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Business Intelligence with MicroStrategy Cookbook
Business intelligence is becoming more important by the day, with cloud offerings and mobile devices gaining wider acceptance and achieving better market penetration. MicroStrategy Reporting Suite is a complete business intelligence platform that covers all the data analysis needs of an enterprise. Scorecards, dashboards, and reports can be explored and delivered on desktop, the Web, mobile devices, and the Cloud. With the latest Visual Insight tool, MicroStrategy brings the power of BI to the business users, allowing them to discover information without the help of IT personnel.
Business Intelligence with MicroStrategy Cookbook covers the full cycle of a BI project with the MicroStrategy platform, from setting up the software to using dashboards in the cloud and on mobile devices. This book uses step-by-step instructions to teach you everything from the very basics to the more advanced topics. We will start by downloading and installing the software and a well-known sample SQL Server database. Then, one brick at a time, we will construct a fully-featured BI solution with a web interface, mobile reporting, and agile analytics.
The chapters are ordered by increasing difficulty, and each one builds on top of the preceding chapter so that the learning process is progressive. The examples given in this book are practical, and you will be able to see the immediate result of your efforts. We will first cover setting up the platform, including the creation of the metadata and the different objects that are part of a BI project: tables, attributes, and metrics. Then, we take a look at how to create and analyze reports, charts, documents, and dashboards, as well as how to manipulate data with the desktop application, the web Interface, and an iPad device.
The last part of the book is dedicated to advanced topics like the new agile analytics technology from MicroStrategy, where we cover both Visual Insight and MicroStrategy Cloud Express. Whether you are a database developer, data analyst, or a business user, Business Intelligence with MicroStrategy Cookbook will get you up to speed with one of the most powerful BI platforms on the market with the smallest possible investment of time and money.
This book is intended for both BI and database developers who want to expand their knowledge of MicroStrategy. It is also useful for advanced data analysts who are evaluating different technologies. You do not need to be an SQL master to read this book, yet knowledge of some concepts like foreign keys and many-to-many relationships is assumed. Some knowledge of basic concepts such as dimensional modeling (fact tables, dimensions) will also help your comprehension of this book. No previous MicroStrategy knowledge is needed.
Business Intelligence with MicroStrategy Cookbook covers the full cycle of a BI project with the MicroStrategy platform, from setting up the software to using dashboards in the cloud and on mobile devices. This book uses step-by-step instructions to teach you everything from the very basics to the more advanced topics. We will start by downloading and installing the software and a well-known sample SQL Server database. Then, one brick at a time, we will construct a fully-featured BI solution with a web interface, mobile reporting, and agile analytics.
The chapters are ordered by increasing difficulty, and each one builds on top of the preceding chapter so that the learning process is progressive. The examples given in this book are practical, and you will be able to see the immediate result of your efforts. We will first cover setting up the platform, including the creation of the metadata and the different objects that are part of a BI project: tables, attributes, and metrics. Then, we take a look at how to create and analyze reports, charts, documents, and dashboards, as well as how to manipulate data with the desktop application, the web Interface, and an iPad device.
The last part of the book is dedicated to advanced topics like the new agile analytics technology from MicroStrategy, where we cover both Visual Insight and MicroStrategy Cloud Express. Whether you are a database developer, data analyst, or a business user, Business Intelligence with MicroStrategy Cookbook will get you up to speed with one of the most powerful BI platforms on the market with the smallest possible investment of time and money.
This book is intended for both BI and database developers who want to expand their knowledge of MicroStrategy. It is also useful for advanced data analysts who are evaluating different technologies. You do not need to be an SQL master to read this book, yet knowledge of some concepts like foreign keys and many-to-many relationships is assumed. Some knowledge of basic concepts such as dimensional modeling (fact tables, dimensions) will also help your comprehension of this book. No previous MicroStrategy knowledge is needed.
334 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2013
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61 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 9, 2013
Being the author of the book I might be a little biased,
but surely this is one of the few manuals about MicroStrategy `
that covers the entire spectrum of a Business Intelligence project.
Starting from the installation of a sample database
until the use of the SaaS version in the Cloud, you will find
everything you need to develop and deploy your MicroStrategy solution.
It covers mobile development, data discovery, advanced techniques
plus the latest MicroStrategy Express version.
