8 Best-Selling SSAS Books Millions Love

Alberto Ferrari, Christopher Webb, and Marco Russo bring decades of hands-on experience with SQL Server Analysis Services to this detailed guide on multidimensional model design. You’ll learn how to build and optimize data marts, design cubes and dimensions, and implement complex MDX calculations including currency conversion and date tool dimensions. The book also dives into securing your cubes with dynamic roles, tuning query performance, and automating administrative tasks like partition creation. If you already have some experience with SSAS, this book sharpens your expertise by focusing on best practices that directly impact both development efficiency and end-user responsiveness.

What happens when a senior developer from the core Analysis Services team writes a guide? Irina Gorbach, with over a decade at Microsoft shaping Analysis Services, offers a deep dive into the 2008 iteration. You’ll move beyond surface-level features, gaining understanding of server architecture, multidimensional modeling, and the rationale behind design choices. Chapters on MDX language and memory management reveal insights drawn from firsthand experience, making this a solid resource for those building or optimizing BI solutions. If you’re looking for a practical grasp of Analysis Services internals rather than just an overview, this book fits the bill.

This tailored book explores multidimensional cube development with a focus on your unique SSAS challenges and goals. It combines proven, widely valued techniques with your specific interests to create a learning experience that matches your background and skill level. The content examines key aspects such as cube design, MDX query optimization, data modeling, and security considerations, ensuring you engage with material directly relevant to your needs. By addressing your particular objectives, this tailored guide fosters deeper understanding and practical mastery of SSAS multidimensional models. Through this personalized approach, the book reveals insights that millions have found valuable, while concentrating on your individual path to SSAS success. It balances foundational concepts with advanced methods, empowering you to build robust and efficient analytical solutions.

Sivakumar Harinath’s extensive background in computer science and his longstanding role at Microsoft’s Analysis Services team informed this detailed guide to SQL Server Analysis Services 2008. You’ll gain practical skills in building multi-dimensional databases and data warehouses, mastering MDX queries, and leveraging new 2008 features like enhanced Excel integration and query performance improvements. This book walks you through designing cubes and dimensions, using aggregation designers, and applying data mining techniques, making it ideal for database developers and BI professionals aiming to deepen their SSAS expertise. If you’re looking for a dense, technically rich manual to elevate your SQL Server Analysis Services projects, this is a solid choice; however, it demands a commitment to its extensive content.

The breakthrough moment came when Marco Russo and Alberto Ferrari, pioneers in Microsoft Power BI and DAX, revealed the inner workings of DAX expressions and how to harness their full potential. You’ll learn to master foundational concepts like calculated columns and measures, then progress to advanced topics such as evaluation contexts, calculation groups, and writing optimized, maintainable code using variables. The authors illustrate these techniques with practical examples you can implement in Power BI Desktop, Excel, or SQL Server Analysis Services. If you want to deepen your understanding of DAX’s powerful data modeling and analytics capabilities, this guide offers precise explanations and expert insights that can elevate your BI projects.

Art Tennick's decades of expertise in Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS) led to this detailed guide focused on mastering MDX queries within SSAS environments. You learn to navigate complex multi-dimensional cubes using over 300 ready-to-use queries that address real business intelligence challenges, from manipulating hierarchies to creating KPIs. The book dives into the syntax and practical application of MDX across various Microsoft tools like SSMS, SSRS, and SSIS, making it a resource tailored for hands-on problem solving. If you're working with SSAS and want to deepen your ability to extract, calculate, and present analytical data, this book offers concrete examples and techniques to enhance your skills.

This tailored book explores rapid improvement techniques in MDX query writing and SSAS optimization, designed specifically to match your project needs and background. It covers core concepts and advanced query techniques, revealing ways to enhance performance and accuracy in multidimensional data analysis. By focusing on your interests and goals, the content delves into practical examples, common challenges, and efficient solutions that resonate with your current skill level. This personalized approach ensures you gain relevant knowledge without wading through unrelated material, making your learning experience both engaging and effective. The book also examines best practices for tuning SSAS models and optimizing MDX calculations, empowering you to accelerate your mastery with focused depth.

What started as a practical challenge to streamline complex data analysis led Tomislav Piasevoli to craft this resource packed with detailed MDX recipes for SQL Server 2016 Analysis Services. You’ll dive into mastering time-aware calculations, creating efficient cubes, and writing high-performing MDX queries, all demonstrated through carefully structured examples that build up from basics to advanced techniques. The book’s chapter-based recipe format lets you tackle specific problems like navigating cubes or designing metadata-driven calculations, making it easier to debug and implement solutions. If you work with multidimensional data—whether as a cube developer, report writer, or business analyst—you’ll find the examples and explanations directly applicable to your daily tasks.

What makes this book a staple for BI professionals is how Marco Russo and Alberto Ferrari leverage decades of experience with Microsoft Analysis Services to guide you through the complexities of tabular modeling. You’ll find clear explanations of data modeling foundations alongside deep dives into optimization techniques and deployment strategies, particularly useful in chapters covering scalability and advanced features. It’s designed for anyone transitioning to or working within Analysis Services Tabular, regardless of your prior exposure to earlier versions. If you’re building BI solutions that need to harness modern Microsoft tools effectively, this book equips you with the know-how without unnecessary jargon.

After years of hands-on experience in business intelligence, Alberto Ferrari developed this book to demystify the complexities of the BI Semantic Model (BISM) tabular approach in SQL Server 2012 Analysis Services. You’ll learn how to build and optimize tabular models using SQL Server Data Tools and master the DAX language for creating calculated columns and measures that improve data analysis speed. The book clearly explains when to choose tabular versus multidimensional models and dives into practical performance tuning techniques with the xVelocity storage engine. Whether you're new to SSAS or transitioning from multidimensional models, this book equips you with skills to build agile, enterprise-level BI solutions.