Today I’m pleased to announce the SQL Server 2008 R2 Business Intelligence Training Course (a.k.a. SQLInsights), a new self-paced online training course brought to you by Microsoft Developer and Platform Evangelism.  This is a is a great resource for developers, consultants and evangelists who want to learn how to build solutions that deliver rich integrated reporting, analytics and dashboard experiences using SQL Server 2008 R2 and Microsoft Business Intelligence.  It contains a comprehensive set of videos and hands-on labs that are perfect for self-paced learning. 

SQLInsights is a complete training course that contains eleven units covering all the key aspects of Microsoft BI solution development.  This initial release contains the first two units:

  1. Introduction to Microsoft Business Intelligence (45 minutes)
    Presentation: Understanding Business Intelligence (15 minutes)
    Demo: Delivering Information to Decision Makers with a Microsoft BI Solution (15 minutes)
    Presentation: Introducing Microsoft BI Solution Development (10 minutes)
    Demo: Introducing the Microsoft BI Development Toolset (5 minutes)
  2. Introduction to BI Modeling Techniques (60 minutes)
    Presentation: Designing Data Models for Microsoft BI Solutions (10 minutes)
    Demo: Exploring a Sample Dimensional Data Model (5 minutes)
    Presentation: Designing Semantic Models for Microsoft BI Solutions (10 minutes) 
    Demo: Creating a Data Model with the Microsoft Entity Framework (5 minutes)
    Hands On Lab: Your First Look at the SQL Server 2008 R2 Sample Databases (15 minutes)
    Hands On Lab: Building Your First Semantic Model with the ADO.NET Entity Framework (15 minutes)

You can find SQLInsights on the MSDN Training and Certification Resources page at the following URL:

http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9761002

Go ahead, set aside a couple of hours and jump in!  Watch the videos and review the hands-on labs.   If you want to run the demos or hands-on labs on your own computer, download and install the offline training kit.  You’ll find all the SQLInsights content in the Getting Started > BI Developers page.

We’ll continue publishing additional units every week, including:

  1. Introduction to SQL Server 2008 R2 Integration Services
  2. Introduction to SQL Server 2008 R2 Reporting Services
  3. Publishing and Accessing SQL Server 2008 R2 Reporting Services Reports
  4. Introduction to SQL Server 2008 R2 Analysis Services
  5. Introduction to SQL Server 2008 R2 Analysis Services Query Syntax
  6. Accessing SQL Server 2008 R2 Analysis Services Data
  7. Introduction to SharePoint 2010 PerformancePoint Services
  8. Introduction to Data Mining with SQL Server 2008 R2 Analysis Services
  9. Introduction to Self-Service Reporting and Analysis with SQL Server 2008 R2

We hope SQLInsights will help you get started developing your first Microsoft BI solution.  Thanks for your interest in SQL Server 2008 R2!