Free SQL Server Community September 2011 Training

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Head over to Pragmatic Works site and take a look at all of the training that is available in September – free training on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 11 a.m. EST.

• September 1, Arie Jones – Swan Dive into Filtered Indexes and Filtered Statistics 
• September 6, Brian Knight – What New in SSIS Denali
• September 8, Brian Knight – Building Amazing Reports with Project Crescent
• September 13, Adam Jorgensen – Reporting Services – Bringing Sexy Back! 
• September 15, Adam Jorgensen – SQL Server Denali – What’s in the box?
• September 20, Bradley Schacht – SSIS Variables and Expression 
• September 22, Arie Jones – Working Smarter Not Harder! Silverlight with Caliburn.Micro 
• September 27, Mark Brown – Introduction to the Repository Design Pattern and using it in MVC 3 
• September 29, Sherri McDonald – “What not to Wear” Reporting Services Style

If you miss a session they record them and you can check them out later on-demand in the webinar resource area.

They already have the line up going for October as well, so if you want to plan ahead you are all set. Just remember the disclaimer that the speakers are subject to change, so always check back to see what is going on.

So what are you waiting for, get registered for one of these spectacular webinars today – Webinar Registration.

Don’t forget, you can stay up-to-date on the training events through the PWFreeTraining twitter account as well.

Enjoy!

New Book: MDX with Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 Analysis Services Cookbook

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Just a couple of weeks ago I tweeted about a new book that came out in regards to MDX and Analysis Services:

Book –> MDX with Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 Analysis Services Cookbook

Well just this week I received my very own eBook version for review from the publisher and I have already started diving into it to check it out.  This is a cookbook style of book that goes over different scenarios and/or issues and then provides the solution, explains the solution, and then provides even more information in regards to the item.  Very slick and I love the format.  Not only is Microsoft SQL Server MVP Tomislav Piasevoli a pro when it comes to this content, but he also got an all star MVP lineup to review and edit the book including Greg Galloway, Darren Gosbell, Deepak Puri, Marco Russo, and Chris Webb.

I plan on providing a full review on the book in a couple of weeks, but just wanted to put another shout out in regards to the book in case you haven’t heard about it yet and are looking for a technical reference cookbook in regards to MDX.  Stay tuned for my complete review.

Minnesota Microsoft BI User Group 2011 Q3 Meeting – Sept 14

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UPDATE (9/9/2011): Added Live Meeting information.

The next MN Microsoft Business Intelligence User Group has been scheduled and the agenda is set. This meeting we will have two sessions starting out with a Pentair BI case study and then we will go over some of the new and enhanced BI features in the upcoming SQL Server ‘Denali’ release.

MN Microsoft BI User Group 2011 Q3 Meeting

Sponsored by:

Date: Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Check In: 2:30 PM Event Time: 3:00 PM – 7:00 PM

Location: Microsoft Event Center 8300 Norman Center Drive Suite 950 Bloomington, MN 55437

To join via Live Meeting:  Click Here

Please Register Now

Agenda:

• 2:30-3:00 : Registration
• 3:00-3:15 : Microsoft BI User Group Updates & Announcements
• 3:15-4:15 : Pentair Case Study: BI Insights and Lessons Learned (Terry McDonald)
• 4:15-4:30 : Break
• 4:30-6:00 : What’s new with BI in SQL Server 2011 ‘Denali’ (Jin Cho and Dan English)
• 6:00-7:00 : Social and Networking

Presentations:

Pentair Case Study: BI Insights and Lessons Learned (by Terry McDonald, Pentair) – Managing a BI Environment consists of challenges and opportunities and while the journey for every business is unique we can all benefit from lessons we all learn along the way. In this presentation Terry McDonald, BI Program Manager, Pentair Technical Products will share Insights and Lessons Learned on our journey to establishing a mission or value proposition, engaging the business to create opportunities, and managing the day to day challenges of a BI environment.

What’s new with BI in SQL Server 2011 ‘Denali’ (by Jin Cho, Microsoft and Dan English, Superior Consulting Services) – During this session we are going to go over some of the new BI features that have been enhanced and added in SQL Server 2011 (code named ‘Denali’). We will look at new features that have been added into Integration Services, Analysis Services, and Reporting Services. Along with this we will talk about and go over the new report authoring tool ‘Crescent’ showing how this tool will provide you the ability to access, explore, and visualize your data in a whole new way and have fun at the same time.

Please Register Now

Hope to see you there!

TDWI Minneapolis Chapter Event: Best Practices Data Management – Sept 13

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The next TDWI Minneapolis Chapter meeting has been scheduled for Tuesday, September 13 and it will take place in Eagan, MN at Blue Cross and Blue Shield.  The meeting will be talking about getting the most out of your data to enable success within your business.  This is going to be a very interesting discussion and I can’t wait to attend.  Here are all of the details:

http://tdwichapters.org/Minneapolis (or http://www.tdwimpls.org/)

When: Tuesday, September 13, 2011, 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Where: Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, River Park I, 3400 Yankee Drive, Eagan, MN 55121

Directions please click here

We are pleased that Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota will host the September 13 meeting.
Preregistration will facilitate your entry to the meeting.

