Category Archives: PowerPivot

Microsoft BI tools: How they use data sources

Posted on April 2, 2013 by

A quick list of how each of these Microsoft BI tools handles the two data sources “SQL Server” (relational-based) and “Analysis Services” (multidimensional-based): Report Builder – Using “SQL Server”, auto-detects joins if source system has foreign-key relationships (by selected “Auto … Continue reading →

Posted in Excel, PerformancePoint, Power View/Project Crescent, PowerPivot, Report Builder, SQLServerPedia Syndication, SSRS | 1 Comment

SQL Server 2012: Tabular Models vs PowerPivot Models

Posted on March 14, 2012 by

In SQL Server 2012, there is a new data model, called tabular, that is part of the new feature called the Business Intelligence Semantic Model (BISM).  BISM also includes the multidimensional model (formally called the UDM). The Tabular model is based on … Continue reading →

Posted in PowerPivot, SQL Server 2012, SQLServerPedia Syndication, Tabular | Leave a comment

End-User Microsoft BI Tools – Clearing up the confusion

Posted on February 27, 2012 by

Given two types of underlying data sources (a data warehouse and a OLAP cube built from the data warehouse) there are many different possible presentation layers (client tools) that serve different user communities with varying usage profiles.  There is a … Continue reading →

Posted in Excel, PerformancePoint, Power View/Project Crescent, PowerPivot, ProClarity, Report Builder, SQLServerPedia Syndication, SSRS, White Paper | 2 Comments

SQL Server 2012 (“Denali”): PowerPivot

Posted on February 20, 2012 by

Version 2 of PowerPivot (download) is being made available with SQL Server 2012.  There are many new features, and my top 5 are: Diagram View – Instead of looking at the defined relationships in a list format, v2 allows you to view the … Continue reading →

Posted in PowerPivot, SQL Server 2012, SQLServerPedia Syndication | 1 Comment