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Here are Our Latest Publications

Power BI and Generative AI: What You Need to Know
Generative AI writing, image creation and video creation has ramped up to new levels. It was only a matter of time before SaaS tools started integrating the power of this popular AI technology within their platforms.
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Why Do You Need Microsoft Consulting Services?
No matter what tools you use, any business-level Microsoft software or application is a significant investment. And most businesses aren’t seeing a return on that investment.
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Web Site Security: Requirements & Tools
Web Site Security for ASP.NET Don’t give security threats the green light into your organization. We are launching a blog series featuring a variety of topics relating to web site security, types of security breaches that may occur and how to mitigate those breaches. Follow Superior Consulting ...
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VIDEO: The IT Department – A Key Business Partner
John Bredesen, Business IT Consultant & Author, and Michael Bergstrom, SCS President, discuss how IT is and should be a key business partner. Watch our latest video and learn how to ban silos, map strategies and encourage better integration.
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SCS Offers Customizable Power BI Training
Superior Consulting Services offers a fully customizable Power BI Training, led by expert Brian Larson, SCS Chief Creative Officer and Partner. Larson is a Power BI and SQL Server expert and nationally recognized speaker and author [link to bio].
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VIDEO: Making the Most Out of Your Data – Reporting & Analytics
John Bredesen, Business IT Consultant & Author, and Brian Larson, Chief Creative Officer & Partner, discuss taking data visualization in new directions in SCS’s latest video. Our experts take note that data analytics is more than just reports and scorecards—it’s seeing things past, present, ...
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Q & A with Superior Consulting Services (SCS) Founder, John Miller 
Superior Consulting Services (SCS) celebrates 25 years of technology consulting in 2022. What began as a two-person show focused on using technology to solve business problems, is now a thriving consulting firm with 20+ associates. Now 534 clients later, that commitment to creating technology ...
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Long-Time Consultant Reflects on a Memorable Project
We asked long-time application development consultant, Michael Walsh to reflect on a significant memory from his 23+ years with SCS. “I remember in 1999, I was supporting an agricultural cooperative with 600+ stores across several states. There was a point of sales shut down in hundreds of stores ...
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Power BI Python Visualizations – Adding a Vertical Line to a Graph
Power BI has a great selection of visualizations that are both incredibly easy to implement, and cover most of the functionality that users have grown accustomed to. However, there are some scenarios that fall outside of the abilities that the Power BI native visualizations offer, as well as ...
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SCS – 25 Years of Technology Consulting
Superior Consulting Services is 25 years old! That means I have been an SCS employee for 25 years. How did that happen? It seems like only yesterday I was walking into our little first-floor office suite over on the Highway 13 frontage road, shaking hands with SCS founder, John Miller, and finding ...
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The IT Director: Where IT and Business Meet
The point of the IT department is to help the organization succeed. To do this, we need to understand that organization and the world it operates in. In addition, we must understand technology products, services, and trends enough to know how to apply them to our organization. We must understand ...
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Ask the IT Director: Finding Time To Improve IT Processes
Dear IT Director, Help! We are running around with our hair on fire, working on too many business projects. Our IT processes need help, but we don’t have any time to improve them. Overwhelmed in Omaha Dear Overwhelmed, I feel your pain. The list of changes the business needs is long and you want to ...
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Software Development and Project Management Best Practices
The software development environment at most organizations has drastically changed over the past few years and will likely continue to evolve to keep up with the fast pace of technology advancements. As customers and end-users increasingly demand rapid delivery of software that works well and ...
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IT Leaders: Walkabouts
The organizations that our IT departments serve have lots of parts, pieces, and most importantly, people. Walkabouts are a good way to stay in touch.
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The IT Director: Throttle For Change: How Organizations Should Think About IT
Organizations have IT departments, but they don’t always understand how the IT department can best help. Yes, we keep the computers running. But there can be more than that. Much more.
