Power BI - 5 new updates in Power Query

1. SQL Server Analysis Services connector.
2. Salesforce Reports & Objects connector.
3. Expand Columns – Ability to disable/customize column prefix.
4. Improved File Menu options in the Query Editor.
5. Entry point for “Advanced Editor” in the Queries pane inside the Query Editor.

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/powerBI/bi-blog.aspx?blog=91d46819-8472-40ad-a661-2c78acb4018c%3A10575645

Google Cloud SQL

Hello CPCC REACH IT BI classmates.

Has anybody had any exposure to Google Cloud SQL?



https://cloud.google.com/sql/

Changing nature of work

CPCC REACHIT classmates; do you agree?  I do....



http://www.business2community.com/infographics/co-working-still-thing-infographic-01094308

Microsoft's Brilliant Move To Make Money From Archrival Google

Software covered includes things like Microsoft's databases and SQL Server.



Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-will-let-customers-run-its-software-on-googles-cloud-2014-12#ixzz3LQa2JQ82

Big Data for Marketers

What is big data?  For the benefit of a variety of devices:

• Volumes of data that can't be contained in traditional data centers
• Enough data to make things VERY PERSONALIZED 

Yes...

• Business silos will disappear! 
• Marketers will become business ethicists

http://www.business2community.com/big-data/big-data-means-marketers-01069161

President Obama... thank you...

Mr President, thank you.  I am surfing the net at the local library as an under -employed individual.  Internet access is a free privilege at many libraries across America.

Myself and many other users at homes, libraries, colleges, and small businesses across America don't realize how you will sustain our rights... as internet users... to have the same access and speeds... as all other users.

Thank you for your clear and powerful statement (linked below) to stand up for REAL Net Neutrality!

+Marc Czarnecki

http://act.freepress.net/call/internet_obama_nn_thanks/?t=5&referring_akid=5013.10296831.guh54B

Big data is available to everyone

http://venturebeat.com/2014/11/08/how-big-data-has-become-accessible-to-everyone/

4 Research-Backed Ways to Build Great Work Habits

Easy summary to build great work habits:

1) Start small with a single task (drink more water, get organized)

• Feel silly about not doing it
• Build the habit

2) Stack habits

• Increase exercise
• Strengthen work relationships
• Read more

3) Make it obvious

• Drink less soda
• Exercise at lunch
• Leave work on time

4) Reward yourself


https://www.themuse.com/advice/4-researchbacked-ways-to-build-great-work-habits

Big Big Data

Google shows its deep-learning systems are doing just fine, thank you very much

http://venturebeat.com/2014/09/06/google-shows-its-deep-learning-systems-are-doing-just-fine-thank-you-very-much/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Venturebeat+(VentureBeat)

Break the rules... I will try harder

Summary of 10 rules to break:

1. Use of "I" on resume
2. Listing tasks and duties on resume.  Instead, tell the positives of what I left in each job
3. Pitching resume to black hole of an automated career portal
4. No direct contact with hiring manager
5. Reporting salary history
6. Answering interview questions like 'a goo little sheepie'
7. Hand over job reference before establishing a strong mutual interest
8. Pleasing people unnecessarily
9. 3 day or less interview followup
10. Employers are in the driver's seat

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/article/20140902054513-52594-break-the-rules-and-get-a-great-job

Parents feel left behind by the accelerating pace of technology

Having 2 teenagers and an extended family of younger siblings, I too see a greater disparity with my level of technology knowledge!



Read more: http://www.itproportal.com/2014/08/07/parents-feel-left-behind-by-the-accelerating-pace-of-technology/#ixzz39oIivyAA

Business Analytics - Business Intelligence

Nice BA - BI articles...

4 Key Benefits of Business Analytics 

http://www.techopedia.com/2/30429/it-business/business-intelligence-bi/the-4-key-benefits-of-business-analytics?utm_campaign=newsletter&utm_medium=best&utm_source=07302014

Can Big Data Analytics Close the Business Intelligence Gap?

http://www.techopedia.com/2/30430/it-business/business-intelligence-bi/can-big-data-analytics-close-the-business-intelligence-gap

90% of all the data in the world has been generated in the past two years

Build more harddrives?

