Basics of Modeling in Power BI: Fact Tables

Fact tables are the core of analysis in a data model. In the previous article, I explained what a dimension table is, and why we cannot have everything in one big table. In this article, you will learn about the fact table, and how it positioned in a data model, you will also learn how Read more about Basics of Modeling in Power BI: Fact Tables[…]

Move Your Shared Tables to Dataflow; Build a Consistent Table in Power BI

I have written previously about the use cases of Dataflow in Power BI, and one of them was using one Power Query table in multiple Power BI reports. However, I that article just covered the surface, and I still see many solutions duplicating Power Query scripts in multiple files which brings a lot of inconsistency Read more about Move Your Shared Tables to Dataflow; Build a Consistent Table in Power BI[…]

Creating a Shared Dimension in Power BI Using Power Query: Basics and Foundations of Modeling

For a data warehouse professional, a shared dimension concept is always clear, and a star schema design always includes such type of entity. However, in the Power BI user’s world, there are many users who are not coming from a data warehousing background. It is necessary to understand some of the concepts in order to Read more about Creating a Shared Dimension in Power BI Using Power Query: Basics and Foundations of Modeling[…]

What is the Common Data Model and Why Should I Care? Part 3 of Dataflow Series in Power BI

In the last two articles, you have learned what is Dataflow and sample use case scenarios of that in Power BI, and also you learn how to create a dataflow. Before going any further in the dataflow discussion, we have to make a quick pause and talk about the Common Data Model (CDM). Dataflow integration Read more about What is the Common Data Model and Why Should I Care? Part 3 of Dataflow Series in Power BI[…]

Temporal Tables and Their Roles in ETL and Data Warehouse

It is my pleasure to speak in PASS 24 Hours session for Evolution of Data Platform on the topic above. I look forward to meet you all in this webinar. registration is free, but limited. So reserve your seat now. Here are some information about my session and 24HOP. 24HOP 24 Hours of PASS is Read more about Temporal Tables and Their Roles in ETL and Data Warehouse[…]

I Will Speak at SqlBits; Azure Data Factory vs SSIS

It is with great pleasure to announce that I will be speaking in SqlBits 2016 Liverpool which happens from 4th to 7th May 2016. I will be speaking one of my favorite topics which is comparing SSIS as on-premises ETL tool with Azure Data Factory as cloud data ingestion service. My session scheduled for 4pm Read more about I Will Speak at SqlBits; Azure Data Factory vs SSIS[…]

ETL Incremental Load with SSIS; Q&A and Recording

Thanks to all attendees to my webinar today, with more than 400 registration I’m thrilled to say this very first RADACAD webinar was a successful step towards regular free webinars. If you are interested in future webinars please stay tuned, we will announce them all in our events page. Today’s webinar was about ETL Incremental Read more about ETL Incremental Load with SSIS; Q&A and Recording[…]

SSIS Incremental Load with Datetime Columns

Previously I’ve mentioned how to implement Incremental Load within SSIS using CDC (Change Data Capture) feature. Unfortunately CDC is not always supported by the source database, so you have to implement an incremental load solution without CDC. In this post I’ll explain how to implement incremental load if there is a modified datetime column in Read more about SSIS Incremental Load with Datetime Columns[…]

Temporal Tables: A New Method for Slowly Changing Dimension

SQL Server 2016 CTP 3.0 is available, and some of you already played with it. There are great set of new features for BI in 2016 in all areas; SSIS, MDS, SSRS, and SSAS. However there are some features which are part of Database Engine but still relates to BI and Data Warehousing. Temporal Tables Read more about Temporal Tables: A New Method for Slowly Changing Dimension[…]

Azure Data Factory Templates for Visual Studio

Azure Data Factory has been released as general availability 10 days ago. There has been also an extension for Visual Studio published a little earlier for Data Factory. The good news is that now you can create Azure Data Factory projects from Visual Studio. This is a great step forward in development of Data Factory Read more about Azure Data Factory Templates for Visual Studio[…]