Pro SQL Server 2008 Analysis Services

Every business has a reams of business data locked away in databases, business systems, and spreadsheets. While you may be able to build some reports by pulling a few of these repositories together, actually performing any kind of analysis on the data that runs your business can range from problematic to impossible. Pro SQL Server 2008 Analysis Services will show you how to pull that data together and present it for reporting and analysis in a way that makes the data accessible to business users, instead of needing to rely on the IT department every time someone needs a different report.

• Accessible–With a single author's voice, this book conducts a guided tour through the technology that makes it easy to dive into.
• Solution-oriented–While technically deep, the goal is to focus on practical application of the technologies instead of acting as a technical manual.
• Comprehensive–This book covers every aspect of Analysis Services and ancillary technologies to enable you to make the most of SQL Server.

What you'll learn

• Understand the importance of OLAP and Analysis Services technologies.
• Build cubes and dimensions that let you get business value out of large volumes of data.
• Learn the fundamentals of MDX–the query language for advanced analysis.
• Apply ancillary aspects of SSAS: KPIs, perspectives, and calculated members.
• Apply basic data mining concepts–identify answers to questions you weren't even aware you should ask.
• Learn the various ways to consume Analysis Services data (Reporting Services, Excel, and ProClarity).

About the Authors

Philo Janus is a senior technology specialist with Microsoft. Over the years he has presented InfoPath to thousands of users and developers, and assisted with enterprise implementations of InfoPath solutions. With that background, he is particularly sensitive to the difficulties users and developers have had with InfoPath.

He graduated from the US Naval Academy with a BSEE in 1989 to face a challenging career in the US Navy. After driving an aircraft carrier around the Pacific Ocean and a guided missile frigate through both the Suez and Panama Canals, and serving in the US Embassy in Cairo, a small altercation between his bicycle and an auto indicated a change of career (some would say that landing on his head in that accident would explain many things).

Philo's software development career started with building a training and budgeting application in Access 2.0 in 1995. Since then he's worked with Oracle, Visual Basic, SQL Server, and .NET building applications for federal agencies, commercial firms, and conglomerates. In 2003 he joined Microsoft as a technology specialist evangelizing Office as a development platform.

Guy Fouché is a business intelligence and decision support system consultant in the Dallas, Texas, area.