Book description
Learn to create an effective business strategy using Microsoft's BI stack
Microsoft Business Intelligence tools are among the most widely used applications for gathering, providing access to, and analyzing data to enable the enterprise to make sound business decisions. The tools include SharePoint Server, the Office Suite, PerformancePoint Server, and SQL Server, among others.
With so much jargon and so many technologies involved, Microsoft Business Intelligence For Dummies provides a much-needed step-by-step explanation of what's involved and how to use this powerful package to improve your business.
Microsoft Business Intelligence encompasses a broad collection of tools designed to help business owners and managers direct the enterprise effectively
This guide provides an overview of SharePoint, PerformancePoint, the SQL Server suite, Microsoft Office, and the BI development technologies
Explains how the various technologies work together to solve functional problems
Translates the buzzwords and shows you how to create your business strategy
Examines related technologies including data warehousing, data marts, Online Analytical Processing (OLAP), data mining, reporting, dashboards, and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Simplifies this complex package to get you up and running quickly
Microsoft Business Intelligence For Dummies demystifies these essential tools for enterprise managers, business analysts, and others who need to get up to speed.
Table of contents
- Copyright
- About the Author
- Author's Acknowledgments
- Publisher's Acknowledgments
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Introduction
- About This Book
- How to Use This Book
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How This Book Is Organized
- Part I: Embracing a Microsoft Business Intelligence Solution
- Part II: Wrapping Your Head Around Business Intelligence Concepts
- Part III: Introducing the Microsoft Business Intelligence Technologies
- Part IV: Incorporating Microsoft Business Intelligence into Your Business Environment
- Part V: The Part of Tens
- Icons Used In This Book
- Let's Get Started!
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I. Embracing a Microsoft Business Intelligence Solution
- 1. Surveying Microsoft Business Intelligence from 50,000 Feet
- 2. Blazing a Trail through the Data Jungle
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3. Adopting Microsoft Business Intelligence
- 3.1. Understanding the Adoption Process
- 3.2. Documenting Your Key Business Processes
- 3.3. Understanding Where to Find Microsoft BI Guidance
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II. Wrapping Your Head Around Business Intelligence Concepts
- 4. Using Data to Inform and Drive Business Activities
- 5. Taking a Closer Look at Data Collection
- 6. Turning Data into Information
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7. Data Mining for Information Gold
- 7.1. Going Deep with Data Mining
- 7.2. Digging In to Data Mining in the Microsoft World
- 7.3. Knowing the Microsoft Data-Mining Tools
- 7.4. Using Microsoft Data Mining Algorithms
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III. Introducing the Microsoft Business Intelligence Technologies
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8. Meeting SQL Server
- 8.1. First Contact with SQL Server
- 8.2. Primary Components of SQL Server
- 8.3. Looking at the Different Versions of SQL Server
- 8.4. Installing SQL Server
- 8.5. Checking Out SQL Server Tools
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9. Excel — Digital Data Power to the People
- 9.1. Excel as a BI Application
- 9.2. Generating Data
- 9.3. Collecting Data
- 9.4. Getting Organized
- 9.5. Show Me the Data! — Data Visualization
- 9.6. Analyzing Data: Pivot on This and Pivot on That
- 9.7. Data Mining with Excel
- 9.8. Keeping Score with the Excel Scorecard
- 9.9. Knowing the Limits of Excel
- 9.10. Looking at the Future of Excel
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10. SharePoint Shines
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10.1. Getting to Know SharePoint
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10.1.1. What exactly is SharePoint?
- 10.1.1.1. Starting with the roots — computer hardware
- 10.1.1.2. Software that talks to the hardware — the operating system
- 10.1.1.3. Software frameworks and servers — .NET and IIS
- 10.1.1.4. A computer language for the Web — ASP.NET
- 10.1.1.5. The first step into the SharePoint world — SharePoint Foundation
- 10.1.1.6. A finished product — SharePoint Server
- 10.1.2. Understanding the versions and editions of SharePoint
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10.1.1. What exactly is SharePoint?
