we often look at markets in terms of supply and demand curves. In Finance studies, the 'time value of money' is a…
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SQL Rally 2012 BI Track Highlights

SQL Rally 2012 BI Track Highlights

When I got back from SQL Rally 2012 a few weeks ago in Dallas, I shoved the notes into my laptop bag and took off for vacation.   I still want to share a few of the highlights of my trip.  These were some excellent speakers and I hope to see them again at future events. Sessions: Tuning Analysis Services Performance by John Welch Presentation John did an excellent job of explaining the basics of the processing options in SSAS. What was interesting was his experience splitting up jobs to increase performance.  Process Full will process all the dimensions and facts…
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