Written by the lead developers of Analysis Services at Microsoft, this book begins with an overview showing how Analysis Services and MDX can be used to build data warehouses and multidimensional databases The authors then describe the development processes for building dimensions and cubes from various data sources Demonstrating a variety of techniques in real-world scenarios, the book shows how MDX can be used to query databases to provide sophisticated analysis of business problems Finally, the book explains how Analysis Services can be used with other components of SQL Server, including DTS, data mining, and Report Services, to provide comprehensive, end-to-end solutions

When used with the MDX query language, SQL Server Analysis Services allows developers to build full-scale database applications to support such business functions as budgeting, forecasting, and market analysis. Shows readers how to build data warehouses and multi-dimensional databases, query databases, and use Analysis Services and other components of SQL Server to provide end-to-end solutions Revised, updated, and enhanced, the book discusses new features such as improved integration with Office and Excel 2007; query performance enhancements; improvements to aggregation designer, dimension designer, cube and dimension wizards, and cell writeback; extensibility and personalization; data mining; and more

Design and implement fast, scalable and maintainable cubes with Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Analysis Services with this book and eBook

Knowledge is power! As its name suggests, the promise of Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services 2005 is to promote better data analytics by giving information workers the right tool to analyze consistent, timely, and reliable data. Empowered with Analysis Services and Microsoft Business Intelligence Platform, you are well positioned to solve the perennial problem with data--that there is too much of it and finding the right information is often difficult, if not impossible. Applied Micrisoft Analysis Services 2005 shows database administrators and developers how to build complete OLAP solutions with Microsoft Analysis Services 2005 and Microsoft Business Intelligence Platform. Database administrators will learn how to design and manage sophisticated OLAP cubes that provide rich data analytics and data mining services. The book gives developers the necessary background to extend UDM with custom programming logic, in the form of MDX expressions, scripts and .NET code. It teaches them how to implement a wide range of reporting applications that integrate with Analysis Services, Reporting Services, and Microsoft Office. This book doesn't assume any prior experience with OLAP and Microsoft Analysis Services. It is designed as an easy-to-follow guide where each chapter builds upon the previous to implement the components of the innovative Unified Dimensional Model (UDM) in a chronological order. New concepts are introduced with step-by-step instructions and hands-on demos. What's Inside: o Design sophisticated UDM models o Build ETL processes with SSIS o Implement data mining tasks o Enrich UDM programmatically with MDX o Extend UDM with SSAS stored procedures o Create rich end-user model o Optimize Analysis Services storage and processing o Implement dynamic security o Build custom OLAP clients o Author standard and ad-hoc reports with SSRS o Build Office-based BI applications and dashboards o and much more

For the first time, SQL Server 2005 provides features that can support large-scale enterprise databases. With this powerful new release, you may find yourself being called upon to perform duties that are no longer strictly "administrative," duties that have become much more complicated and difficult. With that in mind, a team of experienced Microsoft Certified Professionals provides you with the necessary information to be a more competent and successful database developer or administrator. Beginning with a foundation that features detailed coverage of typical administrative duties, the authors proceed to explain how to build complex data transformations for data import, build distributed data solutions, and maintain the security and integrity of the database. You will be able to apply what you learn to real-world scenarios, and smoothly navigate the vastly changed landscape of SQL Server 2005 administration. What you will learn from this book How to install, maintain, and manage an SQL Server 2005 installation, including high availability and security considerations Various features such as the Common Language Runtime, SQL Server Integration Services, Notification Service, and the Service Broker How to use the tools that are necessary to manage configuration, backups, restores, security, availability, performance, and monitoring A sampling of some of the more advanced areas and complex jobs of the broadening role of a database administrator in the enterprise Who this book is for This book is for both developers and administrators who are responsible for the management and maintenance of an SQL Server 2005 database. Familiarity with relational database concepts and SQL is assumed. Wrox Beginning guides are crafted to make learning programming languages and technologies easier than you think, providing a structured, tutorial format that will guide you through all the techniques involved. Enhance Your Knowledge Advance Your Career

