BI - Business Intelligence

Being a concept of SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS), a cube contains the data that business users can query.A cube holds the:

Microsoft SharePoint Server is a web application platform, first launched in 2001. Although SharePoint was originally built to be a content and document management solution, it grew to be an enterprise level, multipurpose platform. It can be used as a fully functional BI platform, used to centralize different kinds of reports, dashboards and scorecards.SharePoint offers the following possibilities for your Business Intelligence needs:

Business Intelligence Development Studio or BIDS is a Visual Studio based application used to develop SSIS, SSAS or SSRS solutions. It was introduced with the release of SQL Server 2005 and is also available in the 2008 and 2008 R2 releases of SQL Server.

The SQL Server Profiler is a graphical user interface for monitoring an instance of the database engine or Analysis Services. Data about each event can be captured and saved to a file or table so they can be analyzed later. It can be used to monitor performance of your database and identify slow performing queries or stored procedures.

DAX or "Data Analysis Expressions" is a new language that was introduced with Microsoft PowerPivot. It is a formula language which allows users to define custom calculations in PowerPivot tables and Excel Pivot Tables. It includes some of the known Excel formulas and adds functions that are designed for PowerPivot to work with relations between data and perform dynamic aggregations.

MDX or "MultiDimensional Expressions" is not only a specialized query language for querying and manipulating data stored in Analysis Services OLAP cubes. It is also a calculation language with syntax similar to Excel formulas. It has been embraced by a wide majority of OLAP vendors and has become the standard for interrogating OLAP systems.MDX queries and expressions in SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS) can be used to :

The Microsoft BI Semantic Model or BISM is a new term introduced with the release of SQL Server 2012. It refers to the way Analysis Services and PowerPivot can be used as a semantic layer, on top of other data, for reporting purposes. Rather than being a product on its own, it is a conceptual term to describe the different options you have within Analysis Services 2012.

The Tabular Model is an in-memory database in Analysis Services, introduced with the release of SQL Server 2012. It uses state-of-the-art compression algorithms and a multi-threaded query processor delivers fast access to Tabular Model objects and data through client applications like Microsoft Excel and Power View.

The Multidimensional Model uses the already known cube structure to analyze business data across multiple dimensions. It is the default server mode of Analysis Services (SSAS). It runs on a query and calculation engine for OLAP data with MOLAP, ROLAP and HOLAP storage modes. The Analysis Services OLAP engine is an industry leading OLAP server that works well with a broad range of -also 3rd party- BI tools.Working with the Multidimensional Model provides you with features like: