tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415253803059539652024-03-05T17:31:37.163-08:00SQL Power Group: Official BlogThe official blog of SQL Power Group. Founded in 1988, and headquartered in Toronto Canada, SQL Power Group Inc. is a global application Software firm specializing in Business Intelligence and XBRL reporting solutions.Giuliohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133621791862307264noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41525380305953965.post-29488634803605511792014-05-12T11:04:00.000-07:002014-05-12T11:04:04.543-07:00Re-inventing the Business Information Supply Chain: XBRL Power Suite<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">T</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">he</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">re
is a reason why the </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Securities
and Exchange Commission </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">(SEC)
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">recognized
th</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">e
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">untapped
potential </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">of
eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">in
2009</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">.
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">XBRL
facilitate</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">s
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">accurate
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">financial
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">comparisons
across companies to improve business performance, investment
analysis, and decision-making.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">It's
a known fact that banks
and their regulatory bodies are drowning in data. Unorganized
data is leading
to issues with long processing times, error reconciliation, re-work,
speed to market, and data analysis. XBRL
continues to prove its the
answer to the big data issue banks and regulatory bodies are facing
today.
</span></span></span>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">A</span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">
standardized reporting language and process, </span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">like
XBRL,</span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">
</span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">allows
</span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">business
leaders </span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">to</span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">
base </span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">their
</span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">decisions
on meaningful data, </span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">and
saves time on data collection; </span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">both</span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">
lead to improved risk management. </span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Most
importantly, XBRL has</span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">
reduced the processing times when creating and managing the
information required for regulators. </span></span></span>
</div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Since
2010 it has been expected that large foreign companies, </span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">who
currently use International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS),
submit their financial </span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">returns</span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">
to the SEC using XBRL. </span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">By
doing so, it has begun to create a global standard for </span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">financial
</span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">reporting.
</span></span></span>
</div>
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<br />
</div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">H</span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">owever,
many companies have yet to realize how XBRL is a value added tool for
analysis; </span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">instead,
they see it as a complex new compliance mandate. </span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">The
XBRL Power Suite is an end-to-end XBRL solution </span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">created
by SQL Power Group</span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">
