It is with tremendous joy that I announce the release of my very first Technical Article! Click the image below to get a copy of your very own.

When I first started in the SQL Server business with Digineer about 6.5 years ago, one of my earliest projects was implementing a SQL Server 2005 Report Model for a client. Lara Rubbelke (Blog|Twitter), who led Digineer’s Information Management (SQL Server) Team at the time, set me up with that project along with some top cover from the mighty Jason Strate (Blog|Twitter). With two great mentors like I was lucky enough to have, that project set the stage for my career in SQL Server. It was during that project that I came to firmly believe in empowering end users in a managed environment. In the next few years, I ended up working on several Report Models for clients and giving well attended Intro To Report Model presentations.

Upon discovering that SQL Server 2012 meant the beginning of the end for Report Models, I was concerned for the folks that had been investing in them since their release. I saw forum posts that expressed frustration at their demise since many organizations had come to rely on them. It was clear that there were some technologies available that were superior to Report Models that could make great replacements in different scenarios. I looked for a source that combined all that information into a single location to help ease the transition of Report Models to other alternatives in the Microsoft BI stack. Since I could not find one, I decided I should go ahead and make one. Behold!

I want to thank Lara and Jason for their mentorship at the beginning of my career and through today. I also want to thank my great Technical Reviewers for this article:

Jin Cho (LinkedIn) – Microsoft

Mike Donnelly (Blog|Twitter) – Digineer

Aaron Drinkwine – Digineer

Chris Fish (Twitter) – Digineer

I need to thank Digineer for their continued support and being an awesome place to call home.