So What Next?

With the demise of PerformancePoint Planning both TGO and myself have had to adjust our BI strategy.   It has taken many months and a lot of effort but we have finally finalized our new plans (pretty much).  The new plan will include implementation of another high-end planning package, although we are not ready to formally announce any selection yet.  Stay tuned though as we hope to  have something formalized in the next few weeks.

So with this new strategy you will see more of the following in this blog:

• PerformancePoint Monitoring and Analytics as the stand-alone product it is today
• Using Virtual Earth, Excel and Visio as a front-ends to help visually present data to the end user
• Implementation of SharePoint and using it as a central hub for displaying line of business data
• Posts on the new planning application once we finalize our selection

Now that things will hopefully be getting back to normal for us, I am going to try getting back to posting new content at least once per week.

Sign of the Apocalypse — I’m a Microsoft MVP

I got the email this morning congratulating me on being awarded the MVP designation from Microsoft.  I am now a SQL Server MVP.  Whoa!

So why SQL Server when all my knowledge and contributions were pretty much based around PerformancePoint Server?  Damn good question.  As I understand it, a group of us were nominated in the PerformancePoint Server category and in the queue prior to Microsoft deciding to discontinue PPS as a stand-alone product.  However, since the awards are “product based” when PPS went away they had to put us somewhere.  I am guessing that since PPS was a business intelligence product they figured it made the most sense to put us under the product that is platform that delivers BI for Microsoft — SQL Server.  If you think about it, anyone who successfully implemented PerformancePoint (Planning or M&A) had to deal with SQL or SSAS on a regular basis.  I am sure others might make a case that SharePoint would have been the better choice.  Who knows.

I would be remiss if I didn’t thank a few others here at TGO Consulting for all their hard work.  Shout outs are in order for Grantley, Richard and most definitely Jerry.  All of them work on PerformancePoint with me and their knowledge and experience has contributed to my own.   

Finally a big thanks to those clients who took a leap of faith on PerformancePoint.  Without their ”unique” needs as a driving force, I never would have been driven to learn PerformancePoint to the degree I did. 

I am still wading through the materials that cover all the benefits of being an MVP.  What jumped out at me is that I think the award entitles me to stay free at Bill Gates’ house whenever I visit the Seattle area.  I could be reading things wrong though.  Can anyone confirm this for me?