SQL Server 2012 Power View is one of the new modules that is released with the latest version of SQL Server, SQL Server 2012.

The keywords for SQL Server 2012 Power View (Project Crescent) are simplicity and self-reliance for business users; away from IT, connecting to source data via SharePoint and the BISM-model. SQL Server 2012 Power View supports a variety of data visualizations, in addition to the standard tables and grids.

SQL Server 2012 Power View is intended for the business user and not something that needs to be developed by an IT person. The analysis can be deployed and consumed by the business user. This is accomplished with a web-based, zero-footprint application that has an office like ribbon containing all reporting functionalities available.

The business user will start the application by opening an existing report or choosing a BISM Business Intelligence Semantic Model to start from. This BI Semantic Model is also a new feature in the SQL Server 2012 release. As the name says, it is a semantic model/layer on top of your data warehouse. Using this model abstracts the data warehouse complexity for a business user, and enables him/her to create reports with Power View.

The typical visualization with Power View will be highly interactive. Users will make selections and all related information in other components will automatically be updated. This will be a tool that is mostly used when analysing the data or in meetings for presenting and explaining the figures. For meeting purposes, it is also possible to do story-boarding. When creating or reviewing reports you can take snapshots and put them in a storyboard, which is basically a set of snapshots. Then, you can export these snapshots to PowerPoint and use them during the meeting. These snapshots stay connected and interactive even when they are exported to PowerPoint, so the interactivity will still be available in PowerPoint.

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