Most new SharePoint 2013 implementations these days run on virtual machines, and the question on whether to virtualize SQL servers has been long put to rest. Indeed, with the new Windows Server 2012 R2 Hyper-V VM specs of up to 64 vCPUs, 1 TB RAM and 64 TB data, it is hard to make a case […]
Posts Tagged ‘application development’
Columnstore Indexes: When Should You Use Them?
When I speak to clients about In-Memory features in SQL Server, I find that Columnstore indexes just haven’t gained much traction as a marquee feature. The functionality itself is quite useful in the BI/DW realm as far as potentially boosting query performance by 1.5 to 10 times. But I think it gets overlooked because the […]
What’s New in Microsoft Azure Active Directory
Azure Active Directory is a comprehensive identity and access management cloud solution. It combines core directory services, advanced identity governance, security, and application access management. Azure AD also offers developers an identity management platform to deliver access control to their applications, based on centralized policy and rules. In the last few months there’s been significant […]
Developing for Office 365 and SharePoint
Recently I participated in a Microsoft developer discussion on the Yammer Network where some great ideas were shared. I am re posting a summary of the session posted in that group here for everyone’s benefit ——————————– Overview: Microsoft responses to questions are provided by Chris Johnson, Sonya Koptyev, Jeremy Thake, Dorrene Brown, Mauricio Ordonez, Brian Jones, Ricky Kirkham, Christophe Fiessinger, […]
Upcoming Webinar: The Modern Data Warehouse – A Hybrid Story
Organizations of all sizes are looking more seriously at the cloud, and beginning to understand the scalability and cost savings benefits of a hybrid solution. Given the benefits of a properly implemented hybrid solution, it’s logical to consider other areas of the business that can gain from the cloud – one of those being your […]
Leverage Power BI with SQL Server 2014 & Azure: Webinar Recap
Earlier in the year, we held a popular webinar on utilizing Power BI, a new Microsoft offering (then in preview). Of course, much has changed since that previous webinar, with Power BI being available to the general public and the release of SQL Server 2014. In light of those changes, my colleague, Andy Tegethoff, a […]
Webinar: Make the Most of Power BI with SQL Server 2014 & Azure
Within the last few months, you’ve probably heard about about Power BI for Office 365, the new cloud-centric BI front end tool set from Microsoft. You may have even attended one of our webinars on the topic, while Power BI was still in preview – it has since moved to general availability. (If you missed […]
Language Behavior Office 365 2013 Pro Plus Click to Run
Office 365 2013 Pro Plus has been created utilizing Microsoft APP-V 5.0 technology and is called a Click to Run deployment. This new type of installation makes installing Office a simpler task for the application administrator to deploy and update for reasons such as License activation Automatic Updates faster deployment smaller platform ease of multiple […]
Top Five Reasons to Upgrade from Windows XP
# 5 – Familiarity One of the reasons organizations have tended to stay with XP for so long is their employees are familiar with it. Like an old friend, it’s comfortable and easy to deal with. However churn among your IT administrators and other employees has changed the dynamic. Most people are now more familiar […]
Adapting a new model of the brain to digital experience
Carol Rozwell, VP Distinguished Analyst at Gartner provided insights into her research on human brain activity and how this knowledge can be used to help increase digital experience in the solutions we deliver at the Gartner Portal, Content and Collaboration Summit last week. She answered to key questions. What does recent research teach us about […]
5 Common Pitfalls for Agile BI Projects
Having recently come off a string of Agile BI projects, I’ve made some observations about factors which can potentially hamstring such efforts. Great (but Unrealistic) Expectations First, Agile is not a silver bullet. It will help deal with rapidly changing requirements, and it will get “something” together, rather than “nothing”. But Agile suits some situations […]
End Of Life For Windows XP Or Is It?
Microsoft finally ended support for Windows XP, its end of life happened April 8th 2014. So what does this mean for those of us still on Windows XP? No more support, hot fixes, and patches? Well not really, Microsoft will be creating patches and security updates for years ahead. But like everything it has a […]