that accelerates the collection of high quality financial data,
formatted in the electronic standardized way, for quicker financial
analysis and to improve communications between regulatory agencies.
</span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">It
has been proven to take the complexity out of XBRL filings. </span></span></span>
</div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">The
platform render</span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">s</span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">
returns forms, support</span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">s</span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">
Data Collection based upon standard XBRL Formulas, deliver</span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">s</span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">
valuable feedback to </span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">the</span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">
subscriber on their returns and provide</span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">s</span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">
real time XBRL validation and final certification.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">SQL
Power Group's XBRL solution </span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">is</span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">
based on a low-risk, modular architecture that leverages their thin
client XBRL Forms and XBRL Power EAS platform as the building blocks
for the user experience - and couples these with XPE, the industry's
highest performing and most scalable XBRL processing engine. A
pre-built reporting and analytics solution for XBRL data that
interfaces with XPE has </span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">also</span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">
been incorporated into the solution. Finally, but certainly not
least, XBRL Designer - a taxonomy design studio - is integrated into
the platform solution for taxonomy and returns design and layout at
the business user level.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">While
XBRL is the </span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">answer
to more accurate standardized financial reporting, SQL Power Group's
XBRL Power Suite is the answer to solving complex regulatory
requirements with ease!</span></span></span></div>
Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41525380305953965.post-31099856601369796402013-09-10T12:16:00.003-07:002013-09-10T12:26:40.959-07:00<h2 style="line-height: 1.5em;">
Business Analytics vs. Business Intelligence:</h2>
<h2>
What most BI Vendors don't want you to know</h2>
<br />
Let's talk about what most Business Intelligence (BI) vendors would really prefer not to discuss. A lot of people tend to misuse the term "BI", and even the industry itself has developed a common meaning for the term which is a bit of a misnomer. Traditionally BI has referred mostly to the front-end -- and I think most people when they talk about it would generally think about BI as the front-end.<br />
<br />
We prefer the broader term Business Analytics which is the way we like to think about it at SQL Power - because it's a lot more than just BI or presentation layer. The implication is that you're going to have to be moving data from possibly multiple raw operational sources in order to create higher quality business information on the other side - and to accomplish that, there's a little more to it than just front-end work.<br />
<br />
So for anyone evaluating a "BI" vendor or rather a Business Analytics vendor, its more about what that vendor can actually do with the data-sets that they're presented with - because there really are a couple of distinct strategies that more specialized Business Analytics vendors can take to provide quick workable solutions - efficiently and inexpensively.<br />
<br />
<h4>
For instance, if I'm integrating data from applications like NetSuite, or Salesforce with a client's on-premise homegrown applications, I'm going to be given data in its raw natural state and unfortunately that data in its raw form is rarely something that you can just drop into a visualization tool like a MicroStrategy or Tableau and make sense of it. In most cases transformation and manipulation are required - so the real challenge becomes: How do I automate the whole process?</h4>
<br />
SQL Power has been doing just that for over twenty years, responsible for DW project work at organizations like Scotiabank, TELUS and TREB as well as at local and international FSAs deploying against our superVision™ Suite, an XBRL-based filing and analytics "disclosure" platform for regulators.<br />
<br />
