We have reached the final week of the Fantastic 12 of 2012 contest. We’re looping back to “Rapid Data Exploration & Visualization” with Julie Strauss, Senior Program Manager Lead with the SQL Server Analysis Services Group. Julie shares with us how the Diagram View made its way into PowerPivot. While this may seem like a simple decision, there were trade-offs that needed to be considered. Watch the video and see how the final decision was reached and what the feedback has been!

Download The Fantastic 12 of SQL Server 2012 (PDF) and also watch all previous episodes here. This is the final week of the Twitter Contest that follows every episode of this series, where you could win the SQL Server T-Shirt of your choice!

Fantastic 12 of SQL Server 2012

5 Rapid Data Exploration & Visualization

Empower end users with new insights through rapid data exploration and visualization

Self-Service Analytics

  • PowerPivot: Empowering users of all levels to access and mash-up data from virtually any source, create compelling reports and analytical applications, and easily collaborate and share insights using familiar tools in Microsoft Excel 2010 and Microsoft SharePoint 2010.

Stunning, interactive data visualization

  • Power View: Discover new insights at the speed of thought with highly interactive, browser-based data exploration, visualization, and presentation experiences for users of all levels. Now anyone can create a report in just seconds, transform the “shape” of data with a single click, add powerful timed animation sequences to quickly identify trends or anomalies, and make a more convincing case through rich presentation of discovered insights.

For more information SQL Server 2012, and to download the trial version, please visit: http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver.