This book is written for the “information worker” businessperson who already uses Microsoft Office applications such as Excel, Word, or Visio to accomplish his or her daily work. Today, information workers most often work in the collaboration environment of SharePoint, where their spreadsheets and documents are saved and shared, along with SQL Server Data Visualizations such as dashboards and reports, for everyone to view and utilize.

It is this large class of information workers who can now design and share worldclass reports and data visualizations using the techniques described in this book. The new SQL Server business intelligence tools from Microsoft take reporting out of the realm of database professionals and place “reporting with graphics” in the hands of all levels of employees in support of real-world work processes.

Information technology professionals are also finding an increasing need to understand the tools presented in this book, as Microsoft Reporting Services in general becomes pervasively more integrated within line-of-business applications. These applications range from generic Microsoft Project Servers to line-of-business case management systems that are often based on Microsoft’s XRM case-management/workflow server. And while these applications are often delivered with embedded Microsoft Reporting Services reports, those reports can be enhanced and expanded with a working knowledge of the concepts discussed in this book.

The examples in this book require the use of Reporting Services “Report Builder” version 3.0, which is bundled with SQL Server 2008 version R2—and is available at no additional charge to users of SQL Server. The new PowerPivot product from Microsoft is also discussed/explored in this book and requires Excel 2010 on the user’s desktop. However, it should be noted that the chapters in the book do not describe server operating system configuration, or code examples in any detail—it is assumed that the users and consumers of this book have access to SQL Server 2008 R2 and SharePoint 2007 (or SharePoint 2010).

One of the first things that can help with understanding the concepts of SQL Server Data Visualization is to understand how different tools of the SQL Server technology relate to each other, and the roles they play in business intelligence analytics. Each tool has its own unique design interface, but every SQL Server BI component produces charts, gauges, grids, or maps for reporting, analysis, and measurement that are viewable in the browser or within a SharePoint portal. The following “Microsoft BI Matrix” illustration shows the SQL Server Data Visualization components, and how they fit into the roles of reporting, analysis, and measurement.