An Introduction to Datazen
Erik Flateby
SQL Saturday #414
Oslo 29.08.2015
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An introduction to Datazen. SQL Saturday 414, 29.08.2015. [email protected]
EXEC SP_help ‘Erik Flateby’
 Independent Consultant at Acuit A/S
since 2011.
 Specialized in
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BI
Data Warehousing
ETL
Reporting
[email protected]
 Associated with Nextbridge Technology –
Norway’s leading network of independent BI Consultants
 Worked with SQL Server since 2000
 MCTS, MCITP, MCSA, MCSE:BI, MCT (on and off)
 SQL Server UG Board Member
An introduction to Datazen. SQL Saturday 414, 29.08.2015. [email protected]
…but first
 Have you used Datazen?
An introduction to Datazen. SQL Saturday 414, 29.08.2015. [email protected]
Session Agenda
 What is Datazen?
 And what is it not
 What are the components of Datazen?
 Server side
 Client side
 Presenting the UI and the dashboard design process
 Lets make some demos!
 A simple dashboard with drilldown
 A KPI based on a tabular cube
 A dashboard using maps
 The pros and cons of Datazen
 Extras if there is time
 Q&A
An introduction to Datazen. SQL Saturday 414, 29.08.2015. [email protected]
What is Datazen?
Datazen – just aquired
 Aquired by Microsoft in April 2015,
http://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2015/04/14/micro
soft-acquires-mobile-business-intelligence-leaderdatazen/
 Anyone with an Enterprise SQL 2008 Enterprise
Edition or later, and active Software Assurance can
download it for free:
https://www.microsoft.com/enus/download/details.aspx?id=48112
An introduction to Datazen. SQL Saturday 414, 29.08.2015. [email protected]
What is Datazen – the buzzwords
 Create BI Dashboards
 “publish with complete confidence that your dashboards
will work on all mobile platforms and scale perfectly to
any screen size”
 Native Apps for All Platforms
 …” feature parity and offline capabilities on all platforms”
 KPI Repository…”for quick, timely insights”
 Team Collaboration, Stay on top of BI hub activity,
 Participate in KPI & dashboard
conversations…”Collaborate on the go from any device”
An introduction to Datazen. SQL Saturday 414, 29.08.2015. [email protected]
What is Datazen – the components 1/3
 Environment for creating and serving corporate
dashboards
 Components:
 Server to render and get data
 IIS and ASP.NET based
 Mobile Apps for viewing report
 IOS, Android, Windows
 Desktop App for creation of dashboard
 That is, an actual Windows 8 Store App….
 The Datazen viewer desktop app
 Can be used with tiles
An introduction to Datazen. SQL Saturday 414, 29.08.2015. [email protected]
What is Datazen – the components 2/3
What is Datazen – the components
 Control Panel
 Administer users, groups, hubs, caching, refresh etc
 Also: KPIs, Data Sources, Dataviews
 Usually lives at http://datazenserver/cp
An introduction to Datazen. SQL Saturday 414, 29.08.2015. [email protected]
What is Datazen – the components
 Viewer
 The HTML5 web page. Starting point for interacting with
dashboards and KPIs.
 Use if you don’t have the viewer apps
 Usually lives av http://datazenserver/viewer
An introduction to Datazen. SQL Saturday 414, 29.08.2015. [email protected]
What is Datazen NOT?
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Cloud based – only on premise
A tool for data exploration
A tool for data manipulation
A tool that requires no knowledge of queries
 No “self-service” or “democratization of BI”
 A tool that gives you full control over your reports –
no SSRS pixel perfection
 Subscription-engine for reports
An introduction to Datazen. SQL Saturday 414, 29.08.2015. [email protected]
Datazen Server – Installation and system requirements
 Can only be installed on Windows 2008 R2 or later.
Windows 7, 8 or 10 not possible.
 The server has these main components: Core Service
& Rendering, Data Acquisition, Web applications and
Caching
 Require IIS, .NET (version depending on Windows
version), Web applications feature
 For full system requirements, see
http://www.datazen.com/docs/?article=server/installatio
n_requirements
 Advanced installation scenarions with own servers for
Data Aquistion, caching and web applications are
possible
An introduction to Datazen. SQL Saturday 414, 29.08.2015. [email protected]
Dashboard design process
Two ways:
 Design first
 Data first
 Part of the design process is anyways always
on the server side
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Datasources
Dataviews
Parameters
KPIs
An introduction to Datazen. SQL Saturday 414, 29.08.2015. [email protected]
Dashboard design process – design first
 Work in the Layout View prior to having
the Data View set up
 The query does not need to be ready
 A simulated table with required data is generated by
the tool -> guide for columns and granularity
 Can be helpful for rapid prototyping and refininglayout-iterations
 Allows for non-(MDX||DAX||SQL||CAML) experts to
be part of the design process
 Makes it look you are closer to completion than
you really are? 
