See Beyond the Numbers: Data Visualization in SharePoint

SharePoint Saturday San Diego

February 2011Chris McNulty

See Beyond the Numbers:Data Visualization in SharePoint 2010

About Me• Working with SharePoint technologies since 2000/2001• 20 years consulting and financial services technology

(Santander, John Hancock, GMO, State Street)• MBA in Investment Management from Boston College

Carroll School of Management• Write and speak often on Microsoft IW technologies

(blogs & books) • Microsoft MCSE/MCTS/MSA/MVTS

About KMA• Full-service IT consulting firm established in 1995• 29 employees: Partner, PM, Analyst, Developer, QA • Microsoft technology focus:

• Microsoft Gold Certified Partner / Working with SharePoint technologies since 2001

• Specialties in • Collaboration: Portals, Communities and Content

Management• Insight: Enterprise Search and Business Intelligence• Productivity: Forms and Office Client

Customization, Mekko Graphics (ISV)

(3)Copyright 2011 © Knowledge Management Associates, LLC. All rights reserved.

Twitterhashtag: #spssanTwitter hashtag:

About Home



About Home

Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 … the bright frontier

Eastern Long Island, July 4, 2010



Agenda• Goals, Terms & Surrounding Technology• Complexity Levels & Terminology• Technology Overview and Demos

– Simple List and Chart– Excel Services– Power Pivot– Pivot– BCS & SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS)– Performance Point 2010– Mapping

• Summary• Resources• Questions and Answers• Contact Information

Goals for BI Design• Answering the known

questions about our business

• Allowing users to self-discover patterns and answers to questions we haven’t yet been asked

The carousel paradox…



Complexity Levels of These Solutions

Time

Cost



SharePoint BI Evolution

Chart Web Part

Excel Services• Excel Web

Access• PowerPivo

t

Enabling technologies• Business

Connectivity Services

• SQL Reporting Services

• Pivot• Dallas

Performance Point• Dashboards• Analysis

Services

Custom Solutions• Mapping• Web Parts• Etc.



Terms

• BCS – Business Connectivity Services• SSRS – SQL Server Reporting Services• Cube – a prebuilt matrix of data aggregations, hosted in SQL

Server Analysis Services• Windows Azure DataMarket (fka Project Dallas) –

Microsoft initiative to create publicly subscribed data services hosted on Azure and accessed via WCF, PowerPivot, etc. (http://www.sqlazureservices.com)

• Pivot - Interaction model that accommodates the complexity and scale of a massive collection of information

http://www.sqlazureservices.com/



SharePoint Charting• Native to SharePoint (Web Part)• Code-free solution – uses web part

and native listsData sources– Other Lists (Site Collection)– BCS/Business Data Catalog– Excel Services

• Standard Types– Bar, Area, Line, Bubble, Financial, Pie,

Radar, Polar, Gantt, Range, Error Bar, Box Plot, Funnel, Pyramid

• Typical use - quick visualization of SharePoint data

• Quick tip – use the wizard

DEMO – Chart Web Part



Excel Services• Use the world’s #1 BI modeling tool• Render data, charts, interface using

native Excel components (e.g. Slicers) without Excel 2010 on all clients

• Data stored in Excel; SharePoint hosts a presentation layer using Excel Services

• Native SharePoint Status Indicators (KPIs) – Can also work with lists

• Use when users are skilled in Excel modeling and charting and data lives in spreadsheets

• Quick tip: understand SSA’s



PowerPivot

• “Project Gemini” – host 1-10MM row datasets

• Excel and SharePoint components

• Data doesn’t live in spreadsheet

• Released with SQL Server 2008 R2 but doesn’t explicitly require the R2 Engine



PowerPivot• Like Excel Web Access except underlying data can be sourced from:

– SQL, Analysis Services Cube, SSRS Report– Access– Power Pivot/Excel– Data Feeds (XML, Atom, Azure, WCF OData, Dallas)– Oracle, Teradata, Sybase, DB2– ODBC– Text files

• Excel optimized to handle data management and memory cache locally• SharePoint builds cache and optimizes for server web access• Use when Excel modeling skills are high but data is too large or too

heterogeneous to keep in multiple Excel spreadsheets• Quick tip: www.powerpivotgeeks.net

http://www.powerpivotgeeks.net/

DEMO - PowerPivot



Pivot

• “Interact with massive amounts of data in ways that are powerful, informative, and fun”

• Interaction model that accommodates the complexity and scale of information rather than the traditional structure of the Web

• Create a “collection”- underlying schema is CXML or Collection XML.

• View in SharePoint via Silverlight viewer• Complexity: Excel tool available • Tip: http://getpivot.com

http://getpivot.com/

DEMO - Pivot



Business Connectivity Services• Read write access to external data

sources in SP2010 (aka Business Data Connectivity)

• Pull data into SharePoint user interface• Push data into external sources• Native Support for data from SQL, .NET,

Windows Communication Frameworks (e.g. Dallas)

• Configured in SharePoint Designer 2010• Republish data to consuming applications

(e.g. Outlook 2010)• Use when key data lives outside

SharePoint direct control – e.g. accounting systems

• Quick tip: Secure Store Service is needed



SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS)

• “Code free” but requires development tools

• Designed using Business Intelligence Developer Studio

• Reports run and render in SSRS Engine

• Deploy reports to “native” SQL server or SharePoint integrated mode

• Reuse in SharePoint and Dashboard interface

• Export contents to Excel, Word, etc.• Use when some reports are printed,

multipage, etc.