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Ask The IT Director: Cantujust Dilemma
Dear IT Director, People seem to think that IT has an “easy button.” That we can just make simple changes and slap it into production quickly. How can I respond to this nonsense? Frustrated in Fresno Dear Frustrated, I feel your pain on this. As with most jobs, there are details in our work that ...
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Ask the IT Director: Upgrades Get Blamed For Everything
Dear IT Director, We upgraded one of our major systems last year. We had some glitches, but overall it went fairly well. Here we are a year later, and people still blame the upgrade when they have problems. Very frustrating! Upgraded in Upton Dear Upgraded, Hahaha! HAHAHA! C’mon, laugh with me. ...
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Questions to Ask Regarding Your Company’s Data and Analytics for a More Successful 2022
Another year is quickly coming to a close. Unfortunately, 2021 did not turn out to be the year of “putting the pandemic behind us” that we hoped for. Despite that, we hope you saw this year as a turning point and are starting to see a trend toward better times ahead.
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Backups – The Who What Where Why When and How
Who should do backups?
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I Love Manufacturing
I have worked at manufacturing companies for most of my career. There were a few university jobs first, but when I got the IT job at 3M, I was hooked. The sheer number of products they made was mind-blowing. I worked in the IT department supporting the engineers that designed the equipment for the ...
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IT Leaders: Supporting a Staff Retirement
If you are an IT leader long enough, you will deal with a team member’s retirement. While similar to any person leaving a position, you may get more than two weeks notice, which can be helpful.
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Prioritizing IT Work: The Challenges
How can we prioritize effectively in the IT department? We start by understanding that there is not a separate set of priorities for IT. The priorities of the organization are the priorities of IT. We must be able to say that IT is always performing the work that is most important to the ...
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Business Processes: Set Up For Success
All organizations use business processes to get work done. Most of these processes, especially in larger organizations, rely on computers and software. IT’s role is to make sure processes, as implemented though technology, change as the organization changes. With increasing dependencies on ...
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What are the Important Skillsets for a Business Analyst?  
The role of a Business Analyst is not one to be taken lightly. They are the central point of contact for many within the project team, accountable for defining and helping ensure that the right solution is delivered. It is because of this, in my opinion, that the most effective and successful BAs ...
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What is a Business Analyst and Why Does My Project Need One?
At the onset of a new project the excitement and enthusiasm for starting, and even more so implementing, a new solution which will solve every problem imaginable is infectious. The project sponsors have compiled the concerns and issues from their front-line resources and developers are giddy with ...
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SQL Server Synonyms and How to Leverage Them in an ETL Process
In 2005 Microsoft introduced the synonym functionality for SQL Server. While Synonyms are not something SQL developers are likely to use on a daily basis, they are very powerful and useful, despite being relatively simple. They are essentially a placeholder that can be used as a static value in a ...
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The Costs of (not) Catching Up 
Technology is used in companies to improve efficiency, reduce the possibility of human error, and increase productivity. Once a technology stops doing these things because it slows the process, crashes, and constantly requires maintenance it is time to update. Unfortunately, it has become all too ...
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Beginner’s Guide to Web Accessibility
Today, more people are accessing the world wide web, and using a wide variety of devices and assistants to do so, than ever before. This means it is crucial that your website works properly with all the different ways your user’s can interact with your website. Unfortunately, for many small- to ...
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Creating a Vue.js & .NET Core Web App
Here at SCS, we have been utilizing Visual Studio’s ability to create .NET Core web applications, bundled with Angular or React, for several years now. This has allowed us to get a web application project quickly and efficiently up and running. We can avoid spending a lot of time on the setup ...
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Lunch & Learn Series
Check back regularly for newly scheduled Lunch and Learn Offerings.
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What is a Container?
When working on software development projects, have you ever run into a problem where you do not have the necessary framework or dependencies installed? This problem arises when the environment used to support or develop software is not identical to the production environment where it is run. For ...
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Tutorial Blog: Creating a Reusable PowerApps Navigation Menu Component
Introduction Microsoft’s PowerApps allows anyone to create simple, low-code solutions quickly. PowerApps is a fantastic solution for addressing many companies’ various internal business needs and allows for rapid prototyping and deployment. However, PowerApps certainly has its own learning curve, ...
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Questions to Ask Regarding Your Company’s Data For A More Successful 2021
As we get ready to turn the page on another year, what steps are you taking to set your business up for success? Your data is central to your business and having the right analytics in place to capture and interpret this data is critical. To help you prepare, we compiled a list of questions you can ...
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The 12 Days of Christmas: SCS-Style!
On the first day of Christmas my technology experts at SCS gave to me analytics environment design and development. (This means I don’t have to try and make meaningful comparisons out of siloed data!)
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Holiday Blog
We have quickly approached the Holiday season for 2020 and while this has been a year like no other, there is still the busy-ness of the season that we can count on. Every store we go into now or commercial we hear on the radio and television is reminding us that it is the holiday season. You can ...
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Awesome Apps in Microsoft 365 You Probably Don’t Know About!
Maybe you’re looking for software that allows your employees to collaborate from anywhere in the world with cloud-based services, the latest programs and robust security. Or maybe you’re already investing in technology like the Microsoft 365 platform but have only scratched the surface and want to ...
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An Introduction to Microsoft Teams
A component of Microsoft 365, Microsoft Teams takes teamwork to the next level with intuitive navigation and on-point features that make doing business even easier. Let’s take a closer look!
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The Importance of Data Backups 
Backups are an essential, yet often overlooked and misunderstood, part of every organization. When the computer systems are running well, the topic gets shoved to the bottom of the meeting agenda and easily forgotten.
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Working Remotely – The new frontier
For almost 20 years I worked in an office setting. The routine was structured and set. Once my family came into the picture, we became a well-oiled machine. My husband and I had our routine to get ourselves and our girls up and out the door. As I headed to the office, I would have my laptop, coffee ...
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A Team Lead’s recipe for the perfect remote social hour
It’s no surprise that one of the hardest parts about implementing social distancing in the workplace is, well, keeping it social. A regular social hour between project milestones serves as much-needed valve to let off steam as well as strengthen social connections between team members. However, ...
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AWS Step Functions
AWS Step Functions is a web-based orchestration service that enables you to coordinate the components of an application into logical steps using individual components that each perform a discrete function or task. This allows for easier scalability of processes and decreases the amount of time ...
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Pure Information
The next generation of information management.
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Impact of Artificial Intelligence on the Covid-19 Virus
We may never know the full impact Artificial Intelligence is having on the effort to help control the spread of the COVID-19 virus. However, we can be sure it is playing a significant role. Artificial Intelligence, in the form of chatbots, is being used to automate communication with concerned and ...
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Quantum Computing at the Kitchen Table
Introduction Recently, Google published a claim that they got a quantum computer with 53 superconducting qubits to do a calculation in 200 seconds that would have taken a classical computer 10,000 years to complete. They don’t claim it was a useful calculation (more like a good random number), but ...
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Be Kind to Your Eyes!
Disclaimer: I’m not a medical professional. For this article, I relied on others who have better knowledge of the topic than I do. Some expert sources may disagree with what I am presenting. To be on the safe side, consult with your doctor or optometrist, in addition to doing your own research. My ...
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Top 5 Reasons to Rewrite Your Application
1. Tons of integrations are available! Companies are moving to cloud services at a record rate. Many companies now have several different cloud solutions.
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Windows 10 Upgrade & Risks of Avoiding It
You may be asking yourself, “What does upgrading to windows 10 do for me?” I have the answer for you! There are many benefits to upgrading to Windows 10 such as speed, security, interface ease, compatibility, and a growing number of built-in software tools.