An introduction to Datazen. SQL Saturday 414, 29.08.2015. [email protected]
Dashboard design process – data first
 Data first
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More like good ‘ol SSRS
Create the queries first
Then create the dashboard, with real data
See how it looks, refine and repeat
 Immediately identifies granularity problems etc
 Datazen can’t manipulate your data in many
ways, so often this approach is needed
An introduction to Datazen. SQL Saturday 414, 29.08.2015. [email protected]
Data sources and data views
 Data source is the connection to the data
 Lives on the Datazen server, in the control panel
 Is set up by the admin, only
 Data views
 Like datasets in RS
 Accepts parameters
 Can be cached, on-demand,
and return different data for different users
An introduction to Datazen. SQL Saturday 414, 29.08.2015. [email protected]
Demo 1
 Objective 1: We want to first have a look at
Internet Sales per day, per Product Category
over time
 Objective 2: Aquaint ourselves with the
Publisher UI while doing 1
 Objective 3: We want to drilldown to every
transaction in one day
 Afterwards we are going to look into our richest
customers and see what they buy
An introduction to Datazen. SQL Saturday 414, 29.08.2015. [email protected]
Demo 1
 Actual demo
An introduction to Datazen. SQL Saturday 414, 29.08.2015. [email protected]
Introduction to KPIs and the KPI store
 Great for showing a lot of concise executive
information in a small area
 Support Value, Goal, Status, Trend – all can be
dynamic
 All are shown on the frontpage
 Linked to other KPIs and dashboard
 Can be pinned to the Windows 8 Start menu
 Social component with comments
An introduction to Datazen. SQL Saturday 414, 29.08.2015. [email protected]
Our own KPI – “Yesterdays Sales”
Have a look!
An introduction to Datazen. SQL Saturday 414, 29.08.2015. [email protected]
KPI caveats
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Can’t be put on dashboard by themselves
Can’t be the source for gauges
Their queries can’t be reused
Goals can not be referenced in queries
An introduction to Datazen. SQL Saturday 414, 29.08.2015. [email protected]
Maps data introduction
 Used for spatial reporting
 Coloring, Bubbling og Heating vectorbased graphics
 Very solid offering
 70 maps included
 Be sure to check the simulated data for IDs!
 Norwegian counties are misnamed
 Custom maps are supported
An introduction to Datazen. SQL Saturday 414, 29.08.2015. [email protected]
Demo Maps - Livestock
 What kind of livestock is common in the
different Norwegian counties?
An introduction to Datazen. SQL Saturday 414, 29.08.2015. [email protected]
Demo Maps - Livestock
 SSB to the rescue!
 Search for “03791” on the frontpage
An introduction to Datazen. SQL Saturday 414, 29.08.2015. [email protected]
Demo Maps - Livestock
 Actual demo here
An introduction to Datazen. SQL Saturday 414, 29.08.2015. [email protected]
Demo Maps - Livestock
 Post livestock demo
 Shows the design-first paradigm
 And the problems with coloring
 And the problems with inserting pictures or logos
(unless you do a complete branding package)
An introduction to Datazen. SQL Saturday 414, 29.08.2015. [email protected]
Customer .esri maps
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Floor plans
Seats
Places
Can you think of some others?
An introduction to Datazen. SQL Saturday 414, 29.08.2015. [email protected]
Datazen Pros
 Just works on different mobile devices (if the
infrastructure is in place)
 Good looking dashboards
 Easy to create
 Sitting down with customers and creating
great looking dashboards (and business )
right away
An introduction to Datazen. SQL Saturday 414, 29.08.2015. [email protected]
Datazen cons – Teo Lachev
All quotes from Teo Lachevs blog,
http://prologika.com/CS/blogs/blog/archive/2015/04/19/first-look-atdatazen.aspx
 There is nothing that Datazen can do that SSRS can't.
 Except maybe one thing: The user can slide the finger to select multiple date periods
and the page doesn't repost
 No data exploration – Similar to SSRS, the query is fixed at design time.
Therefore, the user cannot change the report layout or add/remove fields.
 Great front, weak back– It's obvious that the Datazen developers have
focused exclusively on the presentation layer. I didn't see alerts,
subscriptions, printing, exporting, execution log, etc.
 Little options for expressions, conditional formatting, etc.
An introduction to Datazen. SQL Saturday 414, 29.08.2015. [email protected]
Personal datazen cons
 I don’t like Windows Store Apps!
 Absolutely horrible MDX date handling (or MDX
handling in general)
 Non customizable coloring of maps (at least
without branding)
 KPIs are not integrated into dashboards
 Datazen drilldown targets requires non-intuitive
and spacewasting setup
 No zoom (on maps etc)
An introduction to Datazen. SQL Saturday 414, 29.08.2015. [email protected]
If there is time…
 Drilldown to Reporting Services
 Show example from our demo
 MDX handling of dates
 http://www.datazen.com/blogs/post/working-withdates-in-datazen-3-0
 cdate(format([Date].[Date].CURRENTMEMBER.ME
MBER_VALUE, "yyyy-MM-dd"))
An introduction to Datazen. SQL Saturday 414, 29.08.2015. [email protected]
Q&A
An introduction to Datazen. SQL Saturday 414, 29.08.2015. [email protected]
Datazen - More Information
http://www.datazen.com/docs/
http://blogs.technet.com/b/cansql/archive/2015/06/25/datazen-vs-power-biwhen-and-why.aspx
http://www.blue-granite.com/blog/bid/404942/5-Reasons-Microsoft-CustomersShould-Try-Datazen
Comparison of Datazen vs SSRS vs Power View :
http://www.sqlchick.com/entries/2015/6/20/comparison-of-datazen-vs-ssrsreporting-services-vs-power-view
http://prologika.com/CS/blogs/blog/archive/2015/04/19/first-look-atdatazen.aspx
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An introduction to Datazen. SQL Saturday 414, 29.08.2015. [email protected]
Your feedback is important!
Please let us know what you thought of this session 
http://sqlsaturday.com/414/sessions/sessionevaluation.aspx
An introduction to Datazen. SQL Saturday 414, 29.08.2015. [email protected]