The chapters are written as a self-paced course,
starting from the basics of the schema objects until the most advanced
In-Memory cubes.
It also features more than 100 screencasts to follow every operation step by step.
I tryed to make it easy to read: you will find real life cases
and funny episodes of every day BI designers.
If you have questions or feedback,
please contact me on LinkedIn or send an email to:
cookbook@eurostrategy.net
Davide Moraschi
but surely this is one of the few manuals about MicroStrategy `
that covers the entire spectrum of a Business Intelligence project.
Starting from the installation of a sample database
until the use of the SaaS version in the Cloud, you will find
everything you need to develop and deploy your MicroStrategy solution.
It covers mobile development, data discovery, advanced techniques
plus the latest MicroStrategy Express version.
The chapters are written as a self-paced course,
starting from the basics of the schema objects until the most advanced
In-Memory cubes.
It also features more than 100 screencasts to follow every operation step by step.
I tryed to make it easy to read: you will find real life cases
and funny episodes of every day BI designers.
If you have questions or feedback,
please contact me on LinkedIn or send an email to:
cookbook@eurostrategy.net
Davide Moraschi
January 16, 2014
It seems like there's no more magic in this world - just books like this.
Experienced developers in Business Intelligence may enjoy the shared knowledge of an expert who is able to write about complex topics using simple language.
If your management and you from time to time or even daily use the KPI's, PI's, Big Data, analytical reports and similar results of data processing, you might be interested in how IT works and why your BI -consultants and developers are always bothering you with questions, which are sometimes really difficult to answer.
Beginners definitely cannot become BI-Gurus immediately after the book is finished. But reading it may be a very important step on that way. Just don't forget to turn your laptop on, check an internet connection and open your mind to all new ideas you meet there.
Please do not wait for a miracle. In real life, things can be solved pretty easy: just begin doing.
Recommendations: (simply) start to read.
With best regards,
Victor Marchenko
IT-Expert / BI Teamlead
Experienced developers in Business Intelligence may enjoy the shared knowledge of an expert who is able to write about complex topics using simple language.
If your management and you from time to time or even daily use the KPI's, PI's, Big Data, analytical reports and similar results of data processing, you might be interested in how IT works and why your BI -consultants and developers are always bothering you with questions, which are sometimes really difficult to answer.
Beginners definitely cannot become BI-Gurus immediately after the book is finished. But reading it may be a very important step on that way. Just don't forget to turn your laptop on, check an internet connection and open your mind to all new ideas you meet there.
Please do not wait for a miracle. In real life, things can be solved pretty easy: just begin doing.
Recommendations: (simply) start to read.
With best regards,
Victor Marchenko
IT-Expert / BI Teamlead
March 1, 2014
The Business Intelligence with MicroStrategy Cookbook by Davide Moraschi is my best technical reading experience so far!
Many reasons contribute to it, but first of all it is the author's manner of writing: some very tasteful humor, openness and being exact to the point. Another is that Davide relentlessly provided short (2 min or so) videos on DropBox that accompany each achievement or goal as you progress thru the book, and a picture worth 1,000 words, we know it best - Business Intelligence developers and alike!
The book is also well structured: it covers a topic and lets you experiment, if you ever get stuck, each section is followed by a how to sort of an explanation.
But most importantly this book teaches you the art of delivering insight, creating a useful and visually powerful content. Across platforms and various technologies. From A RDBMS to Hadoop and Vertica.
Having a relatively decent computer and something like $30, which is the cost of the book (the rest is provided for free by MicroStrategy and other vendors' technologies used in the book) you can become a Business Intelligence developer. I call this a magnificent opportunity! And I mean it, the author covers not only one or two basic reports, but also some of the most intricate ones (heatmap, double axis, MTD/YTD and more).
For me, quite an experienced Business Intelligence developer who used a variety of tools as Crystal Reports, Brio, JDEdwards Report Writer, ActiveReports, SSRS, SiSense and a few others, MicroStrategy is very much appealing, top of the top competing vendors out there I deem.
Actually, after reading this book my interest about what else I can do with MicroSrategy actually even arose, this is because I discovered MicroStrategy can deliver reports to the most known mobile platforms and it can even leverage Hadoop to excavate insight from its deeply distributed file system (via Impala or similar MR abstractions). What seems to be missing in the product (not the book), is the statistical analysis integration (R, Julia or Matlab etc.).