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FIMC and Embedded Analytics
Our most recent work with FIMC has been focused on implementing improved methods for sharing data with their vendors and customers. Specifically, we wanted to create a way for FIMC to share data that could be more quickly and easily analyzed by their suppliers and distributors, preferably using a ...
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Tuning Hyperparameters
Anyone who has attempted to tackle Machine Learning, or even read about Machine Learning (ML), has probably run into the term hyperparameters. It is usually referred to when discussing “hyperparameter optimization” or “hyperparameter tuning”. This step can be crucial when it comes to improving the ...
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Key Influencers Visualization
This is additional content for the book, “Data Analysis with Microsoft Power BI.” It fits in Chapter 6 – Basic Data Visualization in the middle of page 168 prior to the Other Visual Elements section.
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Conditional Formatting Warnings
New feature as of August 2019.
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Icons Advanced Controls Dialog Box
Updated feature as of August 2019.
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Grouping Visuals
New feature as of August 2019.
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Branding the Power BI Service
New Feature as of August 2019.
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Team SCS: Some of Our Favorite Projects from 2019!
We love every project that comes through our door and we love providing customized technology solutions that help our clients do what they do just a little bit better and easier! Every year, however, there are a few projects that really stand out. Here are some of our favorite projects from 2019:
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“Data Analysis with Microsoft Power BI” Book Sneak Peek #2!
Interview with Dan Corley, Technical Editor In anticipation of the upcoming release of our newest book, Data Analysis with Microsoft Power BI, written by our very own, Brian Larson, we reached out to the Technical Editor, Dan Corley. This interview will give you a little insight into what readers ...
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The Magic of Strengths
by Michele Krolczyk, Principal, Vivid360 EOS/Traction Implementer / StrengthsFinder Guide Imagine if you understood what makes you tick…like really understand what drives you, what motivates you, what makes you communicate the way you do, etc. Then imagine being able to understand what makes others ...
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Why You Need A Project Manager
What’s a project manager? Simply put, project managers play a focal role in determining and administering the many activities required to ensure a project is conceived, executed and completed to the satisfaction of all stakeholders.
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“Data Analysis with Microsoft Power BI” Book Sneak Peek!
Interview with Wendy Rinaldi at McGraw-Hill In anticipation of the upcoming release of one of our newest books, Data Analysis with Microsoft Power BI, currently being written by our very own, Brian Larson, we decided to reach out to McGraw-Hill Editorial Director, and longtime friend of Brian, ...
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FIMC and Our Recent Power BI Training
It’s been just over a year since we started working with FIMC and in that amount of time the data warehouse project has come a long way! Through an iterative process, we have incorporated data covering almost all aspects of operations at FIMC, growing it into a tool that can provide comprehensive ...
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Meet Our 2019 Associates!
We sat down with the 2019 Associates for our new SCS Associate Consultant Program to learn a little more about them and to find out what they are most looking forward to during this program. Give a big welcome to Cassie, John and Jacob!
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The SCS Associate Consultant Program
Traditionally, Superior Consulting Services (SCS) has hired consultants who bring years of experience in their respective field. Experience can be important in a consulting environment. However, in today’s ever-changing technology world, the ability to continually engage with and master new ...
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Paul Purington Celebrates 20 Years!
We’re so proud of Paul and we’re thankful for his years of services as well as his continued exemplification of our Core Values: Ace – Heart – Ally. We sat down with Paul to discuss his 20+ years with SCS, to ask him what he thought of this milestone, what he loves about working at SCS and more.
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Our Memorial Day Traditions!
What is your favorite Memorial Day recipe? Travis Thompson: Anything cooked on the grill! I usually BBQ chicken thighs and my wife makes either potato salad or pasta salad.
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Working with Superior Consulting Services: What To Expect
At Superior Consulting Services, we are not a staffing agency. We are a consulting firm that delivers dynamic solutions. Our highly trained consultants keep current with the latest technologies and certifications. We partner with our clients to design and implement solutions for a gamut of business ...