Over that time we've acquired not only experiential knowledge from deploying successfully against these complex analytics projects, but along the way we've also developed some very useful automation tools that help our consultants significantly accelerate project delivery and improve TCO - particularly for our smaller clients whom may have not yet made the investment in these products. These tools include: SQL Power Architect, a unique data modelling and profiling tool that enables reverse-engineering of existing databases, profiling against source databases, and ETL metadata auto-generation; SQL Power Loader for automating ETL process development; and SQL Power DQguru, our data cleansing tool for consolidating, cleansing and de-duping key dimensions.<br />
<br />
If you look at the "BI" vendors out there, most really require the customer to figure out all of the ETL and data management work for themselves - the burden of all the important work required to get the data prepped and ready - and that's really our specialty.<br />
<br />
We have the proven expertise and the right productivity tools to fully automate and accelerate your next Business Analytics deployment - and because we bring these tools to the engagement at no additional cost, we're priced well below the pack. Business people love us because we're fast, inexpensive and we know their pain - IT tolerates us because we offer proven, well architected, easily managed scalable solutions.<br />
<br />
learn more at <a href="http://www.sqlpower.ca/xbrlpower/page/software">SQLPower.ca/XBRLPower</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10163852538996014276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41525380305953965.post-73911216411576813612012-09-20T13:47:00.000-07:002012-09-20T13:47:06.045-07:00XBRL Data Collection & Analytics in the Cloud<br />
<br />
<h3>
Free Webinar:</h3>
<b>Secure XBRL Data Collection & Analytics in the Cloud</b><br />
<br />October 11, 2012<br />
<br />
<br />
Whether it's for 20 filers or 200,000 filers, a cloud-based XBRL Data Collection and Analytics platform can provide fully-integrated supervisory reporting for any Financial Regulator - in a maintenance-free, pay-per-use hosted service.<br />
<br />
<div>
<a href="http://www.sqlpower.ca/xbrlpower/page/webinar">Join our Webinar on October 11th</a> to explore the benefits and challenges of cloud-based XBRL solutions and learn how implementing a hosted platform can help insulate Regulators and Filers from the complexities of XBRL to pave the way for 100% compliance.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<h3>
Discussion Topics:</h3>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Leveraging existing Global Taxonomies</li>
<li>Taxonomy Design and Tweaking in the cloud</li>
<li>Data Collection and Real-Time validation in the cloud</li>
<li>Increased Supervisory efficiencies in the cloud</li>
<li>Real-Time Analytics in the cloud</li>
<li>Benefits of a cloud-based solution</li>
</ul>
<div>
<h3>
Presenters:</h3>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Sam P. Selim (Founder & CEO, SQL Power Group; XBRL Program Manager)</li>
<li>Dan Loney (SVP, SQL Power Group)</li>
<li>Jason Brown (Principal Consultant, SQL Power Group)</li>
</ul>
<div>
The webinar will include a Live Demonstration of SQL Power's turn-key hosted XBRL Data Collection and Analytics solution, as well as a Question and Answer period.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<a href="http://www.sqlpower.ca/xbrlpower/page/webinar#signupnow">Register now</a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10163852538996014276noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41525380305953965.post-20991247583334737692011-12-19T12:34:00.000-08:002011-12-19T12:34:07.563-08:00Migrating Projects between SQL Power Community Edition and Enterprise Edition software<p>In response to frequently asked questions along the lines of...</p>
<ul>
<li>What happens to my projects if my Enterprise license expires?</li>
<li>Can Community Edition Projects be used in the Enterprise Edition?</li>
<li>Can Enterprise Edition Projects be used in the Community Edition?</li>
</ul>
<p>...Here's how Community/Enterprise projects are handled in SQL Power Architect and SQL Power Wabit:</p>
<ol>
<li>Architect/Wabit Projects created in the Community Edition can be migrated to Enterprise Edition.</li>
<li>Architect/Wabit Projects created/saved in Enterprise Edition are stored in the Enterprise server database and cannot be accessed by the Community Edition.</li>
<li>When an Architect/Wabit Enterprise license (or free trial period) expires, the Enterprise server database and any projects therein are "locked out" (they are still there, but not accessible) until a license is obtained/renewed.</li>
</ol>
