Last week I presented a Webcast, sponsored by Idera, that received some favorable feedback, plus some requests for my sample files. To recap, my focus was on the process of building the data mart, rather than trying to explain (in 45 minutes!) all the things that you can do with Integration Services. In some cases, your data is relatively straightforward and small, but still doesn’t provide an optimal experience for reporting and analysis. I explain how you can use some rapid development techniques to create a simple data mart for these scenarios, and point you to some resources for learning more about best practices that are necessary for larger BI projects.
Click here to view the Webcast (after registering with Idera) and click here to download the sample package. Although I created the package using Business Intelligence Development Studio for SQL Server 2008 R2, it will probably work with SQL Server 2008 also, but definitely not with SQL Server 2005.
To execute the package, you will need to download and install the AdventureWorks 2008 R2 sample database and then follow my example in the Webcast to create a data mart. It might work with earlier versions, but is untested.
I will confess to a blooper in the demonstration. I forgot to add in the RegionSourceKey (which is visible in the slides that summarize the steps) to the SalesTerritory dimension, which is required for the FactSales package to execute.