Neal Waterstreet

Speaking at SQLSaturday 825 – Chicago

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The schedule has been posted and I’ve been selected to speak at SQLSaturday 825 Chicago. I’ll be presenting “Master Data Management with SQL Server MDS“.

“Want to know the position Master Data Management and MDS play in an organization’s overall data strategy? We’ll review the key concepts and the different roles and responsibilities to help you get your organization moving forward with MDM. We’ll then take a look at the features of SQL Server MDS that make it an excellent tool for MDM. This demo-packed presentation will cover architecture and installation, different ways of processing data, hierarchies, security and many other features that will get you up and running with MDS.”

I’ve made some updates to this presentation over the past few weeks and I’m looking forward to the event. If you are interested in MDM, Reference Data or just want to see what MDS is please come by and say hi.

 

Atlanta Microsoft BI Group – March Meeting

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Topic: Power BI Architecture

Overview: Having the right architecture is key to the adoption of Power BI, and to make the most of your business intelligence solution. This session guides you through different Power BI architectures, such as Direct Query, Import, Connect Live, Composite Models, and Embedded. We will analyze different techniques in data refresh, incremental extraction, integration and collaboration to provide a quick overview of the different approaches available.

Speaker: SolidQ North America CEO and Microsoft Data Platform MVP. Paco Gonzalez has more than 15 years leading teams for high visibility solutions on Data Platform, Business Intelligence, and Machine Learning. He is also a frequent speaker at large and small conferences. SQL Saturdays, TechEd’s, PASS BA, PASS Summit, DevWeek London, PAW Chicago and London, or Ignite.

Sponsor: The tools and technologies to manage information will constantly evolve, but the need for accurate and actionable information is timeless. SolidQ delivers services for Microsoft platforms that help you architect, integrate and optimize your use of data. The result? Our clients think bigger and move faster because we help them build the capacity and skills to interact with data in creative, collaborative ways that deliver new insights to the business. At SolidQ we measure our success by your satisfaction – and we guarantee it.

RSVP: http://atlantabi.pass.org/

When: Monday, March 4, 2019 6:30-8:30 ET

Where: Microsoft Technology Center, 8000 Avalon Boulevard, Suite 900, Alpharetta, GA 30009 (https://binged.it/2KQLAPw)

Atlanta Microsoft BI Group – February Meeting

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Topic: Azure Data Lake for First Time Swimmers

Overview: Data Lake may be the hot new way to store data for reporting, but it can be scary if you’ve never dealt with one. If you have no idea what a data lake is, have no fear! You will get an intro to the concept of data lake and what scenarios you should be considering it as your platform. From there you’ll get to see how Azure Data Lake Analytics and U-SQL allow developers and data professionals to create compelling analytics with data that previously was difficult to work with.

Speaker:  Samara is a Microsoft Certified Specialist in C#. Working in both web and data, she has experience in a wide variety of technologies including JS, .Net, SQL, Analysis Services, and Power BI. Working with Innovative Architects as a Software Develoment Consultant, she uses that knowledge to plug into whatever part of their system needs additional expertise.

Sponsor: Innovative Architects specializes in solving business problems around business intelligence, data management, e-commerce, portals & collaboration, custom application engineering and business process and integration. https://innovativearchitects.com/

RSVP: http://atlantabi.pass.org/

When: Monday, February 4, 2019 6:30-8:30 ET

Where: Microsoft Technology Center, 8000 Avalon Boulevard, Suite 900, Alpharetta, GA 30009 (https://binged.it/2KQLAPw)

Atlanta Microsoft BI Group – October Meeting

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On October 30th, I’ll be presenting “Data Quality – Plain & Simple” at the Atlanta Microsoft BI Group. Due to the PASS Summit, we’ll be having the meeting a week early this month. Starting in December, we’ll be meeting on the first Monday of the month at the Microsoft Technology Center in Alpharetta.

Please note the new meeting location below.

When: Tuesday, October 30, 2018 6:30-8:30 ET

Topic: Data Quality – Plain & Simple

Data quality is a subject that comes up over and over again in many organizations. Most executives are concerned about the quality of the information used in their decisions. We talk about “good data” and “bad data” but what do those terms mean? In this presentation, we will first define what data quality is and look at how to measure it with data quality dimensions. Then, we’ll explore common causes for data quality issues and how to perform a data quality assessment. Finally, we’ll review the results and discuss some strategies and tools that can help improve the quality of the data in your organization.

RSVP at http://atlantabi.pass.org/

Sponsor: ZAP

Where: Microsoft Technology Center, 8000 Avalon Boulevard, Suite 900, Alpharetta, GA 30009 (https://binged.it/2KQLAPw)