6:00 – 6:30 Pizza and Networking Sponsored by Varigence.

6:30 – 6:40 Announcements

6:40 – 7:40 Nicholas Wolford: Common Table Expressions (CTE) recursive and non-recursive - here we go again...

7:45 – 8:15 Paul S. Waters: Getting started in Business Intelligence

 BIDS Helper

8:15 – 8:30 Closing remarks and give-a-ways.  

Common Table Expressions (CTE) recursive and non-recursive - here we go again...

This presentation will go further in depth into the use of common table expressions and the many different uses and advantages over table variables, temporary tables and in some cases, cursors and while loops.

While this is a deeper look at common table expressions introduced in my last presentation (enter the matrix), all material is independent and will be re-visited from the beginning.

We will be covering the following concepts with examples using SQLServer 2008 (all examples valid in 2005 as well)

• Practical examples of Non-recursive common table expressions and common syntax

• Practical examples of recursive common table expressions and common syntax

Nicholas Wolford is a  Product Maintenance Developer with an emphasis on reporting with SSRS for Netalytics is Greer, SC.

Getting started in Business Intelligence

Business intelligence (BI) refers to a set of techniques and technologies used in identifying, extracting, transforming and analyzing business data.   The data used often comes from varied sources, such as CRM, order fulfillment, ERP, and external data sources.  BI brings these data sources together and provides benefits such as  ease of cross-functional analysis, consistent column definitions and hierarchical structures, historical trending, and predictive analysis.  

There is an ever growing demand for BI systems within organizations regardless of their industry or size.  The demand for people with a BI skill set is high and increasing, while the supply is inadequate to meet it. 

In this short talk, you will learn a little about the types of challenges a BI professional is  employed to solve, and some tips on how to get started acquiring the skills to meet them.

BIDS Helper

BIDS Helper is a powerful open source add-in for Microsoft's Business Intelligence Developers Studio (BIDS).  In this demonstration you will see new functionality that brings this tool to a new level of utility.