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Simplifying Processes with a New Scheduling Application at FIMC
We’re receiving excellent feedback on our end-of-the-year SharePoint install at FIMC. Everyone seems to be commenting on improved communication and easier project collaboration. It was a smart move by John and Dustin and is really propelling FIMC forward in terms of connectivity and efficiency. As ...
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Reasons to Rewrite Applications
With the rapid evolution of user needs, technologies and processes, applications can quickly become antiquated. While developers work hard to maintain their relevancy, there are ultimately a plethora of arguments for rewriting applications. In this post, we will explore many of these arguments in ...
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Querying Role-playing Dimensions with DAX
In data warehouses across many industries, it is common to have multiple foreign keys on a fact table that relate back to a single dimension, such as Date, State or Person. Let’s use Date as an example and look at the Order fact for a company. It is realistic to have multiple dimension keys in the ...
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Exciting Developments in Application Development
The following is a summary of a virtual discussion that took place between members of the application development team at Superior Consulting Services. It highlights a number of the current trends, techniques and technologies in the application development space.
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SharePoint Install at FIMC
After helping get FIMC back on their feet following the August ransomware attack, we finally got the SharePoint install underway. Although we were hoping to start in September, as a technology consulting company we recognize that sometimes unexpected events occur. Urgent situations need to be ...
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Simple C# Model to SQL Server Stored Procedure Mapping using XML
When it comes to data access, I like to keep it simple. I prefer the database be exclusively responsible for database actions using stored procedures to execute queries and updates. I also like to avoid mapping lots of parameters in stored procedures. At other times, there’s a need for a way to ...
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Superior Consulting Services Responds to Recent Ransomware Attack at FIMC
Recent Ransomware Attack at FIMC As much as we would love to be updating you on our much-anticipated SharePoint install and data warehouse build, sometimes we’re forced to put the brakes on our plans in order to accommodate unforeseen events. Such is the case recently at FIMC.
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SCS Featured Team – Data & Analytics
We would like to introduce you to our Data & Analytics team at SCS. Meet Paul, Tim H., Elle, Tim L., Brian, Michael, Erin & Sachin! We took some time to ask them to look into their crystal balls and to give us their predictions for the future of data & analytics. Scroll down to read ...
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Reporting Services – Filtering Data by Current User
You’ve hit the home stretch of a data warehouse solution for your organization. Congratulations, as this is no small feat! All of the dimensions and measures are built and populated, bringing together data from several systems including systems from subsidiaries or partners. The parent company will ...
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Utilizing Data Storage Solutions to Increase Workplace Efficiency
FIMC Explores Data Storage Solutions In our introductory post on the happenings at Foam Injection Mold Company (FIMC), we described three major technology solutions that Superior Consulting Services implemented to help them modernize and streamline their operations. One of these tech solutions is a ...
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Migrating Reports? It’s Time to Talk
With the functionality, affordability, and beauty of Microsoft’s reporting tools like Power BI and SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS), many companies are opting to migrate their existing reporting into the Microsoft stack. This effort, while exciting, can be daunting especially if you are looking ...
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Superior Consulting Services Provides Technology Solutions That Enhance Business Operations
As experts in analytics and application development, when Superior Consulting Services (SCS) first arrived on the scene to create technology solutions for Foam Injection Mold Company (FIMC) we were pleased with how well the extensive list of business solutions we provide aligned with their ...
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Solving a Business Problem with a Message Queue, DebuggableService and XML Serialization
Introduction When working with a client in the hardware maintenance business, I developed an efficient and robust solution to solve a specific label printing business problem. This blog will discuss the business requirement and how I solved it with a simple solution using a message queue, ...