No, we do need software to manage our current data and business intelligence data archival rules.

http://www.gadget.co.za/pebble.asp?relid=8704

Google Drive classes available at Mitchell Community College

Web Tech Czarnecki is teaching Google Drive classes on both:

• Monday, 8/18 - 6:00 to 9:00 p.m.  
• Monday, 10/20 - 6:00 to 9:00 p.m.  

Discover free and simple web tools.  

Learn the fundamentals of Google Drive, Docs, and Sheet including how to upload, create, and edit files in Google Drive through a Web browser. 

A Gmail account is required.

See the catalog link below for details on how to sign-up.  

http://www.mitchellcc.edu/files/continuing-ed/CE%20Schedule%20-%20Fall%202014.pdf#view=fit

Social Media Business Intelligence and Data Visualization

Facebook:    56% Male   /   41% Female    /    3% Unknown



More at:  http://www.business2community.com/social-media/10-benefits-social-media-business-every-skeptic-know-0955900#!bm6usR

The State of the Power Influencer

We are all voices influential bloggers; although most of us do not transcribe to a blogger tool.

Consider making a blog from your passion.

And CPCC ReachIT associates, note the impactful image below.  It is full of Business Intelligence - Data Visualization via an infographic.

It is easy you can grow a blog and hopefully one day we will have revenue streams from it.



Read more at https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=81636474156809930#editor/target=post;postID=4981211393434528418

Microsoft store coming to Charlotte

Full Microsoft store is opening at Southpark Mall... later this year.

Aisle store is currently open.

Uber D.C. Customers 'Kidnapped'

Uber and Lyft are ride share programs (competition to the taxi industry) that conveniently provide smartphone apps to coordinate pickup and payment of their service.  

Read more on how this Uber ride went very wrong in D.C.:  

I looked into the rollout of Lyft as a potential side job in NC and found:

• No service in the Mooresville area (yet)
• Charlotte uptown area had a high demand for the services, especially on Friday evenings.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2460678,00.asp?mailingID=E6BAD76ADF0EDC2888B3C6DDDED64938

Business Intelligence Market Shifts from Indeed.com and SQL Magazine

How does analytics differ from business intelligence? 

Analytics means interacting with information at the speed of business, continuous iterative data exploration, and fact-based decision making using statistical and quantitative analysis, explanatory, predictive and prescriptive modeling. 

Analytics is closely related to operational management science. 

Where traditional business intelligence was historically focused on measuring past performance with querying, reporting, OLAP, and dashboards answering what happened, how many, how often and where type questions. 

Analytics strives to answer why, and forward looking questions such as what if these trends continue, what will happen next, and what is the best that can happen?

See complete article at: http://sqlmag.com/business-intelligence/business-intelligence-market-shifts

Zinnia Czarnecki

What do home grown zinnias and business intelligence have in common?  I needed a professional haircut for interviews, but funds are tight!  Not expecting a discount, I took a bouquet of zinnias to my hair stylists.  At checkout, I was delighted to receive a discounted haircut.   Now I'm considering taking a bouquet of flowers on my next interview.   Unexpected smiles are priceless.     :)

Power BI supports Excel workbooks up to 250Mb. Wow!

Large Power BI file?  Power BI can support up to 250Mb workbooks.  Excel for Office 365 normally supports only 10Mb worksheets.  Use SharePoint to collaborate that whopper file!

AlwaysOn Availability Groups (SQL Server)

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh510230.aspx 

Many thanks to Microsoft, TEK Systems, and SQL Sentry for another great presentation at the Lake Norman Charlotte-SQL group meeting.  Today's topic was new to me... SQL Server 'AlwaysOn'.  The Microsoft Support team provided details of common questions on this topic.  I hope to see more REACH IT folks at the next Charlotte-SQL meetings.

Window into Windowing Functions-SQL

Many thanks to Jana and his outstanding presentation of  "Querying in the 21st century – A Window into Windowing" at the Charlotte MS Office.