It is not necessarily a deficiency (the book already has 300 pages plus), but I would like to have the following topics also included in the book:
How to prepare reports for production, e.g. proper deployment techniques;
Supplementary tools as Command Manager;
Validating user input (report input parameterization is covered), and
Metric Formula Language.
Hopefully in release 2 of the book, as MicroStrategy is releasing new features at a very high pace, Davide will provide this additional content.
Frankly, if I were writing the book I would choose Davide's style: lots of detailed steps, accompanying videos and some humor. And the book is very well poised for the future.
I am sure I am not the only one who gave and will give a 5 out of 5 star rating.
Many reasons contribute to it, but first of all it is the author's manner of writing: some very tasteful humor, openness and being exact to the point. Another is that Davide relentlessly provided short (2 min or so) videos on DropBox that accompany each achievement or goal as you progress thru the book, and a picture worth 1,000 words, we know it best - Business Intelligence developers and alike!
The book is also well structured: it covers a topic and lets you experiment, if you ever get stuck, each section is followed by a how to sort of an explanation.
But most importantly this book teaches you the art of delivering insight, creating a useful and visually powerful content. Across platforms and various technologies. From A RDBMS to Hadoop and Vertica.
Having a relatively decent computer and something like $30, which is the cost of the book (the rest is provided for free by MicroStrategy and other vendors' technologies used in the book) you can become a Business Intelligence developer. I call this a magnificent opportunity! And I mean it, the author covers not only one or two basic reports, but also some of the most intricate ones (heatmap, double axis, MTD/YTD and more).
For me, quite an experienced Business Intelligence developer who used a variety of tools as Crystal Reports, Brio, JDEdwards Report Writer, ActiveReports, SSRS, SiSense and a few others, MicroStrategy is very much appealing, top of the top competing vendors out there I deem.
Actually, after reading this book my interest about what else I can do with MicroSrategy actually even arose, this is because I discovered MicroStrategy can deliver reports to the most known mobile platforms and it can even leverage Hadoop to excavate insight from its deeply distributed file system (via Impala or similar MR abstractions). What seems to be missing in the product (not the book), is the statistical analysis integration (R, Julia or Matlab etc.).
It is not necessarily a deficiency (the book already has 300 pages plus), but I would like to have the following topics also included in the book:
How to prepare reports for production, e.g. proper deployment techniques;
Supplementary tools as Command Manager;
Validating user input (report input parameterization is covered), and
Metric Formula Language.
Hopefully in release 2 of the book, as MicroStrategy is releasing new features at a very high pace, Davide will provide this additional content.
Frankly, if I were writing the book I would choose Davide's style: lots of detailed steps, accompanying videos and some humor. And the book is very well poised for the future.
I am sure I am not the only one who gave and will give a 5 out of 5 star rating.
March 19, 2014
Business Intelligence with MicroStrategy Cookbook does a phenomenal job covering all the aspects of business intelligence. As a rule, technical books have a habit of being boring a little boring to read but I found this book quite interesting. The tone used by the author, especially the humorous one, keeps the reader engaged with the book. After reading the "What this book covers" section in the preface of the book, the reader is left with no doubt as to the scope of the book and what range of topics will be covered. Added to that, usage of videos after every section makes the book easier to understand; I have never seen a book with such supplementary materials after each and every section.
Let me start with the specifics of the book:
Chapter 1 focuses on downloading and installing the SQL server and MicroStrategy software. Once you have a ready-to-use configuration, you can jump to the next chapter.
Chapter 2, 3, and 4 emphasizes on the basic building block (schema objects) of a BI project. Chapter 2 helps in creating a sample project, selecting and modifying the structure of the table, and connecting to the data warehouse. While 3 focuses on schema object creation, discusses relationship between various objects, and guides through sample report creation process. Finally, chapter 4 engages you with the creation of facts and metrics. It also helps you with filtering of metrics and creating level metrics.
Chapter 5 emphasizes on designing and manipulating reports by drilling the data, dynamically aggregating objects, sorting data in grid, and exporting the reports.
