Author Archives: Tom Huguelet

MDX for Date Formatting

Posted on February 13, 2013 by Tom Huguelet

This is a simple MDX snippet, but it comes up often enough that I think it’s worth a blog entry. A frequent question that comes up is how to format dates for display in MDX, especially in the parameter boxes … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

I am positive that measure is not negative – Weird Analysis Services Cube Behavior

Posted on January 10, 2013 by Tom Huguelet

I ran into a situation recently that had me stumped for a bit, and there didn’t seem to be any other posts about this when I searched. I was working with a cube containing a very straightforward measure. This was … Continue reading →

Posted in Analysis Services, Business Intelligence, MDX, OLAP, SQL Server | Leave a comment

Simple way to test connectivity or compose OLEDB connection strings

Posted on December 15, 2012 by Tom Huguelet

This tip has been around a while, but I still run into developers who don’t know it, so it’s worth a post. If you ever need to test connectivity or compose a valid OLEDB connection string, try this: Create an empty … Continue reading →

Posted in Business Intelligence, Microsoft, SQL Server | Leave a comment

Windows 8 Hot-Keys

Posted on March 12, 2012 by Tom Huguelet

One of the best things you can do to get comfortable with a new OS is take some time to learn the keyboard shortcuts. Here are the Windows 8 Hot-Keys Windows logo key+ C Opens Charms bar Windows logo key+, Temporarily … Continue reading →

Posted in Microsoft, Operating Systems, Software | Leave a comment

Backing up SSAS – Yes or No?

Posted on August 22, 2011 by Tom Huguelet

A question came up recently about how to back up SSAS. The vast majority of my clients do not back up SSAS. This isn’t appropropriate for all deployments, though. Here’s the thread: This runs contrary to customary SQL server practice, … Continue reading →

Posted in Analysis Services, Business Intelligence, Microsoft, SQL Server | Leave a comment

Agile and Business Intelligence

Posted on August 15, 2011 by Tom Huguelet

I had a client ask me about some of the techniques we are currently using, “Tom, Can you send me authors, book titles and/or links outlining agile development (Story conferences, sprints, scrums, etc…).” This was my response: Here is the … Continue reading →

Posted in Business Intelligence | Leave a comment

Microsoft on SSAS and BI Vision Roadmap

Posted on May 17, 2011 by Tom Huguelet

A lot of this has been floating around various blogs and press releases, but here’s a very succinct synopsis of where MS is planning to go with Microsoft BI and the BI Semantic Model.

Posted in Analysis Services, Business Intelligence, MDX, SQL Server | Leave a comment

Join me for a Webinar: “Ad-hoc Scenario Analysis Using Existing Infrastructure”

Posted on April 18, 2011 by Tom Huguelet

Tom Huguelet Please join me Tuesday for “Ad-hoc Scenario Analysis Using Existing Infrastructure” April 19, 2011 12:00 p.m. ET / 9:00 a.m. PT http://bit.ly/gpyXpr Hosted by SQL Server Magazine, sponsored by Tableau Software. I really had fun creating this webinar. Gave … Continue reading →

Posted in Business Intelligence, Community, Modeling/Architecture | Leave a comment

April 2011 ITA BI Roundtable – So what can I do with this “BI” stuff anyway?

Posted on April 12, 2011 by Tom Huguelet

April 2011 ITA BI Roundtable  - So what can I do with this “BI” stuff anyway? Here are the slides from today’s session.  

Posted in Business Intelligence, Community, Modeling/Architecture | Leave a comment

Creating Dashboards WITHOUT SharePoint

Posted on March 2, 2011 by Tom Huguelet

As a business intelligence consultant, a frequent request I receive is to “create a dashboard”. One of the first things I do is verify that I understand what the client is actually asking for. Many times by “dashboard”, what they … Continue reading →

Posted in Business Intelligence, Reporting Services, SQL Server | Leave a comment