Welcome to the 5th issue of the Microsoft Business Intelligence Newsletter! The 'Spotlight' article for this August issue features BusinessWeek Research Services Report: "The ROI of Pervasive Performance Management." This downloadable whitepaper includes in-depth telephone interviews with executives at large and midsize companies known to be employing Performance Management and using Business Intelligence tools. And, of course, we have included great customer success stories, partner-ready tools and product news. We hope that you find the newsletter to be a valuable resource and we encourage you to share it with your colleagues!

You still have time! Microsoft Office SharePoint ECAL/PerformancePoint Server CAL Promotion – now through September 30

Did you miss out on the opportunity to take advantage of this promotion? You still have time to benefit from the Microsoft Office SharePoint ECAL/PerformancePoint Server CAL promotion through September 30, 2008. Customers may acquire licenses of SharePoint Server 2007 Enterprise CALs at a 25% discount when an equal number of PerformancePoint Server 2007 CALs are licensed. Don’t miss this opportunity, as this promotion will not be extended again!
Click here to read more or speak with a Microsoft Representative about this offer.

Microsoft Office PerformancePoint Server 2007 Labcast:NEW!
The PerformancePoint Server 2007 Labcast Series is taken from a live, four-day, instructor-led event and is approximately 25 hours in length. A labcast is a series of hosted Hands On Labs coupled with accompanying minute instructor led videos. Students flip back and forth from the video to the lab as if they were in the classroom. You are encouraged to do one or multiple labs at a time, and then return for more labs at your convenience. Visit the following link to get started:
Microsoft Office PerformancePoint Server 2007 Technical Training - Labcast
Contact Joanne Pinter for more details.

Microsoft Office PerformancePoint Server 2007 Implementation Web Series! Now Available On-Demand!
This three-part webcast series will introduce partners to the Microsoft Consulting Services' Performance Management Center of Excellence (PM-CoE). The PM-CoE is responsible for documenting implementation methodology and best practices for PerformancePoint Server 2007. The first two presentations will take partners through the suggested phases of a generic PerformancePoint Server M&A implementation; what to look out for – and the "do's" and the "don'ts". In addition, a webcast detailing Microsoft's internal implementation of PerformancePoint Server 2007 is also included.

Downloadable Implementation Plans
This guide contains detailed information about how to plan a deployment of Microsoft Office PerformancePoint Server 2007. The PerformancePoint Server Implementation Guide consists of 12 Microsoft Office documents (templates, projects, and worksheets) that can help you plan your implementation of PerformancePoint Server. Start with the Project Plan Framework presentation for a detailed introduction to the tasks involved in implementing PerformancePoint and for guidance on how to most effectively use the templates. Included in the guide are templates for configuration, training, requirements gathering, and a plan for a personalized operations and maintenance plan.
Click here to get started
Contact Joanne Pinter for more details.

Business Intelligence Competency
Learn how to get started on achieving the Performance Management and Business Intelligence Platform Specializations by visiting http://partner.microsoft.com/bi and the following saved searches:

These sites detail the requirements to achieve the specializations as well as the multitude of training offerings available that can be filtered by role. Don't forget to bookmark these sites as new readiness content is updated here frequently!

Contact Joanne Pinter for more details.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Makes Better Decisions with Microsoft BI
With a BI solution based on Microsoft Office PerformancePoint™ Server 2007, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools has completely transformed the way that it collects, monitors, and analyzes data on student, teacher, and operational performance. Easy-to-understand dashboards visually present the district's results based on key performance indicators (KPIs) that tie directly back to the goals identified in the CMS Strategic Plan. Now, the Board of Education can get a real-time snapshot of whether CMS is likely to meet, exceed, or fall short of its performance goals by 2010 – and make timely adjustments to stay on track.
Click here for story details

Community College Gains Institutional Intelligence from SQL Server Data Warehouse
Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C), based in Cleveland, Ohio, is the state’s oldest and largest community college, serving more than 55,000 students per year. The school, which includes three traditional campuses and more than 50 off-campus sites, needed to create a data warehouse to provide a consistent source of information across its operations and to support business intelligence analytics. Tri-C created its One Institutional Intelligence data warehouse using the Microsoft® Application Platform, including Microsoft SQL Server® 2005 database software. The data warehouse has given the college the consistent view into information it needed to support decision making. The solution also provides ease of use so faculty, administrators and staff can create and run their own queries. Complex queries that once took an hour to run are now performed in 4 seconds.
Click here for story details

Culver Franchising Systems, Inc. Improves Operations with Microsoft BI
The success of Culver's Franchising Systems, Inc. (CFSI) depends on maintaining the integrity of the company brand and helping franchisees run efficient, profitable operations. CFSI gets a percentage of net sales of each franchise, so has a vested interested in helping owners succeed. A Performance Management solution based on Microsoft Business Intelligence (BI) technologies has given CFSI better visibility into the performance of Culver’s restaurants and menu items. Now CFSI has the data it needs to help franchise owners improve operations and profitability.
Click here for story details

Register TODAY for the Second-Annual Microsoft BI Conference!
We invite you to join us for the second-annual Microsoft BI Conference, which will showcase Microsoft’s market-leading BI products, solution expertise and customer successes. The conference will be held from October 6-8th at the Washington State Convention & Trade Center in Seattle, Washington. Register before August 8th to qualify for the early bird rate of $995! Visit the BI Conference Website for the full agenda, a complete list of Tracks and Sessions, and to register!
www.msbiconference.com
askBIC@microsoft.com

Learn More about Microsoft BI at the Data Warehousing Institute Conference in San Diego
Join us at the Data Warehousing Institute World Conference in San Diego during the week of August 18th to learn more about our business intelligence solutions, see the products in action and interact with our on-site product experts. Visit our product team in Booth #303. See you there!
http://www.microsoft.com/bi/about/events.aspx

Microsoft PerformancePoint Server Web site
The Microsoft PerformancePoint Web site has undergone some slight changes. You may now access more learning resources, view community information and get to downloads and support information more quickly
Visit the PerformancePoint site to see updates.

Did You Receive The Business Intelligence Newsletter from a Friend?
The Microsoft Business Intelligence Newsletter is full of the latest news, resources, product information and events related to Microsoft BI that we encourage subscribers to forward to friends and co-workers. If you've received this issue from someone via e-mail and would like to receive the free Microsoft Business Intelligence Newsletter bimonthly, all you have to do is subscribe.

The 2008 BI Survey. Make Your Voice Heard!

We welcome your participation in the annual BI Survey, conducted by Nigel Pendse. By participating in the largest, independent survey of BI customers worldwide, you can anonymously answer questions based on your experiences with BI products from any vendor. Not only will you have the opportunity to voice your feedback, but you will also receive a summary of the results and a chance to win one of ten $50 Amazon vouchers.
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