BI the Book!

Currently there are not many books available to help people get up to speed on the Microsoft Business Intelligence platform. Most of the books I've found assume a decent level of technical knowledge in the reader. This isn't a problem for people who have "working in the field" for many years, but not everyone has the experience necessary to get them kick-started in this complex arena. To make matters worse, there are so many different technologies that come together in the world of BI, that it can quickly become overwhelming for people who are trying to get up to speed. I get asked pretty regularly if there is a good book for beginners to BI - and finally I can say "yes!"

Apress has just published "Foundations of SQL Server 2005 Business Intelligence" by my good friend and colleague Lynn Langit. This book provides a solid introduction to all of the core components in the Microsoft BI platform, including Integration Services, Analysis Services and Reporting Services, and has excellent coverage of Office 2007, SharePoint 2007 and PerformancePoint Server 2007 as well. It's not going to make you an expert, but it will give you the knowledge and tools you need to get prepared and productive for your first BI projects.

In the context of "full disclosure," I served as the technical reviewer for this book. It was a real pleasure to work with Lynn during the writing process, and I had a lot of fun. Lynn, on the other hand, had to put up with my overly critical and picky feedback for months. It says a lot about her patience that she still talks to me. :-)

And yesterday I got an email from Ronald Smiley, a fellow Microsoft Certified Trainer, who said:

Mathew,

Just a note to deliver huge "KUDOS" for the book Foundations of SQL Server 2005 Business Intelligence by Lynn Langit. You are listed as the technical reviewer. Lynn gave a free copy of this book to the first 20 MCTs who responded to her, I received my copy last week and have been enthralled with its' straightforward comprehensive approach to BI. I have been delivering training and implementing SQL solutions since 6.5 and I think this book struck the right balance of being informative and yet not overwhelming.

Again, Thanks to both of you!

Ron Smiley, MCT, MCDBA, MCTS, MCTIP

And that just about says it all - Thanks, Ron! Definitely check out the book - it should be on store shelves everywhere by now - and start working with Microsoft's incredible BI tools!