<p>Note: For SQL Power DQguru, all Projects can be created by/accessed by either Community or Enterprise version.</p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10163852538996014276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41525380305953965.post-32775317774652475872011-11-18T08:13:00.001-08:002011-11-18T08:17:27.026-08:00Demo: End-to-End XBRL Platform<iframe style="border:1px solid #ccc;" width="455" height="284" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Ptui4MhKuPQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<br><br>
<h2>SQL Power's Zero-Footprint End-to-End Supervisory XBRL Platform</h2>
<br><br>
<p>This is a very brief demo of SQL Power's web-based end-to-end integrated
solution for XBRL data collection, taxonomy management and analytics.</p>
<p>learn more at <a href="http://www.sqlpower.ca/xbrl">www.sqlpower.ca/xbrl</a></p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10163852538996014276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41525380305953965.post-39555094840623751702011-11-02T09:08:00.000-07:002011-11-18T08:17:05.738-08:00Zero-Footprint End-to-End XBRL Platform<iframe style="border:1px solid #ccc;" width="455" height="284" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/thIMHSQCaO0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<br><br>
<h2>SQL Power's Zero-Footprint End-to-End Supervisory XBRL Platform</h2>
<br><br>
<h3>AS SHOWCASED AT THE 2011 XBRL INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE IN MONTREAL CANADA</h3>
<br><br>
<p>This brief video outlines the challenges of traditional financial regulatory systems and introduces SQL Power's solution: the world's first web-based end-to-end integrated
solution for XBRL data collection, taxonomy management and analytics.</p>
<p>learn more at <a href="http://www.sqlpower.ca/xbrl">www.sqlpower.ca/xbrl</a></p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10163852538996014276noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41525380305953965.post-41652773504161368422011-09-02T08:02:00.000-07:002011-09-02T08:02:15.248-07:00Using SQL Power Software with MS Access, .csv, flat file, spreadsheets, etc.Lately, many people have been emailing us at SQL Power Software, asking how to access flat files instead of databases - so I thought I'd take a minute to talk about the subject.<br />
<br />
The bad news is that SQL Power software does not support flat file access out of the box. (SQL Power Architect, Wabit and DQguru are high-performance data tools, designed to work with large, industrial-size databases and data models - not excel files.)<br />
<br />
HOWEVER: the good news is that since we use JDBC for data access, you can in fact connect to ANY data source, providing you have a working JDBC driver for that data source.<br />
<br />
For example: want to connect to a .csv file? Just search for a "csv JDBC driver".<br />
<br />
As we don't do a lot of flat-file work ourselves, we'd love to hear about your experiences with these situations. (Especially if you've come across a particularly good JDBC driver for a certain flat file type, so we can recommend it to others.)<br />
<br />
For more on this topic, see the SQL Power Frequently Asked Questions:<br />
<a href="http://www.sqlpower.ca/page/faq-install#spreadsheet">Spreadsheets & Flat Files</a><br />
<a href="http://www.sqlpower.ca/page/faq-install#msaccessjdbc">Microsoft Access JDBC-ODBC bridge</a><br />
<a href="http://www.sqlpower.ca/page/faq-install#howtosetupJDBC">Configuring JDBC Drivers</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10163852538996014276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41525380305953965.post-26815943380282856392011-04-08T09:13:00.000-07:002011-04-08T09:13:01.163-07:00XBRL Canada IFRS Taxonomy Workshop - April 20, 2011<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"></span><br />
<div class="p1" style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">This event is hosted by XBRL Canada, a not-for-profit consortium of leading Canadian companies and organisations, whose role is to create and maintain XBRL taxonomies based on Canadian reporting standards, to increase the awareness, knowledge and understanding of XBRL and its uses in Canada and to stimulate and promote the adoption of XBRL in Canada. XBRL Canada is a jurisdiction of XBRL International.</div><div class="p2" style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br />
</div><div class="p1" style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Date: April 20, 2011</div><div class="p1" style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Time: 8:30am - 3:30pm ET</div><div class="p1" style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Location: Office of the CICA 277 Wellington St. West, Toronto, ON</div><div class="p1" style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Instructor: Eric E. Cohen, PriceWaterhouseCoopers</div><div class="p2" style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br />
