SQL Server Magazine UPDATE, January 4, 2007--BI Is for Everyone: Pass It On

Explore how widespread adoption of BI through tools like Swivel will affect the impact of “real” BI in the business world. Plus, read about the release of Visual Studio 2005 Tools for the 2007 Microsoft Office System and more!

ITPro Today

January 7, 2007

8 Min Read
SQL Server Magazine UPDATE, January 4, 2007--BI Is for Everyone: Pass It On

In This Issue:
Will BI-style tools and technologies like Swivel ever be adopted by the masses? And how will wider adoption of BI affect the impact of “real” BI in the business world?

New Instant Poll: Cashing In
"What was your total base salary for 2006?" Go to the SQL Server Magazine home page and submit your vote for:

  • Under $30,000

  • $30,000 to $50,000

  • $50,000 to $75,000

  • $75,000 to $100,000

  • More than $100,000

To ensure that future email messages you receive from SQL Server Magazine UPDATE aren't mistakenly blocked by antispam software, be sure to add [email protected] to your list of allowed senders and contacts.

Our Sponsors, Who Help Support the Free Delivery Of This Newsletter:

January 4, 2007

1. Perspectives

  • BI Is for Everyone: Pass It On

2. SQL Server Watch

  • New Tools for Office Released for Visual Studio

  • Product Watch: Red Gate Software

3. Hot Articles

  • Q&A: Choosing SELECT Statements

  • Feature: SQL Server Pros Keep On Innovating

  • Puzzled by T-SQL: Partial Aggregate

  • In a Nutshell: Erland Sommarskog's Dynamic Search Conditions Article

  • Hot Threads: SQL Server 2005 Security and T-SQL

4. Events and Resources

  • Need to Deploy Oracle on a Windows Platform?

  • Pop Quiz: Web Filtering

  • Keep Users Continuously Connected

  • Use Fax Technology to Improve Your Bottom Line

5. Featured White Paper

  • Get Your Disaster Recovery Plan Ready

6. Announcements

  • Special Invitation for VIP Access

  • Ring in the New Year with SQL Server Magazine

7. Web Community

Sponsor: Neverfail
Expect the Unexpected: Disaster Recovery for Your Windows-Based Applications
Learn to differentiate between alternative solutions to disaster recovery for your Windows-based applications and to ensure seamless recovery of your key systems--whether a disaster strikes just one server or the whole site. On-Demand Web Seminar.

1. Perspectives

BI Is for Everyone: Pass It On
by Brian Moran, [email protected]

A few weeks ago, in “Swivel Puts a New Twist on BI for the Masses”, I wrote about Swivel (http://www.swivel.com), a novel site devoted to amateur data analysis. I pondered whether this new site would become the “next big thing” and finally bring BI to the masses or quickly fade away into nothingness. I’m still not sure if Swivel will be a bang or a bust, but an aside at the end of a reader reply to my first Swivel editorial fascinated me:

“Thanks for the heads-up! My brother's a high-school AP stats teacher, so I'm passing it on to him too.”

That’s exactly what I’m talking about when I suggested that Swivel, or something like it, might actually bring BI to the masses. People who aren’t functional experts—such as high school statistics students—could “do BI.” Will these unwashed masses, as I suggested in my editorial a few weeks ago, learn to publish, analyze, and understand complex data sets? And will we see a significant increase in the amount of data analysis that happens worldwide?

Read this complete article today at: http://www.sqlmag.com/Article/ArticleID/94772/sql_server_94772.html.

Sponsor: XOsoft
SQL Server Clustering for High Availability
Achieve your database high availability goals. Learn how Microsoft’s Clustering Services can be used to improve SQL Server availability, and get guidelines for how clusters can assist with your disaster recovery strategy. Also learn to upgrade and manage your existing clusters. Free On-Demand Web Seminar.

2. SQL Server Watch

New Tools for Office Released for Visual Studio
Microsoft released the second edition of its Visual Studio 2005 Tools for the 2007 Microsoft Office System. Developers who have a licensed version of Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Office or Visual Studio Professional and above can use VSTO 2005 SE to build applications that use the 2007 Office system. New functionality in VSTO 2005 SE includes application-level add-in support for the most popular Office applications, maintainability and compatibility assurances, and the ability to run in Visual Studio 2005 Professional. For more details and download information, visit the VSTO 2005 SE home page at http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/office/aa905543.aspx.

Product Watch
by Blake Eno, [email protected]

Red Gate Gives You Easy Access to All its Tools
Red Gate Software launched a new service, SQL Professional Toolbelt, which gives you access to all of Red Gate's tools through an annual subscription. You get access to current and new Red Gate tools. An annual subscription, with 12 months of support and upgrades, is $1995. Subscription renewal is $995 per year. You can download a free trial of SQL Professional Toolbelt at Red Gate's Web site.