This groundbreaking book is the first in the Kimball Toolkit series to be product-specific. Microsoft’s BI toolset has undergone significant changes in the SQL Server 2005 development cycle. SQL Server 2005 is the first viable, full-functioned data warehouse and business intelligence platform to be offered at a price that will make data warehousing and business intelligence available to a broad set of organizations. This book is meant to offer practical techniques to guide those organizations through the myriad of challenges to true success as measured by contribution to business value. Building a data warehousing and business intelligence system is a complex business and engineering effort. While there are significant technical challenges to overcome in successfully deploying a data warehouse, the authors find that the most common reason for data warehouse project failure is insufficient focus on the business users and business problems. In an effort to help people gain success, this book takes the proven Business Dimensional Lifecycle approach first described in best selling The Data Warehouse Lifecycle Toolkit and applies it to the Microsoft SQL Server 2005 tool set. Beginning with a thorough description of how to gather business requirements, the book then works through the details of creating the target dimensional model, setting up the data warehouse infrastructure, creating the relational atomic database, creating the analysis services databases, designing and building the standard report set, implementing security, dealing with metadata, managing ongoing maintenance and growing the DW/BI system. All of these steps tie back to the business requirements. Each chapter describes the practical steps in the context of the SQL Server 2005 platform. Intended Audience The target audience for this book is the IT department or service provider (consultant) who is: Planning a small to mid-range data warehouse project; Evaluating or planning to use Microsoft technologies as the primary or exclusive data warehouse server technology; Familiar with the general concepts of data warehousing and business intelligence. The book will be directed primarily at the project leader and the warehouse developers, although everyone involved with a data warehouse project will find the book useful. Some of the book’s content will be more technical than the typical project leader will need; other chapters and sections will focus on business issues that are interesting to a database administrator or programmer as guiding information. The book is focused on the mass market, where the volume of data in a single application or data mart is less than 500 GB of raw data. While the book does discuss issues around handling larger warehouses in the Microsoft environment, it is not exclusively, or even primarily, concerned with the unusual challenges of extremely large datasets. About the Authors JOY MUNDY has focused on data warehousing and business intelligence since the early 1990s, specializing in business requirements analysis, dimensional modeling, and business intelligence systems architecture. Joy co-founded InfoDynamics LLC, a data warehouse consulting firm, then joined Microsoft WebTV to develop closed-loop analytic applications and a packaged data warehouse. Before returning to consulting with the Kimball Group in 2004, Joy worked in Microsoft SQL Server product development, managing a team that developed the best practices for building business intelligence systems on the Microsoft platform. Joy began her career as a business analyst in banking and finance. She graduated from Tufts University with a BA in Economics, and from Stanford with an MS in Engineering Economic Systems. WARREN THORNTHWAITE has been building data warehousing and business intelligence systems since 1980. Warren worked at Metaphor for eight years, where he managed the consulting organization and implemented many major data warehouse systems. After Metaphor, Warren managed the enterprise-wide data warehouse development at Stanford University. He then co-founded InfoDynamics LLC, a data warehouse consulting firm, with his co-author, Joy Mundy. Warren joined up with WebTV to help build a world class, multi-terabyte customer focused data warehouse before returning to consulting with the Kimball Group. In addition to designing data warehouses for a range of industries, Warren speaks at major industry conferences and for leading vendors, and is a long-time instructor for Kimball University. Warren holds an MBA in Decision Sciences from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, and a BA in Communications Studies from the University of Michigan. RALPH KIMBALL, PH.D., has been a leading visionary in the data warehouse industry since 1982 and is one of today's most internationally well-known authors, speakers, consultants, and teachers on data warehousing. He writes the "Data Warehouse Architect" column for Intelligent Enterprise (formerly DBMS) magazine.

* First book to provide comprehensive, deeply practical coverage on all major new SS2005 features. • Lead author (Tom Rizzo) is a key member of the SQL Server team at Microsoft and a respected author and blogger. • Gets the DBA and developer up and running with SS2005 in the fastest possible time. • The facts, not the evangelism.