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Maximizing SQL Server Integration Services: Adding Functionality
After a bit of a spring break, I’m back! Believe me when I say March Madness is not limited to the basketball court. Hopefully, you have read through the first three blogs in this series and are anxiously waiting for this blog. (Well, I’d like to think you are.) In case you’ve found your way ...
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Maximizing SQL Server Integration Services: Defining an SSIS Package Template
In a series of blogs about the design and implementation of solutions using SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS), Part 1 addressed design tasks and whether or not to stage the data in an intermediate database or operational data store. Part 2 stepped through the setup of an SSIS project in SQL ...
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Maximizing SQL Server Integration Services: Optimizing the SSIS Project Layout
In a series of blogs about the design and implementation of solutions using SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS), Part 1 addressed design tasks and whether or not to stage the data in an intermediate database or operational data store. This may be necessary if the data is being pulled from a ...
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Maximizing SQL Server Integration Services: Technical Design
Hello! How is your week going? Did you just get slammed with a large, high priority data project? Or, are you in the middle of a project but aren’t sure how to get from point E to point L? If you’ve come across this blog post via a search for SSIS or Integration Services resources, you have come to ...
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Move On Premise Servers to the Cloud
Moving on premise servers to the cloud can save you time, money and effort if done correctly. There are many approaches for moving on premise servers and workloads to the cloud, but here we will be focusing on lift and shift today.
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HTML5 Introduction: New Semantic/Structural Elements
Introduction This blog will briefly discuss HTML, HTML5, and the new HTML5 Semantic/Structural Elements, as well as why you should use HTML5, and how one could migrate an HTML4 formatted document to an HTML5 format.
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Microsoft Recognizes Superior Consulting Services’ John Gnazzo as Most Valuable Professional for Third Time
Minneapolis – August 22, 2017 – Superior Consulting Services (SCS), a technology firm that combines highly experienced IT professionals with Microsoft products and tools to solve business problems, today announced John F. Gnazzo has been recognized as a Microsoft Visual Studio and Development ...
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Dashboard in a Blog (or Two) – Part 2
Welcome back! This is part 2 of our Dashboard In a Blog (or Two) series. If you missed part 1, click here [CD1] to catch up and then come back here to continue with part 1.
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Dashboard in a Blog (or Two) – Part 1
If you’ve been watching the Power BI space for some time, I’m sure you’ve seen many offers to go to a seminar or watch a webinar to show you how easy it is to build a “Dashboard in a Day” or even a “Dashboard in an Hour” with Power BI. I’ve seen many of these presentations, and they are fantastic! ...
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Unit Testing: Testing Private Methods
Introduction As part of contemporary application development methodologies, unit testing is employed to automate the testing of a single unit of work. Unfortunately some developers carry the belief that only public methods exposed through an interface, can be tested. This blog will describe a ...
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Data Denormalization Made Easy
Power BI Query Editor Value and Table Columns Data stored as part of a transactional data processing system, for example a database to information on package deliveries, is often difficult to work with when it comes time to explore that data or create reports. This is because of a process called ...
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Power BI Column From Examples
One of the most intriguing features added in April 2017 is the Column From Examples functionality. You can use this feature to have Power BI craft a data transformation for you based examples of what you want the content of the new column to look like.
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Power BI Custom Cache Refresh Schedules
I recently read a post on the Power BI blog about a new enhancement to the scheduled cache refresh process with DirectQuery. The post does a great job of explaining how to implement it, but I wanted to write about why you may want to consider this for your environment.
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Where Does Power BI Fit in Our Data Journey?
Power BI is the newest business intelligence offering from Microsoft. It’s a product that a lot of people have been talking and thinking about for the past year or two, and it is gaining more and more traction every day. I like to refer to it as “The best tool that people don’t realize they should ...
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Microsoft Recognizes Superior Consulting Services’ John Gnazzo as Most Valuable Professional for Second Consecutive Year
Minneapolis – January 17, 2017 – Superior Consulting Services (SCS), a technology firm that combines highly experienced IT professionals with Microsoft products and tools to solve business problems, today announced John F. Gnazzo has been recognized as a Microsoft Visual Studio and Development ...
