Visual Intelligence: Microsoft Tools and Techniques for Visualizing Data
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About the Authors
Mark Stacey, entrepreneur, CEO and founder of Aphelion Software, works tirelessly to cross the business/technical boundaries in Business Intelligence, and consults in both Sharepoint and SQL. He is a frequent speaker at SQL, SharePoint, and BI industry events, tweets at @MarkGStacey, and blogs at http://markgstacey.net.
Mark works with data at scale in industries such as vehicle tracking, mining, finance, insurance and retail, and has developed data warehouses in both SMP and MPP, built Master Data Management solutions, and created real time analytics systems for multiple customers. Mark is currently developing a predictive analytics platform to help predict accidents. He lives by the motto “Data Driven Decisions.” This is his second book, after SharePoint 2010 Business Intelligence 24-Hour Trainer (Wrox, 2011).
Joe Salvatore has over 15 years of Information Technology experience and presently is a Business Intelligence Architect with Pragmatic Works Consulting. He specializes in data access architecture, data integration especially extract transformation and load (ETL), and Microsoft® business intelligence solution design and development.
Joe is an accomplished SQL Server author and contributor to Professional SQL Server 2005 Administration (Wrox, 2006), Professional Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Administration (Wrox, 2008), and Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services Recipes: for Designing Expert Reports (Wrox, 2010). He was the lead technical editor for Professional Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services 2012 (Wrox, 2012).
Joe is a Microsoft Certified Professional with IT Professional (MCITP) certifications for SQL Server 2005 and 2008 Business Intelligence Developer, as well as having Technology Specialist (MCTS) certifications for SQL Server 2005 and 2008 Business Intelligence Development and Maintenance.
He attended data warehousing worldwide innovator Ralph Kimball’s Dimensional Modeling in Depth and Data Warehouse ETL in Depth classes, and regularly attends industry conferences such as the Microsoft Business Intelligence Conference and the Professional Association for SQL Server (PASS) Summits.
Joe designed content areas for Microsoft Certified IT Professional Exam 70-446 Designing a Business Intelligence Solution by Using Microsoft SQL Server 2005, and participated in an invitation only design review of Katmai (SQL Server 2008).
Adam Jorgensen is the President of Pragmatic Works and a Director at large for the Professional Association of SQL Server. As a Microsoft SQL Server MVP he has extensive experience with SQL Server, SharePoint, and analytics over the past 13 years. His focus is primarily on helping organizations and executives drive value through new technology solutions, management techniques, and financial optimization. He is especially focused in the areas of OLAP, Cloud and Big Data, and working on solutions to make those technologies real for the enterprise.
He regularly speaks in person and virtually at industry group events, major conferences, Code Camps, and SQL Saturday events on strategic and technical topics. He has co-authored white papers and books on business intelligence, among other topics.
Prior to his work with Pragmatic Works, Adam garnered extensive technical and managerial experience in industries including automotive, manufacturing, software, education, security, and retail. He has delivered high-performance, highly available systems as well as niche specialty systems for a variety of clients around the world. These systems deliver critical operations and analytics for firms like Toyota Motor Company, Dealer Track, American Auto eXchange, NASDAQ, Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, Clipper Wind Power, Rayonier, and Microsoft.
About the Contributor
Dan English, is a Microsoft SQL Server MVP and the Business Intelligence Practice Manager at Superior Consulting Services in Minneapolis, MN. He has been developing with Microsoft technologies since 1996 and has focused on data warehousing and business intelligence since 2004. Dan has presented for the Minnesota SQL Server user group, the Microsoft Minnesota BI user group, Minnesota TechFuse, along with SQL Server and SharePoint Saturday events. He is also an avid blogger and tweeter.
Dan holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Minnesota State University Mankato. He is an MCITP: Business Intelligence Developer 2005 and 2008, a Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) for Microsoft SQL Server Business Intelligence—Implementation and Maintenance, and also Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007—Configuring.
Dan and his wife Molly live in Minnesota and have two children, Lily and Wyatt.
About the Technical Editors
Kathi Kellenberger, is a Senior Consultant with Pragmatic Works. She enjoys speaking and writing about SQL Server and has worked with SQL Server since 1997. In her spare time, Kathi enjoys spending time with family and friends, running, and singing.
Shawn Harrison, is an experienced BI trainer and developer for Pragmatic Works. He has extensive experience in in SSIS, SSRS, and computer networking technologies. He has helped hundreds of customers with SSIS, architecting, and developing solutions. Shawn contributes to the SQL Server community and has presented at community events around the country.
Credits
Executive Editor
Robert Elliott
Project Editor
Tom Dinse
Technical Editors
Kathi Kellenberger
Dan English
Shawn Harrison
Production Editor
Daniel Scribner
Copy Editors
Nancy Sixsmith
Charlotte Kughen
Editorial Manager
Mary Beth Wakefield
FreelancerEditorial Manager
Rosemarie Graham
Associate Director of Marketing
David Mayhew
Marketing Manager
Ashley Zurcher
Business Manager
Amy Knies
Production Manager
Tim Tate
Vice President and Executive Group Publisher
Richard Swadley
Vice President and Executive Publisher
Neil Edde
Associate Publisher
Jim Minatel
Project Coordinator, Cover
Katie Crocker
Compositor
Maureen Forys, Happenstance Type-O-Rama
Proofreader
James Saturnio, Jennifer Bennett, Word One
Indexer
Johnna VanHoose Dinse
Cover Image
Ryan Sneed
Cover Designer
Andrew Donaldson
Acknowledgments
I'd first like to thank Christina Leo (@christinaleo) for her help in creating this book—her aid in crafting an understandable chapter was invaluable. I'd also like to thank Dan English for stepping in at the last minute to help us get the book finished on time—a true life-saver. Finally, Matt Horn (@maxui) and Andrew Donaldson, for their contributions on the HTML5 code and visualizations.
—Mark Stacey
I want to thank my team at Pragmatic Works and the incredible SQL Server community that drives this spirit of learning. That spirit provides the market for books like these and for opportunities for those of us who want to write to deliver collective knowledge in a beautiful format like this new full color book. A special thanks to our team at Wiley—Bob Elliot, Tom Dinse, and all the publishing and marketing folks who make this possible. Lastly, thanks to Mark and Joe for letting a reformed DBA tag along on this amazing project. Thanks guys!
—Adam Jorgensen
No worthwhile effort is accomplished without the loving support of so many important people. I wish to extend my most sincere gratitude to my Lord and Savior who challenges and inspires me to be mindful of the greater good. My family, wife Linda and two sons Andrew and Matthew, deserve mention for their loving commitment through some challenging times when they would prefer to have me around for family activities rather than writing for yet another technology book. Mark Stacey and Adam Jorgensen were fantastic co-authors and were largely responsible for ensuring this book meets our high expectations. Lastly, thanks for the top-notch efforts of all the managers, editors, reviewers, and without whom our efforts would be less than the stellar results that have been achieved.
— Joe Salvatore