After learning how to design and manipulate reports in chapter 5, chapter 6 helps in analyzing and making reports visually appealing. It also discusses the usage of drop zones for beautifying charts. Finally, this chapter covers sorting of data in graphs.
Chapter 7 focuses on the exploring and consuming the data in different ways using the MicroStrategy's web interface. This chapter helps you with creating MicroStrategy documents, adding data to them, and grouping the data in those documents. It also helps in designing dashboards and adding interactivity to make them attractive.
Chapter 8 deals with advance filtering techniques and usage of filters in prompts and reports. Also, this chapter explains the creation of generic reports using prompts and allowing the user to filter the results.
Chapter 9 explains configuring the mobile server, connection, and mobile client. This chapter also helps the reader to learn how to use mobile views and panel stacks for displaying the data on mobile devices properly; and how to link one document to another keeping the navigation consistent.
Chapter 10 covers most common scenarios for using the mobile BI and how to use different data manipulation techniques on reports.
Chapter 11 focuses on advance part of any BI project for solving reporting requirements, such as different aggregations, creating reports with custom bands, or month-to-date and year-to-date transformations.
Chapter 12 helps in transforming reports to cubes, creating a new cube, how to refresh the data in a cube, creating various reports and documents from cubes, and using Visual Insight and In-Memory cubes to analyze the data.
Chapter 13 takes you through the cloud-based BI solution, MicroStrategy Express. It starts with creating an Express account and importing data from Excel, and ends with refreshing dashboard data and sharing dashboard via e-mails.
The four appendices of this book cover solutions to the exercises, links to various useful references, and how to connect to Cloudera Hadoop and HP Vertica.
Overall this book is a great resource, read it, it won't leave you disappointed!
- Hardik Soni
Business Analyst (Neebal Technologies)
Let me start with the specifics of the book:
Chapter 1 focuses on downloading and installing the SQL server and MicroStrategy software. Once you have a ready-to-use configuration, you can jump to the next chapter.
Chapter 2, 3, and 4 emphasizes on the basic building block (schema objects) of a BI project. Chapter 2 helps in creating a sample project, selecting and modifying the structure of the table, and connecting to the data warehouse. While 3 focuses on schema object creation, discusses relationship between various objects, and guides through sample report creation process. Finally, chapter 4 engages you with the creation of facts and metrics. It also helps you with filtering of metrics and creating level metrics.
Chapter 5 emphasizes on designing and manipulating reports by drilling the data, dynamically aggregating objects, sorting data in grid, and exporting the reports.
After learning how to design and manipulate reports in chapter 5, chapter 6 helps in analyzing and making reports visually appealing. It also discusses the usage of drop zones for beautifying charts. Finally, this chapter covers sorting of data in graphs.
Chapter 7 focuses on the exploring and consuming the data in different ways using the MicroStrategy's web interface. This chapter helps you with creating MicroStrategy documents, adding data to them, and grouping the data in those documents. It also helps in designing dashboards and adding interactivity to make them attractive.
Chapter 8 deals with advance filtering techniques and usage of filters in prompts and reports. Also, this chapter explains the creation of generic reports using prompts and allowing the user to filter the results.
Chapter 9 explains configuring the mobile server, connection, and mobile client. This chapter also helps the reader to learn how to use mobile views and panel stacks for displaying the data on mobile devices properly; and how to link one document to another keeping the navigation consistent.
Chapter 10 covers most common scenarios for using the mobile BI and how to use different data manipulation techniques on reports.
Chapter 11 focuses on advance part of any BI project for solving reporting requirements, such as different aggregations, creating reports with custom bands, or month-to-date and year-to-date transformations.
Chapter 12 helps in transforming reports to cubes, creating a new cube, how to refresh the data in a cube, creating various reports and documents from cubes, and using Visual Insight and In-Memory cubes to analyze the data.
Chapter 13 takes you through the cloud-based BI solution, MicroStrategy Express. It starts with creating an Express account and importing data from Excel, and ends with refreshing dashboard data and sharing dashboard via e-mails.
The four appendices of this book cover solutions to the exercises, links to various useful references, and how to connect to Cloudera Hadoop and HP Vertica.
Overall this book is a great resource, read it, it won't leave you disappointed!
- Hardik Soni
Business Analyst (Neebal Technologies)
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews