Power View and Reporting Services - Learning SQL Server Reporting Services 2012 - page 318

Power View does ad hoc reporting accessible to all levels of expertise in the
business, from data analysts to business decision makers and everyone else in
between. However, it is model dependent; this time around, it depends on what
is called a tabular data model, which is based on Microsoft's all inclusive Business
Intelligence Semantic Model ( BISM ). This model is different from the report
model used in the earlier 2008 ad hoc reporting. This is data in-memory and
works superfast at turbo speeds using xVelocity/Vertipaq technology ( http://
blogs.msdn.com/b/analysisservices/archive/2012/03/09/xvelocity-and-
analysis-services.aspx ).
In Power View, data visualization takes center stage and does it so well that
is truly remarkable. The Power View report is interactive, and the visualization
and presentation of data are truly exceptional. Power View can be compared to
live TV whereas the previous report varieties were mere taped programs.
The technology is evolving as this line is written. Follow this link to read more
about the future of Power View: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/excel-
help/whats-new-in-power-view-in-excel-2013-and-in-sharepoint-server-
HA102901475.aspx . Look forward to new formatting possibilities, such as adding
background images, formatting the background, choosing themes, and formatting
text and numbers.
Querying and access is fast in Power View as a consequence of having data in
memory using the xVelocity/Vertipaq technologies, since no disk input/output
is involved. For fast data access and querying, tabular model does much better
than multidimensional; but multidimensional model handle complexities in data
querying much better. Follow this link for detailed models comparison: http://
www.jamesserra.com/archive/2012/04/sql-server-2012-multidimensional-
vs-tabular/ . However, Power View reports have been extended to even a
multidimensional model (still in CTP stage) so that a range of capabilities are
envisioned for Power Viewing. All in all, the realm of Power View is extending
in all directions in providing greater productivity and a better user experience.
Power View that you will learn in this chapter is still in its early stages.
Helpful resources
There are lots of videos and articles on the Internet. In fact, it is somewhat
overwhelming. These are two of the links that will take you to most of others:
• TechNet Wiki ( http://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/
articles/3726.power-view-overview.aspx#Useful_links_for_
Project_Crescent_and_SQL_Server_Denali )