Also many thanks to Tek Systems, SQL Sentry, and Microsoft for facilitating this Charlotte SQL Server User Group Meeting.

BIG - Power of Excel Business Analytics

Power of Excel Business Analytics - Daniel Stiefel, Practical Analytics Services

I attended a feature presentation at Charlotte's Business Innovation & Growth (BIG) meeting today.  Daniel presented 'Preparing the Knowledge Worker of Tomorrow... Today (the Power of Excel for Business Analytics

Certified... Microsoft Office Specialist - Excel 2013

Marc has just joined the Microsoft Office Specialist program and achieved the Microsoft® Office Specialist certification in Excel 2013.

This Microsoft certification tells the world that he has demonstrated proficiency in Microsoft Office and has joined a global community of distinguished achievers.

Certification helps advance career prospects by giving them a competitive edge.

Many individuals seek certifications based on globally recognized standards to increase their own personal sense of accomplishment, to establish themselves as leaders in their fields, and to demonstrate their skill sets in a competitive job market.

It is official... my REACH IT Business Intelligence Certificate

My CPCC REACH IT (Regional Effort to Advance Charlotte Information Technology) Certificate of Completion 

for the Data / Report Analyst track.

CBIG ETL Presentation at Microsoft Way

Tonight the Charlotte Business Intelligence Group (CBIG) met at the Microsoft Charlotte office.

Member of the REACH IT class were also present and were further reminded of Extract, Transform, and Load (ETL) - Avoiding Costly Mistakes.

Rafael Salas informs CBIG how to avoid costly ETL mistakes

Costly ETL mistakes include:

• Poor BI exception handling
• Inadequate logging
• Lack of sufficient and timely notifications and alerts
• Over coupling / making ETL too complex

Thank you for the sponsors of this programming.  

Learn more about CBIG at http://charbigroup.com/ 

Also, the group was challenged by Marc to become 'Net Neutrality' savvy.  See Marc's Web Technology blog at http://webtechczar.blogspot.com/ .

Validate your feelings with BI

We want to make effective decisions in life.

BI helps validate our 'gut feeling.'

Reference 'The Way Humans Think'
http://smartdatacollective.com/ray-major/198061/way-humans-think

Carolina Code Bootcamp 2014 - CPCC Levine Campus

• Geo Spatial Data... check
• Bootstrap 101... check
• DAX Patterns... check
• Data Management & Data Warehousing... check
• Big Data's Deal... check

Above are only a small portion of the Carolina Code Camp 2014 sessions that I could attend.

Hundreds of Code Camp Attendees

DAX Patterns for Everyday Use - Javier Guillen

Microsoft Technology Associate - Certified in Database Fundamentals

A fundamental... the MTA or Microsoft Technology Associate certification in databases.

It is a recommended entry point for IT certification and job preparation.


In late April, I was one of several REACH IT students that furthered our careers in information technology.

It validates our core knowledge of databases, the foundation of business intelligence.

According to Certiport, MTA is an industry-recognized certification for those pursuing a career path in IT infrastructure, database design, or software development using Microsoft technologies.

BI Core

BI Applications and the Core

BI tools comprise a series of applications that enable organizations to make better decisions by providing accurate, dependable, consistent, and understandable data and reports in a useful format.

Basically, BI means:

• getting the right information to the right people 
• at the right time 
• to support better decision-making and 
• gain competitive advantage.

What will the market size be in the future?
What will be the growth rate be?
What are the key market trends?
What is driving this market?
What are the challenges to market growth?
Who are the key vendors in this market space?
What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the key vendors?
What are the strengths and weaknesses of the key vendors?

Reference: http://www.heraldonline.com/2014/04/04/5838297/research-and-markets-global-business.html?sp=/100/773/385/#storylink=cpy

Lynda.com > my courses >> Certificates of Completion...'Share' to your LinkedIn Certificates

Easily Publish a Lynda.com Certificate to LinkedIn

My CPCC REACH IT co-students and I are encouraged to utilize lynda.com courses.

Upon completion of a course, you can easily 'share' the certificate of completion with LinkedIn (as seen in the screen shots below).

Lynda.com 'share':