- 10.2. Making BI Information Available in SharePoint
- 10.3. Unleashing Human Business Intelligence with SharePoint
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10.4. Learning What Was Added with SharePoint Server 2010
- 10.4.1. Cruising with the Navigation Ribbon
- 10.4.2. Providing a more fluid user experience
- 10.4.3. Developing applications with Silverlight
- 10.4.4. Integrating visualizations with PowerPoint themes
- 10.4.5. Visio Services
- 10.4.6. Sorting and filtering lists dynamically
- 10.4.7. Using Business Connectivity Services
- 10.4.8. Increasing efficiency with Office integration
- 10.4.9. Taking SharePoint offline with SharePoint Workspace
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10.1. Getting to Know SharePoint
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11. Expressing Yourself with Development Tools
- 11.1. Taking a Look at Visual Studio
- 11.2. Examining the .NET Framework
- 11.3. Exploring Report Builder
- 11.4. Diving In to SQL Server Management Studio
- 11.5. Getting to Know SharePoint Designer
- 11.6. Seeing the (Silver)light and Tasting Expression Blend
- 11.7. Understanding PerformancePoint
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8. Meeting SQL Server
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IV. Incorporating Microsoft Business Intelligence into Your Business Environment
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12. Setting Your BI Goals and Implementation Plan
- 12.1. Setting Your Business Intelligence Goals
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12.2. Determining Your Implementation Plan
- 12.2.1. Comparing waterfall and iterative methodologies
- 12.2.2. Discovering how things really work
- 12.2.3. Identifying the power users
- 12.2.4. Solidifying the goals of the BI project
- 12.2.5. Identifying the data needed to attain your goals
- 12.2.6. Setting a solid foundation for a BI implementation
- 12.2.7. Scope creep can be your friend
- 13. Evaluating and Choosing Technologies
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14. Testing and Rolling Out
- 14.1. Continuously Adding Value
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14.2. Testing Your BI Implementation
- 14.2.1. BI testing diversity
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14.2.2. Unit testing
- 14.2.2.1. Documenting the goal
- 14.2.2.2. Mapping the current state of your business process
- 14.2.2.3. Creating a data-storage mechanism
- 14.2.2.4. Mapping the future process state
- 14.2.2.5. Modifying the current processes
- 14.2.2.6. Creating the ETL package using SSIS
- 14.2.2.7. Creating information and surfacing data
- 14.2.2.8. So, to reiterate . . .
- 14.3. Rolling It Out — Again and Again
- 14.4. Having a BI Management Plan
- 14.5. Managing Change
- 15. Training, Using, and Evaluating Results
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12. Setting Your BI Goals and Implementation Plan
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V. The Part of Tens
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16. Ten Microsoft BI Implementation Pitfalls
- 16.1. Drowning Under the Waterfall
- 16.2. Getting Stuck on the Shelf(-ware)
- 16.3. Letting Politics Kill the BI Project
- 16.4. Ignoring IT
- 16.5. Disregarding Power Users
- 16.6. Snubbing Business Processes
- 16.7. Overpromising Results
- 16.8. Getting Squashed by Top-Down Decree
- 16.9. Skimping on the Foundation
- 16.10. Misjudging How to Use Consultants
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17. Ten Keys to Successful Microsoft Business Intelligence
- 17.1. Reiterating an Iterative Approach
- 17.2. Obtaining Executive-Level Sponsorship
- 17.3. Assessing Your Current Environment
- 17.4. Developing an Implementation Plan
- 17.5. Choosing the Right People for the Implementation Team
- 17.6. Creating an Inclusive Environment
- 17.7. Fostering a Culture of Communication and Collaboration
- 17.8. Starting with the Right Goals
- 17.9. Reducing Risk
- 17.10. Maintaining Perspective
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18. Ten Ways to Boost Your Bottom Line with Microsoft Business Intelligence
- 18.1. Increasing Efficiency
- 18.2. Improving Agility
- 18.3. Increasing the Visibility of Business Processes
- 18.4. Forecasting
- 18.5. Taking Advantage of Existing Skill Sets
- 18.6. Collaborating and Communicating
- 18.7. Reusing Code in Various Functional Areas
- 18.8. Consolidating Content
- 18.9. Increasing Productivity
- 18.10. Making Deep Use of SQL Server and SharePoint
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16. Ten Microsoft BI Implementation Pitfalls
- Glossary
Product information
- Title: Microsoft® Business Intelligence For Dummies®
- Author(s):
- Release date: March 2010
- Publisher(s): For Dummies
- ISBN: 9780470526934
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