PerformancePoint 2010

• Dashboard Designer (browser downloadable)

• Integrates Excel Services, SSRS, and Performance Point Elements



PerformancePoint 2010

• Sophisticated self service modeling• Decomposition Tree to explore data sets• Ideal for SSAS but also work with standard data sources

(lists, SQL)• Requires true SQL development to build and maintain SSAS

cubes for KPIs and scorecards• Use when data structures are stable and modeling skills are

at least moderate (dimensions, facts)• Quick tip: don’t fear SSAS! If you have Project Server you

already have cubes

DEMO – PerformancePoint



Mapping

• IDC reports that nearly 80% of business data has a location component

• Make business tools as engaging as what’s on the web

• Use cases: – Customer base / trade areas– Routing and shipping– Targeted marketing– Supply chain & disruption resolution



Mapping

DEMO - Mapping

(30)Twitter hashtag:

SummaryTechnology Pros Cons Sample Use Case

SharePoint Lists and Charts

Simple code free solutions

Simple data aggregations Users understand how to chart their own data

Excel Services User familiarity Limited to Excel data sources

Users love Excel charts!

PowerPivot Large datasets Requires some Excel 2010 Data is too big for Excel

SQL Reporting Services Commonly used SQL query techniques

Not an end user tool; entry level development skills

Need to print large multipage reports; export to Excel

Performance Point and Analysis Services

Rich scorecard and reporting environments, aggregates other elements like SSRS

Requires more development sophistication

On screen data exploration of prebuilt analyses

Pivot Large datasets, can be built by Excel plugin for the power user or by developer

Image collection time-consuming to build/standardize

Each data item has visual component

Mapping Varying solution levels, user familiarity

Potential licensing complexity

Each data item has location component

Custom solutions More complex solution More effort Mapping!


2010 BI Solutions in SharePoint

Printing or exporting

Visual NavigationLarge Datasets

Small Datasets

Mapping

Pivot

SQL Reporting Services

PerformancePoint

Excel Services

Chart Web Part

PowerPivot

SharePoint list

KPI / Status Indicator


Resources - General• From Microsoft:

– Business Intelligence: http://www.microsoft.com/bi/ – SharePoint 2010 site: http://sharepoint.microsoft.com – SharePoint Team Blog: http://blogs.msdn.com/sharepoint/default.aspx – BI Blog: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/bi/

• From KMA (www.kma-llc.net)– Monthly webinars on SharePoint 2010 (EPM, upgrades, etc.)

• March 2011: SharePoint for PMOs

– White papers, blogs, presentations, news, and events

• From me– SharePoint Saturday Redmond March 5 (MMS)– Boston Area SharePoint User Group March 9 (Business Intelligence)– SharePoint Saturday Boston – April 9 2011– SPTechCon Boston – June 2011 (BI & MMS)

http://www.microsoft.com/bi/

http://www.microsoft.com/bi/

http://sharepoint.microsoft.com/

http://sharepoint.microsoft.com/

http://blogs.msdn.com/sharepoint/default.aspx

http://blogs.msdn.com/sharepoint/default.aspx

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/bi/

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/bi/

http://www.kma-llc.net/


Resources: Mapping• Bing Developer Center & Bing Maps Customer Gallery:– http://www.microsoft.com/maps/developers/

• Bing Maps Blog:– http://www.bing.com/community/blogs/maps/

• GIM International – online magazine of geomatics:– http://www.gim-international.com/index.php

http://www.microsoft.com/maps/developers/

http://www.microsoft.com/maps/developers/

http://www.bing.com/community/blogs/maps/



http://www.gim-international.com/index.php



Resources: Pivot• Microsoft Live Labs Pivot site– http://www.getpivot.com/

• Pivot Viewer control for Silverlight:– http://www.silverlight.net/learn/pivotviewer/

• Pivot Collection Gallery: http://www.getpivot.com/collections/

http://www.getpivot.com/

http://www.getpivot.com/

http://www.silverlight.net/learn/pivotviewer/

http://www.silverlight.net/learn/pivotviewer/

http://www.getpivot.com/collections/

http://www.getpivot.com/collections/


• Questions?• Evaluations• Contact Me• Ask the Experts• Prizes!• #SharePint – Hard Rock



Thank you…

• Contact Details– Email [email protected]– Blog http://blogs.kma-llc.net/microknowledge– Twitter: @cmcnulty2000– LinkedIn:http://www.linkedin.com/in/cmcnulty

mailto:[email protected]

http://blogs.kma-llc.net/microknowledge

http://www.linkedin.com/in/cmcnulty

http://www.linkedin.com/in/cmcnulty