After a long hiatus I think the time is right to rejuvenate my blogging efforts. Much has happened in the data landscape for Microsoft in the past six months:
SQL Server 2012 has taken a foothold in the database space. The key highlights from the BI perspective are centered around the xVelocity and Tabular data model functionality.
PowerPivot, now better known as the Excel Data Model, has grown in popularity and functionality. This was an absolute developer and power user’s dream to have the level of functionality that can now be achieved inside of the tool.
Office 2013, and specifically Excel 2013, has taken another huge leap forward in bringing additional BI features to the familiar world of the Office suite.
SharePoint 2013 has taken the world by storm with exciting new BI capabilities and enhanced Excel Services interaction.
Exciting? YES! Confusing? Well, marginally! So how do you – as a decision maker/user/consumer find the clear path to data and analytics? Well, the good news is that there is not a single right or wrong path. The first question that needs to be examined is: Where is your organization as it pertains to its BI lifecyle? Organizations with existing solid infrastructure and large data warehouse platforms will have a much different path than newcomers to data.
If your organization is a seasoned pro at data and data warehousing, the new suite of solutions inside Microsoft Data Platform will definitely see usage (initially at first) within your departmental usage and personal data exploration. The main use-case that Aspect has seen in this space is customers segmenting off a portion of their data warehouse and providing a smaller, more focused data store to the end user using the Tabular Mode for Analysis Services. Tabular Mode offers the developer and the user the same great experience as traditional OLAP, but with a simplified development lifecycle and no MDX writing. Tabular solutions are created using the SQL Server Data Tools (SSDT) and require knowledge of data warehousing, but don’t require all of the super-advanced features of OLAP. This is beneficial to many of our customers because it shortens design cycles and also reduces project complexity.
If your organization is a relative newcomer the world of data, there still remains the upfront work of cleaning your information. SQL Server 2012 has enhanced its Master Data Services (MDS) component as well as offers Data Quality Services (DQS) which can help take some of the confusion out of creating a data store. The need for clean and reliable data will always exist no matter the depth of BI within the organization.
So, where does the data come from if you are new to BI? Excellent question! There will still be a push ‘from the top’ to have organizational metrics and companywide KPIs that management will be held accountable for, but we are seeing a shift into what is commonly referred to as “agile BI”. That is, smaller datasets that users have identified, joined together, and are seeing a relationship in that in the past wasn’t possible. PowerPivot is the tool that is enabling this on the desktop, combined with the Azure Data Market for additional (often free) datasets. These mashups often become more enterprise in nature as the data propagates through the organization. These newcomers are seeing value in both the PowerPivot (Excel Data Model) and the Tabular Model for their data stores.
Still confused? That’s okay – Aspect is here to help guide you down the right path. More tools does not always mean more or better access to data and faster insights into the business. Our team of BI consultants and architects have been extensively trained and educated on the right tool for the right scenario. I would encourage you to reach out to Aspect to see what path is right for your organization and ultimately reach the insights your after in an accelerated pace.
Dave Harper, Director of Aspect Analytics National Practice, speaks nationally on industry technology trends and at many events in all vertical markets. Dave continues to serve as the technical architect on many of Aspect’s large-scale analytics projects. He has more than 12 years of experience developing and implementing solutions for all types of organizations, with significant experience in creating leading-edge Microsoft Business Intelligence solutions.
Read more about big data and business intelligence: