Non-Standard or Varying Time Dimensions in SSAS

by Charles Tournear, Senior Consultant, MCT, MCSW, MCSD, MCBA, CRCP 

A time dimension is the most commonly used dimension when building cubes with SQL Server Analysis Services.  A time dimension is a dimension type whose attributes represent time periods, such as years, semesters, quarters, months, and days. The periods in a time dimension provide time-based levels of granularity for analysis and reporting.  Some cubes may use multiple time dimensions or multiple hierarchies within the time dimension.

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CRM & Business Intelligence

by Joe Roberts, Principal Consultant, BECP, SLE, MCP  

So why did you purchase a CRM system? Well, if you’re like most small to medium sized businesses the answer to that question is: to create and maintain a clear picture of customers from first contact through purchase. 

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Understanding Crystal Reports' Report Processing Model

by Thomas Hinkle, Consultant, CRCP 

A good understanding of the process Crystal Reports uses to create a report will help you to design more complex reports and achieve desired results.

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New From SharePoint:  Excel Services

by Michael Mullin, BI Consultant

Excel is one of the world’s most popular programs. It is used for many purposes, some intended and some invented by the users. It provides users with a visual access to their data that most programs can not match and its interface is intuitive and ‘real world’ even for technically challenged users. It can read many data formats and many programs support exporting data to it. No wonder that it is popular.

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SSIS Looping with an ADO Recordset  -Part 1

by Sean Beal, Sr. Consultant, CRCP

Recently, we had the opportunity to work with a client who needed an import text file created from data contained in a SQL Server database.   The import text file was unique in that a single file needed to contain both parent and child records, sequentially.  Due to the relatively low volume of data and the unique logic needed to facilitate this, it was decided that this might be a good opportunity to use the new Foreach Loop container in SQL Server 2005 Integration Services (SSIS).

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