3. Hot Articles

Q&A: Choosing SELECT Statements
by Brian Moran, [email protected]

Q. What's the difference between the following SELECT statements?

SELECT * FROM tableA, tableB WHERE tableA.a1 = tableB.b1

and

SELECT * FROM tableA JOIN tableB ON tableA.a1 = tableB.b1

Someone told me the first statement isn't ANSI standard, but a lot of my existing code uses that syntax. Do I need to change the non-ANSI standard SELECT statements? Does one format perform better than the other?

Read the answer to this question today at http://www.sqlmag.com/Article/ArticleID/44719/sql_server_44719.html.

Feature: SQL Server Pros Keep On Innovating
The winners of this year's SQL Server Magazine Innovators contest epitomize ingenuity, developing fresh solutions to business problems ranging from change management to scheduling overtime. Read this article today and post your comments at http://www.sqlmag.com/Articles/ArticleID/94156/94156.html.

Puzzled by T-SQL: Partial Aggregate
Itzik Ben-Gan gives you the details about an interesting way that the SQL Server 2005 query optimizer optimizes aggregates. Read this blog entry and post your comments today at: http://www.sqlmag.com/article/articleid/94760/sql_server_blog_94760.html.

In a Nutshell: Erland Sommarskog's Dynamic Search Conditions Article
Kevin Kline highlights the updates to this valuable SQL Server resource. Read the blog entry and post your comments today at http://www.sqlmag.com/article/articleid/94731/sql_server_blog_94731.html.

Hot Threads:

4. Events and Resources

Are you an Oracle professional who has cross-platform responsibilities, or do you need to transfer your skill set to SQL Server? If so, register for free to attend the Cross Platform Data online event January 30 and 31 and February 1, 2007. In a seminar featuring SQL Server and Oracle experts Andrew Sisson from Scalability Experts and Douglas McDowell from Solid Quality Learning, you'll learn key concepts about SQL Server 2005, including how to deploy SQL Server's BI capabilities on Oracle, proof points demonstrating that SQL Server is enterprise-ready, and how to successfully deploy Oracle on the Windows platform.

Find the buried treasure by uncovering the secrets to Web filtering. Complete this quiz correctly and you could be a winner! Find the buried treasure by uncovering the secrets to Web filtering. Complete this quiz correctly and you could be a winner!

When your systems go down, your users’ productivity grinds to a halt. User downtime is one of the fastest growing concerns among businesses. This free Web seminar teaches you how to keep your users continuously connected and your business up and running. View the On-Demand Web Seminar now!

Integrate fax services with business applications for major increases in ROI. Find out how fax technology can benefit your bottom line and improve business processes. Download the free ebook today!

See the complete Windows IT Pro Network guide to Web and live events.

5. Featured White Paper

Disaster recovery isn’t just a theory for most businesses—it’s a harsh business reality. Improve your own disaster recovery efforts today and learn from real life disaster survivors. Make sure that your plan is ready before a disaster strikes—download this free whitepaper today!

Hot Spot: Neverfail
HA Solutions for Windows, SQL, and Exchange Servers
When disaster strikes your servers, you need answers, whether the servers are dedicated to Windows, SQL, or Exchange. Make sure that if an emergency occurs, you’re prepared. Get the full eBook and get started on your recovery plan today!

6. Announcements

Special Invitation for VIP Access
Become a VIP subscriber and get continuous, inside access to ALL the content published in Windows IT Pro magazine, SQL Server Magazine, Exchange & Outlook Pro VIP, Scripting Pro VIP, and Security Pro VIP. Subscribe now and SAVE $100: https://store.pentontech.com/index.cfm?s=1&promocode=eu2771uv.

Ring in the New Year with SQL Server Magazine
Don't miss SQL Server Magazine in 2007! As a subscriber, you’ll have full access to must-have coverage relating to high availability, SQL Server and Microsoft Office integration, business intelligence, clustering, Reporting Services and much more. Order now and get 58% off the cover price: https://store.pentontech.com/index.cfm?s=1&promocode=eu2171us.

 

7. Web Community

 

Contact Us

SQL Server Magazine UPDATE is brought to you by SQL Server Magazine, the only magazine devoted to helping developers and DBAs master new and emerging SQL Server technologies and issues. Subscribe today!

SQL Server Magazine is a division of Penton Media, Inc.
221 East 29th Street, Loveland, CO 80538
Attention: Customer Service Department

Copyright 2007, Penton Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Sign up for the ITPro Today newsletter
Stay on top of the IT universe with commentary, news analysis, how-to's, and tips delivered to your inbox daily.

You May Also Like