</div><div class="p1" style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Breakfast at 8:00 am ET (coffee, juice and muffins will be provided)</div><div class="p2" style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br />
</div><div class="p1" style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Registration fee: $299 CDN</div><div class="p2" style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br />
</div><div class="p1" style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.xbrl.ca/">Visit xbrl.ca to register for this event</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41525380305953965.post-1511640377141122632011-04-07T12:59:00.000-07:002011-04-07T13:59:07.311-07:00The Business Intelligence Forum - May 26 2011<b>The Business Intelligence Forum</b><br />
May 26 2011 8am-noon at the Hilton Toronto<br />
Presented by <a href="http://www.microstrategy.com/">MicroStrategy</a><br />
<br />
The Business Intelligence Forum offers a unique, interactive environment to gain technical insights to enhance your business intelligence initiatives and view groundbreaking BI demonstrations. You will also have the opportunity to exchange ideas with peers and industry experts and hear best practices from successful customer case studies.<br />
<br />
To register or for more information, please contact Moe Nawaz at <a href="http://www.sqlpower.ca/consulting/page/rapid-business-intelligence">SQL Power Consulting</a>:<br />
moe@sqlpower.ca<br />
416 221 4220 ext. 273<br />
<br />
<i>Agenda:</i><br />
8:00am - Continental Breakfast & Registration<br />
9:00am - Corporate Update<br />
9:30am - Technology Demonstrations<br />
10:15am - Networking Break<br />
10:30am - Customer Success Stories<br />
11:00am - Technology Demonstrations, continued<br />
11:30am - Closing Remarks<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.hilton.com/">Hilton Toronto</a><br />
145 Richmond Street West<br />
Toronto, ON M5H 2L2<br />
Canada<br />
(416) 869-3456Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41525380305953965.post-25869283554074016242011-01-20T12:12:00.000-08:002011-01-20T12:16:14.414-08:00Mobilizing Strategic IntelligenceCost-effective Mobile BI technology is finally here!<br /><br />If you're in the Toronto area, join us on Feb. 17 for a Free Breakfast Seminar to learn about cost-effective Mobile Business Intelligence. Register today at http://www.sqlpower.ca/consulting/page/biseminar<br /><br />Agenda includes:<br />- The Real Business Impact of Knowledge Discovery<br />- How to make the most of your BI Budget<br />- How to quickly address end-user BI demands for a fraction of the cost<br />- Timely Strategic Intelligence with Mobile Devices<br /><br />Seminar includes a live demo of MicroStrategy Mobile BI and a Free Continental Breakfast.<br /><br />Everyone is welcome, but space is limited so reserve your spot today!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41525380305953965.post-9803627287777720172010-08-03T12:31:00.002-07:002010-08-03T12:41:38.439-07:00Senior Java Developers WantedSQL Power is currently seeking several talented Senior Java Developers to join our Business Intelligence and Data Migration software firm!<br /><br />To apply, please visit:<br /><a href="http://www.sqlpower.ca/page/show_job?job=seniorjavadev">http://www.sqlpower.ca/page/show_job?job=seniorjavadev</a><br /><br />Our development group has a high degree of autonomy in selecting the right technologies for the job, and we sustain an incredibly fast pace of delivering new products, enhancements to our existing products, UI improvements, bug fixes. Most of our products presently have a centralized business model implemented with POJOs, on top of which is layered both a Swing user interface and a web user interface. The web UIs are based on modern technologies such as JAX-RS, jQuery, and HTML 5.<div><br />Responsibilities:<ul><li>Understand business requirements and overall product architecture;<br />be able to compare and contrast them with industry norms</li><li>Provide estimates of effort for implementing sets of new business requirements</li><li>Design, implement, unit test, and document assigned components of the product and<br />integrate with components developed by other team members</li><li>Create proofs of concept (PoCs) to validate design assumptions and choice of technology</li><li>Participate in Software Development process improvement activities including<br />weekly status meetings</li><li>Stay abreast of the latest developments in the Java and Open Web ecosystems</li><li>Provide leadership, guidance and direction for more junior members of the team</li></ul>Qualifications:<ul><li>6+ years solid hands-on experience with Java development - specific experience