SQLBI Methodology

This week I came across an interesting piece of information about a methodology for BI and data warehouse solutions. As most people know, the biggest theories in the BI market are those of Kimball and Inmon, with the Datavault of Dan Linstedt as a small third. The methodology I am talking about here is a lot more practical, though. The name of the beast: “SQLBI Methodology”.

What is the SQL BI Methodology?

“The SQLBI Methodology defines architecture and implementation of advanced BI solutions using Microsoft SQL Server, SQL Server Analysis Services and – more generally – the Microsoft suite for Business Intelligence.”

Alberto Ferrari and Marco Russo are behind these ideas. In September 2008 they released a first draft of their white paper “Introduction to the SQLBI Methodology”. This paper is mostly about how they see the world and where their methodology should fit in.
A month later they released a somewhat more practical paper called “SQLBI Methodology At Work”, which goes deeper into how the method works in practice.

{module Easy Adsense Content}

The SQLBI Methodology assumes that all information reaches the end users through OLAP cubes. The information comes from the (different) source systems into the data warehouse. After that, everything is split out into different data marts (per information product or business unit).
These data marts are then the source for the SSAS cubes, which are seen as the end point of the information flow. Through these cubes the information can be offered to tools like Excel, Reporting Services, Performance Point or Proclarity. Tools the end user can work with and do his job with.

Tools and views
At first the method seems to depend a lot on Microsoft technology. But it is written broadly enough that you can also use it with other tools, as long as the main components for a data warehouse are there: a database environment, ETL software, cubes and end-user tools. So in practice you can very well apply this method with, for example, Oracle, SAS or IBM. Still, the method was written with the Microsoft BI suite as its basis.

Because of this technical approach, they also do not try to get into the almost endless discussion between Kimball and Inmon followers. At SQLBI they strongly believe that not every customer is the same, so not every customer should be approached the same way. For one customer a Kimball-style solution is best, for the next customer you need a solid Inmon CIF. It all depends on the situation the customer is in. For them, the views of Inmon and Kimball are just tools to get to a stable data warehouse. A very good approach, I think.

{module Easy Adsense Content}

European PASS
This year the SQLBI Methodology will be presented Live for the first time at the European PASS Conference. I am not going myself, but I will certainly try to dig up the information they present there.
This method has a few things I have serious doubts about, but it also has some things that make me think about how I do my daily work. In any case, it is certainly something to keep an eye on in the future, I think.

Pay a visit to their homepage yourself. On the site you can find more information, including the released papers I mentioned above.