Posts Tagged ‘application development’

This article was pointed out to me by a colleague, and I found it a pretty compelling read:  How Microsoft helped this bar figure out that vodka was costing it a fortune. Of particular interest to me is the Natural Q&A feature, which is mentioned prominently. Now, my time in the data warehousing trenches tempers my […]

If you have used Windows Azure Cloud Services for any length of time, one of the features you would have wanted is AutoScale. AutoScale allows you to scale your applications based on usage and performance. Being able to dynamically scale your applications based on performance and other factors is a now a reality, as AutoScale is […]

If you have used Windows Azure for any length of time, one thing you should have noticed is the rate of change. When I say change, I’m not referring to things being taken away either. The change is almost always improving what already exists or adding more capabilities. The new SDK adds support for the […]

As with “All Things Cloud” for the last year or so, Cloud BI is a subject of much buzz. But if you look around, aside from a few niche vendors that have developed Software as a Service (SaaS)  and Platform as a Service (PaaS) BI packages, there’s not a lot of clear information or even thinking. Something close […]

Last time, we discussed arriving at a BI/DW solution for the problem of source application “Custom Fields.” This time, I want to look at the OLAP design, and the mechanisms that make it work in Analysis Services.  As you may recall, we were working on designing a multi-tenant SaaS analytics application. Our greatest problem was in […]

With the July updates to Windows Azure, some great enhancements have been made to SQL Database. I already talked about one of the great features, “Automated SQL Export.” So now I’ll let you know about another great feature, “Premium Databases.” Since the “Premium” feature is a preview feature you will need to specifically sign up […]

Over the past few years, I have had the privilege of working with some of the world’s largest companies in a variety of industries. One thing in common with all of these engagements was using SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) as the tool of migrating data for the companies’ business intelligence collateral. I have developed […]

With the July updates/enhancements of Windows Azure some changes have been made to SQL Database. In this article I’m going to talk about Automated SQL Export. Previously you had to manually export your database for backup. Now you can automate the export/backup schedule. If you need a Windows Azure subscription here is the link for […]

So, have you heard about Power BI yet?  The whiz-bang new cloud-centric BI front end tool from Microsoft?  Well, this video from the 2013 WPC breaks down the story — in a very entertaining manner…  So, having watched, let’s assume we all remember Mariah’s chart-toppers and instead review the greatest hits of the Power BI […]

Windows Azure Web Sites have been around for a while now, and one of the great features about them is deployment via source control. You have several options for source control deployment as well: you can use GitHub, CodePlex, TFS or even DropBox to keep your sites integrated and up to date. In this post […]

Yesterday, CMSWire.com published an article written by my colleague, Rich Wood. In the article, The SharePoint Mobility Forecast: Outlook Cloudy, Rich discusses the topic of SharePoint and mobility, and the difficulty of achieving a fully accessible SharePoint environment. To kick things off, Rich so aptly puts it: Whether it’s a favorite son or a red-headed stepchild, […]

I have to admit – I’m not always great at spotting whatever is going to be the next great thing.  This is evidenced by the fact that I bought an HD-DVD player because I was certain that format would beat Blu-ray, but more important to my professional life was the skepticism with which I originally […]