BI and Data Management
Apr 08 2013
Does success velocitize us towards a total failure?
I read the article, "9 warning signs you've been velocitized" by Bruce Kasanoff and was quite impressed by the questions there. The velocity can make us blindsided and we may miss the things happening around us. This is more so within the data warehousing space as the work involves fast paced deliveries and user driven business intelligence or data integration needs that are too detailed or specific in nature (leaving little room to explore.)
Most of the time it is the small series of small successes that reinforce us to pick up the pace and run to an often fatal ending. For example, a production support engineer checking and responding to emails after hours is seen by some as commitment to work or drive.
Mar 29 2013
CapTech Believes in Community: SQLSaturday Richmond Virginia
On March 9, 2013, SQLSaturday #187 came to Richmond VA at the University of Richmond. SQLSaturday is a community event, supported by the Professional Association for SQL Server, which provides free training for SQL Server and business intelligence professionals. With a great line up of speakers, sponsors, and volunteers from all over, it was a well-run, educational, and enjoyable event.
CapTech sponsored the event as a Gold sponsor and talked to a variety of professionals from the Richmond and surrounding areas. CapTech also provided three speakers to share their knowledge on reporting, business intelligence, and data quality. Finally, CapTech had many of their consultants attend to participate in the conversation and enhance their education. Some of the sessions attended are highlighted below by our attendees.
Dashboards...How To Choose Which MSBI Tool, presented by Melissa Coates
Mar 26 2013
Final Thoughts from the Gartner BI Summit in Dallas, TX
Now that I’m back from the Gartner BI Summit in Dallas, TX and have had the chance to get my thoughts around all the information presented last week, I wanted to summarize the recurring themes presented across the various speakers. The themes of the conference are presented as questions to ask yourself, your team and your company.
Big Data is here, and it has many forms. Well, OK, I admit that not every company will have a need to analyze “Big Data”. But if you have a reasonably large website (clickstream data), sell to consumers (online forum postings, social network commentary), or any other electronic data that is generated by or about your company or products, then you need to be aware of the potential benefits. This data can include many different forms – YouTube video, social web postings on Facebook, online product reviews, or non-transaction oriented application log files. What data can you extract from these to determin
Mar 25 2013
Live Blogging from The Gartner BI Summit in Dallas, TX - Day 3
Day 3
The closing day of the Gartner BI Conference has arrived. Time to look through the seminar list and pick anything I haven’t yet had a chance to gain additional exposure on, or would like to hear from a potentially different angle. I will also be curious to see if the themes noted during the first two days continue into the third.
The day opened with an 8:15am presentation by Bill Holtzmann on Building a BI Strategy. Some of his comments were similar to other speakers. High points include:
- Your strategy should include:
- Why are we doing this?
- What are the processes to be implemented?
- Who is involved?
- What will the high-level schedule be, and when?
- How will we accomplish our objectives?
DO’s:
Mar 19 2013
Live Blogging from the Gartner BI Summit in Dallas, TX
Day 1
I’m a bit overwhelmed and dismayed at the workshop choices here at the Gartner BI Summit. There are so many sessions I’d love to attend, but time is at a premium. Data Discovery/Self-Service BI or Introduction to Hadoop? Data Warehouse Best Practices or Healthcare Analytics? They’re all worthwhile, and applicable to many current CapTech clients. But it looks like I can’t go wrong no matter which ones I attend.
The day started with the Keynote Address, with Bill Hostmann, Ian Bertram and Ted Friedman joining forces to discuss the current state of BI, and the new direction its heading in the next few years. Key points included: