23 Oct 2015
By Allen
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Allen Speaking at InnoTech – FREE Tickets!

Allen Speaking at InnoTech – FREE Tickets!

Business, Microsoft SQL Server, , ,
        November 3, 2015 Featuring This Session from Cognitive Information: Return on Data   Learn the basics of Business Intelligence, Big Data and getting return on the data in your company, with Allen Smith, MBA, MCTS, Business Intelligence Specialist, Cognitive Information, Inc.   CLICK HERE to register, and use discount code: SPKR  and receive complimentary admission to InnoTech Oklahoma*. OPENING KEYNOTE ANNOUNCED  Opening Keynote: 8am The Internet of Everything Featuring Leah Lewis, Managing Director of Cisco’s Public Sector Consulting Services and an Internet of Everything / Smart+Connected City Strategist And You Won't Want to Miss These Other Great Sessions:  Case Study: Seagate’s…
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11 Jun 2015
By Allen
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Got Agile?

Got Agile?

Uncategorized,
I recently had the privilege of working with a great team which had an Agile Coach and a Certified Scrum Master from SolutionsIQ. Doing Business Intelligence (BI) projects with Agile takes a complete change of attitude and habits for those of us like me who spent the last decade doing waterfall based data warehousing and BI. Here are a few things I learned from a recent project: 1. You can always learn more. The SolutionsIQ team provided great training to our developers, product owners and stakeholders. Some were receptive while others fought it all the way. Their team provided additional…
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08 Oct 2014
By Allen
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Time Value of Data

Time Value of Data

BI/DW Projects, Featured, , ,
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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23 Aug 2014
By Allen
2 Comments
SQL Saturday 309 Downloads

SQL Saturday 309 Downloads

BI/DW Projects, Business, Microsoft SQL Server,
Downloads for SQL Saturday #309 in Oklahoma City are below. Thank you to all who attended. Thanks also to all the sponsors who help make these great events possible for the tech community. Business Intelligence Basics: Finding Return on Data This session will you chart the waters through the sea of Business Intelligence (BI) options. IT departments need tools to turn data into useful information for users. Instead of ROI, this session talks about 'Return on Data' for IT Managers. In this session we look at the roles of data warehousing, big data and business intelligence systems. The Microsoft BI…
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10 May 2013
By Allen
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Business Intelligence Forecasting in SQL and Cognos

Business Intelligence Forecasting in SQL and Cognos

Cognos, SSAS, , , , ,
Note: This article is an update of a presentation given when I was at the University of Oklahoma's Health Sciences Center. At that time, I was using Cognos version 7.3. This article is updated for Cognos 10 and SQL Server Analysis Server 2012.  Revisiting this subject ten years later, my opinion is that Microsoft has finally surpassed IBM Cognos. Most businesses, including medical clinics, want some method for forecasting business trends. The Cognos BI powerplay presentation tools contain the tools needed for basic forecasting.  The trick in getting accurate forecasting is select the correct algorithm. I recommend trying the model…
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05 Jun 2012
By Allen
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SQL Rally 2012 BI Track Highlights

SQL Rally 2012 BI Track Highlights

SQL Server, SSAS, SSIS, SSRS, , , , , , , ,
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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