with Swing and Servlet-based technologies</li><li>Ability to define and analyze needs, identify risks and alternatives, propose solutions and consistently meet required deadlines</li><li>Excellent written and verbal communication skills</li><li>Bachelor of Science in Computer Science or Software Engineering</li></ul>Location: <a href="http://www.sqlpower.ca/software/page/contact">SQL Power Head Office in Toronto</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41525380305953965.post-73758958255742002872010-08-03T12:24:00.000-07:002010-08-10T07:23:44.176-07:00Get 60% off SQL Power Architect Enterprise EditionTo help promote the new SQL Power Architect Enterprise Edition, SQL Power is offering a 60% discount on annual subscriptions for a limited time only.<br /><br />http://www.sqlpower.ca/page/architect-eUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41525380305953965.post-57451964525188989442010-07-14T13:54:00.000-07:002010-07-14T13:57:26.825-07:00Spreadsheet BIInformation Management just published an article called <a href="http://www.information-management.com/blogs/best_practices_spreadsheets_business_intelligence_bi-10018213-1.html">Best Practices for Using Spreadsheets as BI Tools</a>... shouldn't the entire body of the article just be "DON'T!" ?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41525380305953965.post-82197609751610083682009-08-25T01:00:00.000-07:002009-08-25T01:00:01.732-07:00Creating Mondrian Star Schemas with Power*Architect - Part 2/2<div style="text-align: left;">This is part two of my step by step guide on creating a Mondrian Schema with Power*Architect.</div><div></div><div><b>Step 3 - Creating the Mondrian schema</b></div><div><ul><li>Go to OLAP-> Edit Schema -> New Schema.</li>
<li>Enter a Schema name and select the database connection you created earlier.</li>
<li><b>Dimensions</b></li>
<ul><li>Right click on the PlayPen, select <i>New Dimension</i>, and click on the PlayPen again</li>
<li>Enter the dimension name, select <i>TimeDimension</i> as the dimension type and click on ok.</li>
<li>Right click on the created dimension and add a hierarchy. Select the time table (public.dim_time) and select the correct primary key.</li>
<li>Now you can add levels. Right click on the hierarchy and select Add level. Enter the name, column and correct level type.</li>
<li>The procedure is the same for all dimensions.</li>
</ul>
<li><b>Cube</b></li>
<ul><li>Right click on the PlayPen, select <i>New Cube</i>, and click on the PlayPen again</li>
<li>Enter the Cube name and select the fact table (public.orderfact in my example)</li>
<li>Add the dimensions to the cube. Click on <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJZrWlM-i7SwH5cV5zU6nuq4FrtoG6UaE-y6ucClTPAGt96F8X0hKPcQ4ST2FuGpHpI5orPbMyw6jhQxWUzut1isjVu7wQoapwmQiBjUKoLL91Dr3LizSTjGqhaMXNkSND337eRmG2Cv4/s1600-h/dimUsage.PNG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373615702183856498" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJZrWlM-i7SwH5cV5zU6nuq4FrtoG6UaE-y6ucClTPAGt96F8X0hKPcQ4ST2FuGpHpI5orPbMyw6jhQxWUzut1isjVu7wQoapwmQiBjUKoLL91Dr3LizSTjGqhaMXNkSND337eRmG2Cv4/s200/dimUsage.PNG" style="cursor: pointer; height: 26px; width: 34px;" /></a> (Dimension Usage), then on dimension and finally on the cube. (This procedure is supposed to get easier in a later release of Power Architect).</li>
<li>Enter a caption and select correct foreign key out of the fact table.</li>
<li>Follow the instructions for the other dimensions. </li>
</ul>
<li><b>Measures</b></li>
<ul><li>To add measures to your cube, right click on the cube name, select the aggregator and the correct column from your fact table.</li>
</ul></ul><ul><li>Your schema should look similar to the following screenshot.</li>
</ul></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggX7_Mi6AfvS-wCUtCT3dY7thNfrTMv7I8nnxCg4SxVOoAUOS5O3A5J6LJyU9hk66G9u8iQAlwb5rd-FVVFvppveNeq2R0UBhUTZywHlzy0P68ThKNiEc701MRgEqph93FiBS-sVYfhN0/s1600-h/OLAPSchemaEditor.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373624384875539122" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggX7_Mi6AfvS-wCUtCT3dY7thNfrTMv7I8nnxCg4SxVOoAUOS5O3A5J6LJyU9hk66G9u8iQAlwb5rd-FVVFvppveNeq2R0UBhUTZywHlzy0P68ThKNiEc701MRgEqph93FiBS-sVYfhN0/s320/OLAPSchemaEditor.png" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 184px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a></div><div><ul><li>Export the schema using the last icon (or by right clicking in the schema) to your hard drive.</li>
<li>Save the project and close Power*Architect</li>
</ul></div><div><span style="font-weight: bold;">Step 4 - Testing the Mondrian schema</span></div><div><ul><li>Install and start Wabit.</li>
<li>Create a new Workspace with a new OLAP database connection</li>