Click here to register for the next upcoming event

Agenda:

• 7:45 – 8:15 a.m. – Networking and Registration
• 8:15 – 8:30 a.m. – Introduction and Chapter Business
• 8:30 – 9:45 a.m. – “Enabling Business Success with Best Practices Data Management” by Darren Taylor
• 9:45 – 10:00 a.m. – Break and Networking
• 10:00 – 11:30 a.m. – “Enabling Business Success with Best Practices Data Management” by Darren Taylor (continued)
• 11:30 – 11:45 p.m. – Q&A and Collaboration
• 11:45 – 12:00 p.m. – Closing Comments & Wrap-Up

Click here to register for the next upcoming event

SQL Saturday #99 in MN – 11/11/11

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The stage has been set and everything is in place for the next SQL Saturday event in Minnesota.  Once again this year it will be on Friday and the date will be November 11 (11/11/11 for SQL11).  Last year we had around 330 people register for the event and around 280 people in attendance.  This year we are hoping for even more.  The event will take place this year in Eden Prairie at Grace Church.  This is a FREE all day learning event that will have content about SQL Server such as database administration, business intelligence, database development, SQL Azure, PowerPivot, Denali, and more.  The only thing that is being asked this year during the registration process is minimal charge of $10 which will cover the cost associate for the lunch.

Right now the call for speakers is open and this will close on September 1.  So far we already have 6 community members that have already submitted almost 30 sessions!

We are also looking for sponsors to help make this event possible.  So far we already have 4 sponsors signed up and I already know that others have signed up, have reached out, or are planning on sponsoring this event.  There are lots of options this year to help sponsor the event, so if you or your company is interested please review the sponsorship plan and consider helping out to make this event possible.  If you don’t see something on the plan that works for you then simply email your idea and we can make something happen.

Right now we already have quite a few people registered and we have a good networking list going.  If you haven’t been to an event like this or missed out on this last year, I would highly recommend getting your name on the list as soon as possible.  I can guarantee that it will fill up and a waiting list will start up.  It was really hard last year having to turn people away from such a fantastic event list this, so to guarantee your spot on the list, register now.

I do have some feedback in regards to the SQL Saturday #58 event that we had last year in MN if you want SQL Saturday 58 – Minnesota: Follow up & Lessons Learned to check that out.

So what are you waiting for, get registered today and if you know anyone that could be a potential sponsor (including yourself) please let us know.

Thanks and lets make this a great one (for the one and only great one #99 – Wayne Gretzky)!

PASSMN August 16, 2011 Meeting

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The next Minnesota SQL Server User Group (PASSMN) meeting is coming up in a couple of weeks and the one and only Jason Strate, Microsoft SQL Server MVP, will be presenting on ways for DBAs to track and monitor user activity within SQL Server.

The sponsor for this event is Digineer:

• Sponsor: Digineer
• Date: August 16, 2011
• Time: 3:00 – 5:00 PM
• Location: 8300 Norman Center Drive, 9th floor, Bloomington, MN 55437
• LiveMeeting URL: https://www.livemeeting.com/cc/usergroups/join?id=DSKW6G&role=attend&pw=NN%3Fj8%22cKf
• Please click here for meeting details and to RSVP

Agenda:

• 3:00-3:15 : Registration / hospitality / networking
• 3:15-3:30 : Announcements etc.
• 3:30-4:45 : The Creepy DBA, How to Stalk Your Users
• 4:45-5:00 : Closing comments/prize giveaways

Presentation:

The Creepy DBA, How to Stalk Your Users (Jason Strate, Digineer) – Do you know when your users are using the production login accounts from their workstations?  Are you aware of changes being made to the development servers that may impact future deployments?  Has the new Junior DBA start giving out access like candy?  As DBAs, we are responsible for knowing and acting on all of this and much more.  Fortunately, SQL Server provides a number of features that you can use to monitor and track user activity.  In this session, we’ll look at these features and demonstrate how you can use them to the extent that your users find you creepy!

Free SQL Server Community August 2011 Training

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Head over to Pragmatic Works site and take a look at all of the training that is available in August – free training on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 11 a.m. EST.

• August 2, Kevin Kline – SQL Server Internals and Architecture 
• August 4, Troy Gallant – Disaster Recovery for the SQL Server BI Professional 
• August 9, Devin Knight – Overview of Common DAX Expressions 
• August 11, Brad Schacht – Working with Excel Services in SharePoint 2010 
• August 16, Adam Jorgensen – Fundamentals of Fast Track BI 
• August 18, Adam Jorgensen – Zero to Dashboard: Intro to PerformancePoint
• August 23, Bradley Ball – Page Row Compression, How, When, and Why
• August 25, Mark Stacey – Developing and deploying PerformancePoint scorecards and dashboards
• August 30, Brian Knight – Upgrading DTS Packages to SSIS

If you miss a session they record them and you can check them out later on-demand in the webinar resource area.

They already have the line up going for September as well, so if you want to plan ahead you are all set. Just remember the disclaimer that the speakers are subject to change, so always check back to see what is going on.

So what are you waiting for, get registered for one of these spectacular webinars today – Webinar Registration.

Don’t forget, you can stay up-to-date on the training events through the PWFreeTraining twitter account as well.

Enjoy!