Microsoft Business Intelligence Tools for Excel Analysts

Learn to create an effective business strategy using Microsoft's BI stack Microsoft Business Intelligence tools are among the most widely used applications for gathering, providing access to, and analyzing data to enable the enterprise to make sound business decisions. The tools include SharePoint Server, the Office Suite, PerformancePoint Server, and SQL Server, among others. With so much jargon and so many technologies involved, Microsoft Business Intelligence For Dummies provides a much-needed step-by-step explanation of what's involved and how to use this powerful package to improve your business. Microsoft Business Intelligence encompasses a broad collection of tools designed to help business owners and managers direct the enterprise effectively This guide provides an overview of SharePoint, PerformancePoint, the SQL Server suite, Microsoft Office, and the BI development technologies Explains how the various technologies work together to solve functional problems Translates the buzzwords and shows you how to create your business strategy Examines related technologies including data warehousing, data marts, Online Analytical Processing (OLAP), data mining, reporting, dashboards, and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) Simplifies this complex package to get you up and running quickly Microsoft Business Intelligence For Dummies demystifies these essential tools for enterprise managers, business analysts, and others who need to get up to speed.

Leverage the integration of SQL Server and Office for more effective BI Applied Microsoft Business Intelligence shows you how to leverage the complete set of Microsoft tools—including Microsoft Office and SQL Server—to better analyze business data. This book provides best practices for building complete BI solutions using the full Microsoft toolset. You will learn how to effectively use SQL Server Analysis and Reporting Services, along with Excel, SharePoint, and other tools to provide effective and cohesive solutions for the enterprise. Coverage includes BI architecture, data queries, semantic models, multidimensional modeling, data analysis and visualization, performance monitoring, data mining, and more, to help you learn to perform practical business analysis and reporting. Written by an author team that includes a key member of the BI product team at Microsoft, this useful reference provides expert instruction for more effective use of the Microsoft BI toolset. Use Microsoft BI suite cohesively for more effective enterprise solutions Search, analyze, and visualize data more efficiently and completely Develop flexible and scalable tabular and multidimensional models Monitor performance, build a BI portal, and deploy and manage the BI Solution

You're intelligent, right? So you've already figured out that Business Intelligence can be pretty valuable in making the right decisions about your business. But you’ve heard at least a dozen definitions of what it is, and heard of at least that many BI tools. Where do you start? Business Intelligence For Dummies makes BI understandable! It takes you step by step through the technologies and the alphabet soup, so you can choose the right technology and implement a successful BI environment. You'll see how the applications and technologies work together to access, analyze, and present data that you can use to make better decisions about your products, customers, competitors, and more. You’ll find out how to: Understand the principles and practical elements of BI Determine what your business needs Compare different approaches to BI Build a solid BI architecture and roadmap Design, develop, and deploy your BI plan Relate BI to data warehousing, ERP, CRM, and e-commerce Analyze emerging trends and developing BI tools to see what else may be useful Whether you’re the business owner or the person charged with developing and implementing a BI strategy, checking out Business Intelligence For Dummies is a good business decision.

Artificial Intelligence for Business: A Roadmap for Getting Started with AI will provide the reader with an easy to understand roadmap for how to take an organization through the adoption of AI technology. It will first help with the identification of which business problems and opportunities are right for AI and how to prioritize them to maximize the likelihood of success. Specific methodologies are introduced to help with finding critical training data within an organization and how to fill data gaps if they exist. With data in hand, a scoped prototype can be built to limit risk and provide tangible value to the organization as a whole to justify further investment. Finally, a production level AI system can be developed with best practices to ensure quality with not only the application code, but also the AI models. Finally, with this particular AI adoption journey at an end, the authors will show that there is additional value to be gained by iterating on this AI adoption lifecycle and improving other parts of the organization.

A book-and-video introduction to Microsoft's Business Intelligence tools If you are just starting to get a handle on Microsoft Business Intelligence (BI) tools, this book and accompanying video provides you with the just the right amount of information to perform basic business analysis and reporting. You'll explore the components and related tools that comprise the Microsoft BI toolset as well as the new BI features of Office 2010. After a basic primer on BI and data modeling, the expert team of authors provides you with step-by-step lessons in the book and videos on the accompanying DVD on how to use SQL Server Integration Services, SQL Server Analysis Services, SQL Server Reporting Services, Excel BI (including PowerPivot), and SharePoint. Integrates instructional videos with each of the lessons found in the book to enhance your learning experience Explores the Microsoft Business Intelligence (BI) toolset as well as the new BI features of Office 2010 Encourages you to practice what you've learned in «Try It Out» sections Contains video demonstrations that walk you through how to tackle each lesson featured in the book With Knight's Microsoft Business Intelligence 24-Hour Trainer, veteran authors present you with an ideal introductory book-and-video package so that you can get started working with the BI toolset immediately!/p Note: As part of the print version of this title, video lessons are included on DVD. For e-book versions, video lessons can be accessed at wrox.com using a link provided in the interior of the e-book.