<li>Select "In-process Mondrian-Server", the database connection you already created in Power*Architect, and select your Mondrian Schema you exported earlier. You can see an example in the screenshot</li>
</ul></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvsC8t1HUH86ZJIZPrpFZzTUXbSwcbcbb8V3vH1Ww3n9ZUxi_BBrJHZuo-6zhqCsPwdrLhHLadTi1J3qLV2DoiZFfq7X15OCY4LWQdVoLorlWX7EiTXforQFxX0KoGDAoe3KFIMiSxtvw/s1600-h/DBOLAPConnection.PNG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373626289580264850" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvsC8t1HUH86ZJIZPrpFZzTUXbSwcbcbb8V3vH1Ww3n9ZUxi_BBrJHZuo-6zhqCsPwdrLhHLadTi1J3qLV2DoiZFfq7X15OCY4LWQdVoLorlWX7EiTXforQFxX0KoGDAoe3KFIMiSxtvw/s320/DBOLAPConnection.PNG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 152px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a></div><ul><li>Click on "Start"</li>
<li>Wabit automatically starts in the query mode. </li>
<li>Select the created cube in the right hand bar. All measures and Dimensions will be listed. underneath.</li>
<li>Drag&Drop the measures and dimensions into the OLAP query editor and see the results. Your result should look similar to mine (I'm using a slightly different version of Wabit).</li>
</ul><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3eoTc3vt1F5S6i4keb8R83P-vNDZ4-qStGyNEVs60oyhNdiec4q1uC4pERcnN3iT0OReG1F8eEC0gjkS_uvnctBA_nfzR0AeJzMruuVWF-v289a33y55LcW_iTcEXIBGY31RYLV2IOEM/s1600-h/exampleQuery.PNG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373629915135337810" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3eoTc3vt1F5S6i4keb8R83P-vNDZ4-qStGyNEVs60oyhNdiec4q1uC4pERcnN3iT0OReG1F8eEC0gjkS_uvnctBA_nfzR0AeJzMruuVWF-v289a33y55LcW_iTcEXIBGY31RYLV2IOEM/s320/exampleQuery.PNG" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 150px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
<div><b><br />
</b></div><div><b>Step 5 - Troubleshooting</b></div><div>If you run into problems check the following:</div><div><ul><li>HSQLDB doesn't like multiple connections too much. Make sure you have only one open connection.</li>
<li>If you can't create a query with Wabit, load the Schema into the Mondrian Schema Workbench and check if it's working there. Maybe you missed something when you created the schema.</li>
<li>Can't fix it? Write a comment or use the <a href="http://www.sqlpower.ca/forum">SQL Power forum</a>.</li>
</ul></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41525380305953965.post-49345630724867920542009-08-24T14:10:00.000-07:002009-08-24T14:10:14.348-07:00Creating Mondrian Star Schemas with Power*Architect - Part 1/2<div style="text-align: left;">A few months ago I first mentioned that you can create Mondrian schemas with Power*Architect. Finally I get the time to create a step by step guide for a small Mondrian schema. This post covers the preparation of Power*Architect to create a new schema, the coming blog post will cover the schema creation and testing.</div><div><b><br />
</b></div><div><b>What you need to get started:</b></div><div><ul><li><a href="http://pag.sqlpower.ca:8080/hudson/job/power-architect/">Nightly build from Power*Architect</a></li>
<li>A database, e.g. MySQL or PostgreSQL with the data you want to analyze. In this example I'll use the Pentaho sample data which is included in the Pentaho BI Server 3.x</li>
<li><a href="http://pag.sqlpower.ca:8080/hudson/job/wabit-0.9.7/">Wabit 0.97 (includes Mondrian built in)</a><br />
or a running Mondrian instance and a Mondrian client of your choice </li>
</ul><div><b>Step 1 - Setting up the database connection</b></div><div><ul><li>Start Power*Architect </li>
<li>Open the Connections menu and start the <i>Database Connection Manager</i>.</li>
<li>Click on <i>New</i>.</li>
<li>Add the database connection details. For the Pentaho sample data enter the data as shown in the screenshot (Click on it for a larger screenshot). Make sure you enter the right folder name.<br />
</li>
</ul><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGBbRs9OIZ30wnV6Z9CzZldfcrvPS6uJ2FY68Y388lFF5WHZ1ZkmFNBcduNgSWd-4NwwVY6V4P9jORMS92mj1Q2bMvL7ADDR_KDmEladswuGf-Li9TRVZQSsl-cMMkjH5yGDo9IVGal-U/s1600-h/DBConnection.PNG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373602187348520258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGBbRs9OIZ30wnV6Z9CzZldfcrvPS6uJ2FY68Y388lFF5WHZ1ZkmFNBcduNgSWd-4NwwVY6V4P9jORMS92mj1Q2bMvL7ADDR_KDmEladswuGf-Li9TRVZQSsl-cMMkjH5yGDo9IVGal-U/s320/DBConnection.PNG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 151px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
<ul><li>Test the connection and click on Ok.</li>
<li>Close the Database Connection Manager.</li>
<li>Open the Connections menu -> Add source connection and select the created connection</li>
</ul><div><b>Step 2 - Visualize the data model (Optional)</b></div><div></div><div>If you don't know the data model, I recommend using Power*Architect to visualize it. This step is not needed for the creation of Mondrian schemas.</div><div><ul><li>Unfold the database connection and drag&drop the needed tables to the right hand PlayPen. In my example I use the tables <i>orders</i>, <i>customers</i>, <i>dim_time </i>and <i>orderfact</i>.</li>
<li>Add the relationships between the tables: Click on <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcP6L4ciulv-2fraKDqInYDgjs1rFyApMR8oNEVI-zYaAYp_bYK7En95c66eZRfhlmCD5VBW_HdbHdbU7vXjOYwjUOmK-HA_lCh44SDi1KnUpG_6XZKO2chsc-jE2nPRaM7KnOGpxWjE4/s1600-h/Relationship.PNG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373606393658175458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcP6L4ciulv-2fraKDqInYDgjs1rFyApMR8oNEVI-zYaAYp_bYK7En95c66eZRfhlmCD5VBW_HdbHdbU7vXjOYwjUOmK-HA_lCh44SDi1KnUpG_6XZKO2chsc-jE2nPRaM7KnOGpxWjE4/s200/Relationship.PNG" style="cursor: pointer; height: 29px; width: 33px;" /></a> (Non identifying relationship), on the key in the dimension table and then on the related column in the fact table.</li>
<li>Add the end the model should look similar to the following screenshot.</li>
</ul></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmLoQ8hyW6wSlGv75buwRrAX9HWx2MnfxLEAlApLkxzo7Vd2suB3JBCQGDknHk6uNYpYDUrFDsZUXpx9Pm0vfAX1gTa-oXlMfJYHNYUFD5yVoE4c9WjxhS_N-e53cqAWG9fVBvp4YoGQM/s1600-h/datamodel.PNG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373607401566552146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmLoQ8hyW6wSlGv75buwRrAX9HWx2MnfxLEAlApLkxzo7Vd2suB3JBCQGDknHk6uNYpYDUrFDsZUXpx9Pm0vfAX1gTa-oXlMfJYHNYUFD5yVoE4c9WjxhS_N-e53cqAWG9fVBvp4YoGQM/s320/datamodel.PNG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 170px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a></div><div><ul><li>You can find more details on how to use Power*Architect in the help and manual.</li>
</ul>The second part tomorrow will cover the actual schema creation and testing. Comments are welcome.</div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41525380305953965.post-62620314661055086082009-04-28T14:14:00.000-07:002009-04-28T14:17:39.527-07:00Oracles Acquisition of SunWell, King Larry is at it again, swooping down and buying up Sun Microsystems. To the best of my knowledge, Oracle really hasn't made a major mis-step with any acquisition that it's done. And this one is a whopper, picking up one of Silicon Valley's stalwarts and a darling of the tech crowd.<br /><br />But what does it really mean?<br /><br />Well, for Oracle, it gives them a number of key items:<br /><br /><ol><li>A full stack, hardware on up, to allow them to offer an almost turnkey system (Solaris OS and Java). Oh, and if you want ERP solutions to run, they've got that too!</li><li>An entry level, easy to use, multi platform database with over 2 million installations in MySQL. In addition to acquiring the subscription revenue stream, Oracle gets access to a huge user list, and a product that has deep global penetration at all levels of business.</li><li>Open Office. While not a big part of the deal, nonetheless an interesting tool to jab at Microsoft with - Microsoft's Office cash cow is now under serious pressure from Google's thin client offerings at the consumer level and with Oracle's reach into corporations the Seattle boys could face considerable pressure on the desktop.</li><li>A bunch of other interesting technologies, including the ZFS file system, that have potential for Oracle.</li></ol><br />Now, being an open source proponent, one has to wonder about the future of Sun's open technologies and MySQL in particular. I've seen two trains of thought on the acquisition's impact on MySQL:<br /><br />A. Oracle, being the evil, mean, nasty closed source commercial giant (whew!) close sources MySQL or lets it wither and die.<br />B. Oracle embraces MySQL as its open source offering and continues to nurture it.<br /><br />I really can't see Oracle killing off MySQL. Let's face it, they would really p*ss off a lot of people by doing that. I could see Postgres gathering steam in that scenario, or another MySQL variant rising from the ashes. And we would be right back where we are today. Looking back, everyone expected Oracle to quietly bury InnoDB when they purchased them, and that hasn't happened. In fact, InnoDB continues to be a viable engine for MySQL. I foresee an improved MySQL offering under Oracle, as Oracle's culture won't tolerate the infighting that has plagued MySQL over the past few years, and has hurt product development.<br /><br />I am interested in seeing the competition's reactions to the news. Will this reinvigorate Microsoft's interest in acquiring Yahoo? What will HP, a hardware partner with Oracle, do know that their partner competes with them? And what will IBM do next?<br /><br />Interesting times...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0