I just returned from my second SQLBits , this time in Liverpool, and I have to say it is a really great conference. Everything can be improved, but I have to say that it’s hard to find a conference where you can have more networking opportunities than  Read more

SQLCAT team just announced the first SSAS Maestros and I’m happy to be part of them! I already know many of them and I’m more than happy to see that also Alberto and Chris, who co-authered the Expert Cube Development with Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Analysis  Read more

Javier Guillén wrote several blog post about how to implement certain common calculations in PowerPivot. It is interesting to read his posts not only because of the solutions he propose, but also because he uses several techniques that can be applied  Read more

link In many workshops and sessions about PowerPivot the most frequently asked question has always been: how can I automate the PowerPivot Data Refresh in Excel? I talked about that a few weeks ago . The sad answer is that this feature is not supported  Read more

As I already announced on this blog some weeks ago, there will be a PowerPivot Workshop in Lisbon (Portugal) on September 19-20, 2011. The evening of September 19 there will be also a free community event in Lisbon where Alberto will speak: you can find  Read more

In PowerPivot you can import data from several sources and it is often the case that you import a DateTime column from a database. From an analytical point of view, you usually make analysis over dates (day/month/year/quarter/week) and over time (hour/minute)  Read more

I already announced a few weeks ago that I and Alberto will speak at SQLBits in Liverpool. We will also speak at SQLPASS Summit in Seattle and at SQLRally Nordic . A few details about my sessions: SQLPASS Summit (Seattle, WA – October 11-14, 2011) : My  Read more

There are not so many books about MDX and it’s strange considering that it is a very sophisticated languages that requires years for learning (I’m not kidding). I started learning MDX in 1999 and after so many years, I still have to learn something. I’ve  Read more

A BISM Tabular model can be browsed in Excel by using just the standard PivotTable like it was a regular Analysis Services cube (that now we call a Multidimensional model). If you are used to PowerPivot, this seems a limitation, because you cannot interact  Read more

In an Analysis Services cube you can define drillthrough actions on a cube. This feature has been working since SQL 2005 and now it will be available in both BISM Multidimensional and BISM Tabular in the next version of SQL Server “Denali”. In the current  Read more