Realizing the Power of Microsoft Reporting SQL Saturday #187 - Richmond 1118 West Main Street Richmond, Virginia 23230 804.355.0511 2012 CapTech Ventures, Inc. IT Management Consulting Systems Integration Data Management www.captechconsulting.com
Who Are We? Jessica Moss CapTech Consulting Sr. Architect Microsoft SQL Server BI MVP Author of five technical books jmoss@captechconsulting.com Philip Noakes CapTech Consulting Architect Microsoft SQL Server BI MCITP Over six years of experience pnoakes@captechconsulting.com
What will we be covering? Microsoft Reporting Overview What is it and how can it help me? Business Scenario What is the real life application of this presentation? Demo What do the tools available look like? Tool Options What are the options that Microsoft provides for reporting and business intelligence?
Where do we start? Database is ready for reporting Data is in a mart or warehouse The cube is built Data source view(s) Dimensions Measures Hierarchies You are ready to start reporting You need to identify a tool solution
Reporting questions to ask Who is the target audience? Technical skill level Time and effort spent looking at reports Preferred software or delivery method What information needs to be conveyed? Operational vs analytical Specific chart types, color schemes What options are available to you in your organization? How will the solution be administered and maintained?
The Options SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) PerformancePoint Services (PPS) Excel Services PowerPivot Power View
Reporting Services (SSRS) Report authoring tool that can pull data from databases, OLAP cubes, and files Web based front end Available in all editions of SQL Server Limited in Express Flexible and customizable Rapid report development and deployment Drill down and Drill through
SSRS Data Connection Options Analysis Services MDX Query Designer MDX Statement OLAP Provider for SSAS DMX (Querying against mining models) ODBC/OLE DB Stored Procedure SQL Script Others SQL Azure Oracle Etc
Demo: Reporting Services
SSRS Pros and Cons Familiarity Maps Easy customizations Ready to use Enhanced performance through snapshots and caching Separate reporting solution Not as flashy Separated Not ideal for multidimensional analysis Development time for drilldown
PerformancePoint Services (PPS) SharePoint based reporting Provides dashboarding and high-quality visualizations KPI reporting Decomposition trees
PPS Prerequisites Requires SharePoint administrative setup Enable PerformancePoint application Decide on authentication Utilize BI Center template or activate PerformancePoint objects within another SharePoint site Create a data source connection Done through Dashboard Designer Analysis Services requires Windows authentication from the SharePoint server
PPS Working with SSAS Plug and Play Create Individual pieces Charts Scorecards Filters Aggregate into dashboard
Demo: PerformancePoint Services
PPS Pros and Cons Tied to SharePoint Easy report authoring Fast and professional looking Can host SSRS reports Visualizations Interactivity Automatic drilldown Tied to SharePoint Lack of customization Does not have maps (chart type)
Excel Services Service in SharePoint that exposes Microsoft Excel workbooks Only available in SharePoint Enterprise Edition Create an Excel Workbook on your desktop Publish the Excel Workbook to SharePoint Interact with the Excel Workbook to see data through SharePoint
SSAS with Excel Services In Excel, add a PivotTable or PivotChart Use Data > From Other Sources > From Analysis Services Need to use Window Authentication to connect Pull the desired fields to the table/chart
Features not in Excel Services Features that Are Not Displayed Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services' member properties in ScreenTips Features with Limited Interactive Support PivotChart reports are not interactive when displayed in a browser. You cannot filter a PivotChart report directly, but if you interact with the PivotTable report that supplies data for the PivotChart report, the PivotChart report updates accordingly. This means if you filter the PivotTable report, the PivotChart report updates to show the filtered data set. PivotTable reports: You can sort, filter, expand, and collapse data in PivotTable reports in a browser, but you cannot use SQL Server Analysis Services actions, add or remove fields, or rearrange fields. From: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms496823(v=office.12).aspx
Demo: Excel Services
Excel Services Pros and Cons Easy report authoring through Excel Easy to share with other report developers and end users Provides ad-hoc analysis through the PivotTable interface Tied to SharePoint Only available in SharePoint Enterprise Edition Not all Excel features are available
PowerPivot New in SQL Server 2008 R2 An add-in to Excel that mashes large amounts of data Sources include: databases, Excel workbooks, SSAS queries, SSRS reports, and more
Demo: PowerPivot
PowerPivot Pros and Cons Easy report authoring through Excel Easy to share with other report developers and end users Provides ad-hoc analysis through the PivotTable interface Can tie in non-ssas data sources Only available in SharePoint Enterprise Edition Cannot use SSAS multi-dimensional power
Power View New in SQL Server 2012 An extension of Reporting Services for ad-hoc analysis Sources include: PowerPivot workbook or SSAS Tabular model
Demo: Power View
Power View Pros and Cons Minimal click approach End-user, business friendly Provides ad-hoc analysis through the GUI interface Can tie in non-ssas data sources Only available in SharePoint Enterprise Edition Only uses PowerPivot or SSAS Tabular model
Comparison Chart Feature SSRS PPS Excel Svcs Available in Standard editions Power Pivot Available in 2008 a a a a Works outside of SharePoint a a Can use SSAS as a data source a a a Easy to programmatically customize a a Power View Created for ad-hoc analysis a a a a Automatic drill-down Advanced visualizations (ie. scatter chart with play axis) a a
Conclusion There is no reporting silver bullet More than one reporting solution may be the best fit for you Ask yourself the reporting questions posed here and then pick the right tool Happy reporting!
Questions?