Praise for Business Intelligence Success Factors: Tools for Aligning your business in the Global Economy «Olivia Parr Rud does a remarkable job of weaving together many topics in a strategic way. As 'quants,' we're fascinated with data and fact-based decision-making. But success only comes when you consider the human factor, especially effective communications. Making topics like evolutionary biology, complexity science, and systems thinking relevant for business success is a unique and compelling view. As Max Frisch said, 'We hired workers and human beings came instead.'» —Anne Milley, Senior Director, Technology Product Marketing, SAS «Business Intelligence Success Factors is a must-read for anyone implementing BI on an organizational level. This book explains the business landscape and the underlying reasons for our current volatility, offering clear guidance on navigating our information rich global economy.» —Ron Powell, Editorial Director, Business Intelligence Network Transform challenges into opportunities with emerging Business Intelligence technologies Written by an expert in data mining and statistical analysis, this valuable resource unveils the connection between the increased use of BI and the need for new, proven theories and models in BI, as well as the guidance to implement them successfully in your organization. Are you ready to become adaptable? Learn how to harness today's rapidly evolving global economy with Business Intelligence Success Factors.

A comprehensive guide to building financial models Building Financial Models with Microsoft Excel + CD-ROM provides beginning or intermediate level computer users with step-by-step instructions on building financial models using Microsoft Excel-the most popular spreadsheet program available. The accompanying CD-ROM contains Excel worksheets that track the course of the book and allow readers to build their own financial models. This comprehensive resource also covers important topics such as the concept of valuation, the concept of sensitivity analysis, the concepts of contribution margin and financial ratios and the basics of building and using a Capitalization Table. K. Scott Proctor, CFA, is the Director of Investor Analytics at SNL Financial, a financial information provider.

The intensified used of data based on analytical models to control digitalized operational business processes in an intelligent way is a game changer that continuously disrupts more and more markets. This book exemplifies this development and shows the latest tools and advances in this field Business Analytics for Managers offers real-world guidance for organizations looking to leverage their data into a competitive advantage. This new second edition covers the advances that have revolutionized the field since the first edition's release; big data and real-time digitalized decision making have become major components of any analytics strategy, and new technologies are allowing businesses to gain even more insight from the ever-increasing influx of data. New terms, theories, and technologies are explained and discussed in terms of practical benefit, and the emphasis on forward thinking over historical data describes how analytics can drive better business planning. Coverage includes data warehousing, big data, social media, security, cloud technologies, and future trends, with expert insight on the practical aspects of the current state of the field. Analytics helps businesses move forward. Extensive use of statistical and quantitative analysis alongside explanatory and predictive modeling facilitates fact-based decision making, and evolving technologies continue to streamline every step of the process. This book provides an essential update, and describes how today's tools make business analytics more valuable than ever. Learn how Hadoop can upgrade your data processing and storage Discover the many uses for social media data in analysis and communication Get up to speed on the latest in cloud technologies, data security, and more Prepare for emerging technologies and the future of business analytics Most businesses are caught in a massive, non-stop stream of data. It can become one of your most valuable assets, or a never-ending flood of missed opportunity. Technology moves fast, and keeping up with the cutting edge is crucial for wringing even more value from your data—Business Analytics for Managers brings you up to date, and shows you what analytics can do for you now.

The next wave of business intelligence, Self-Service BI, seeks to meet the demands of powerful hardware and shorter decision time frames. This book introduces PowerPivot for Excel and SharePoint, showing you how to use this innovative software for self-service analytics and reporting. Authored by key members of the Microsoft team that built the product, this book will guide you through the use of in-memory BI server technology, data analytics eXpressions, and report gallery. The book also discusses how to deploy and manage sandbox servers, and a companion website provides sample reports and applications.

Combine the power of Excel 2007, Microsoft Office SharePoint Server, and sound project management tools to boost your skill set and maximize your productivity. You’ll walk through a project and learn how to use these powerful tools to schedule jobs, create budgets, manage processes, and share project information. Whether new to project management or a veteran, you’ll discover techniques, hints, and examples you can use immediately.