About James Serra
I am an independent consultant with the title of Business Intelligence/Data Warehouse/Master Data Management Architect and Developer, specializing in the Microsoft SQL Server BI stack.Need some help?
If you are looking for help in building a data warehouse or end-to-end BI solution, send me an email and we can discuss your needs. I am available for short or long-term projects.Follow Me!
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Recent Posts
- Low-rate recruiters – The bane of my existence
- Presentation Slides for Building an Effective Data Warehouse Architecture
- Levels in IT consultancy
- Building an Effective Data Warehouse Architecture Presentation
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- IT recruiter’s response
- SQL Server 2014!
- Power View for Multidimensional Models Released
- Ralph Kimball Books
- Business Intelligence Requirements Gathering
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Top Posts & Pages
- Low-rate recruiters - The bane of my existence
- Presentation Slides for Building an Effective Data Warehouse Architecture
- SQL Server 2014!
- Data Warehouse Architecture - Kimball and Inmon methodologies
- Microsoft SQL Server Parallel Data Warehouse (PDW) Explained
- SQL Server 2012: Multidimensional vs tabular
- Create SQL Server scripts with Visio 2010
- Improving cube processing time
- SSDT - Installation confusion
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Monthly Archives: October 2012
SQL Server 2012: New Business Intelligence features
SQL Server 2012 has many new Business Intelligence (BI) features and enhancements. Here are my top 12, in order of importance: Power View. A fun, visual, and powerful drag-and-drop ad-hoc reporting tool. It is a web-based end-user BI tool based … Continue reading
Using PerformancePoint against tabular data
PerformancePoint (PPS) is typically used against multidimensional data sources (i.e. Analysis Services), but it does have the ability, albeit limited, to work against tabular data sources such as SQL Server tables, SharePoint Lists, Excel Services, Import From Excel Workbooks, and even PowerPivot (with … Continue reading
Posted in PerformancePoint, SQLServerPedia Syndication
2 Comments
Master Data Services (MDS): Miscellaneous tips
I have come across a number of tips while using MDS. These are tips not big enough for their own blog post, so I list them all here: To “hide” an attribute in the MDS Excel add-in, set the pixel … Continue reading
Posted in MDS/MDM, SQLServerPedia Syndication
7 Comments
Should a placement firm tell you what they are billing the client?
As a 1099 consultant, I usually use a placement firm to find a contract job. I always ask the placement firm what rate they are billing the client. They usually tell me. When they don’t, it’s a sure sign that … Continue reading
Posted in Career, Consulting, SQLServerPedia Syndication
7 Comments
MDS: Copying models and data to another server
Having recently completed a model in Master Data Services (MDS), I needed to move the model from a development environment to a QA environment. Below is some helpful tips if you need to do the same, along with details on … Continue reading
Posted in MDS/MDM, SQLServerPedia Syndication
2 Comments
24 Hours of PASS videos online
All the videos for the sessions at 24 Hours of PASS (Fall 2012) are available for free. Check the session schedule for a complete list. Enjoy!
Posted in PASS, SQL Server, SQLServerPedia Syndication, Videos
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Interacting with Master Data Services (MDS)
There are five different way to interact with Master Data Services (MDS) to do things such as create a model, load data into MDS, manage business rules, versioning, etc. Master Data Manager Web User Interface (“UI”), also called the Master Data Manager Web … Continue reading
Posted in MDS/MDM, SQLServerPedia Syndication
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MDS Error: “Cannot insert the value NULL into column ‘Code’”
In Microsoft Data Services (MDS), when running a stored procedure to process a staging table (stg.udp_name_Leaf), I received this error: “Cannot insert the value NULL into column ‘Code’, table ‘MDS2012.mdm.tblStgErrorDetail’; column does not allow nulls. INSERT fails.” As described in … Continue reading
Posted in MDS/MDM, SQLServerPedia Syndication
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Master Data Services (MDS): Bug deleting an attribute
UPDATE on 11/28/2012: I had this same error when trying to delete a model. Fortunately, SQL Server 2012 SP1 has fixed this bug! In Master Data Services (MDS), when trying to delete an attribute in an entity, I received the … Continue reading
Posted in MDS/MDM, SQLServerPedia Syndication
2 Comments
Master Data Services: Copy Versions
In Master Data Services (MDS), you can use the Master Data Manager Web User Interface “UI” to copy a version of a model and create a new version of it (via the Version Management screen). However, you may find the “Copy” … Continue reading
Posted in MDS/MDM, SQLServerPedia Syndication
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