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Power BI Ad Hoc Grouping
One of the exciting features recently added to Power BI is ad hoc grouping. Released at the end of October 2016 and then improved upon at the end of November 2016, ad hoc grouping allows us to create one or more groups of items while visualizing data, view totals for that group as a whole, and ...
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Back to School Isn’t Just for Kids
SCS Resources for the IT Industry
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Make Your MVC Web Applications Beautiful with Google Charts
I recently was asked to develop a dashboard application for tracking the data flow metrics for a large financial firm. Having had no experience developing a ‘dashboard’ application, I began to do some research into how I could do this efficiently and with a minimum amount of effort designing the ...
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Ditch the Decimal Data Type and Use Double in Your C# Code
Introduction Currently there are four (4) native numeric data types in C#, including Integer, Float, Double and Decimal. This blog will discuss why using the Double data type over the Decimal datatype to significantly improve performance with almost no loss in computational accuracy.
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Power BI Connection Types
The most common way to use Power BI is to import the data into Power BI and define the structure of the data model there. In many situations, this is the best way to use Power BI. However, it is not the only way to use Power BI.
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R and Reporting Services
SQL Server 2016 includes R Services and Advanced Analytics Extensions. R Services makes it possible to run R scripts within SQL Server. As a result, R analysis results can be delivered through Report Manager using SQL Server Reporting Services.
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Using Filtered Indexes in SQL Server
There are many types of indexes in SQL Server, but not all of them get a lot of use or get used to their fullest potential. One of the less commonly-used types is a Filtered Index. Available beginning in SQL Server 2008, the filtered index feature is worth understanding, so that you know when it ...
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Programming Against NoSQL Databases
Introduction A NoSQL database defines a type of database that is non-relational. Some advantages of a NoSQL database over Relational databases include:
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Superior Consulting Services’ John Gnazzo Awarded Microsoft Most Valuable Professional Award
Minneapolis – January 15, 2016 – Superior Consulting Services (SCS), a technology firm that combines highly experienced IT professionals with Microsoft products and tools to solve business problems, today announced John F. Gnazzo has been recognized as a Microsoft Visual Studio and Development ...
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Quarterly Connection: SCS Newsletter for IT Leaders
Superior Consulting Services provides our valued clients and partners with important IT industry news, insights and perspectives through our e-newsletter — Quarterly Connection.
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Consuming a Web Service in a SSRS Report
I recently worked on a project that used web services to feed information to the SSRS reports that were created for the various business segments at this particular organization. Stemming from that project, this blog post will present how to create a simple web service that returns a serialized ...
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Using String Interpolation to Format Strings in C# 6.0
Introduction Many software applications present formatted data to the user via user interfaces and reports. Often times the code that formats the data is difficult to read and maintain. This blog will briefly touch on a new C# 6.0 feature, String Interpolation, to format string data. In many cases, ...
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Superior Consulting Services is Recognized by TechServe Alliance with “Excellence Award”
Honor recognizes top performing IT & engineering staffing and solutions firms. Burnsville, MN (November 5, 2015) – Superior Consulting Services today announced it has earned the annual Excellence Award from TechServe Alliance. The award recognizes IT & engineering staffing and solutions ...
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Tips for Using Transact-SQL CASE for Key-value Columns
Searching for keys in key-value columns and retrieving values in another table.
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ASP.NET MVC 5 – Passing Data From a View to a Controller
The Model-View-Controller (MVC) architectural pattern separates an application into three main components: the Model, the View and the Controller. The ASP.NET MVC framework provides an alternative to the ASP.NET Web Forms pattern for creating web applications. It is a lightweight, highly-testable ...
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Logging Application Utilization of an ASP.NET MVC 5 Web Application
Introduction During development of an ASP.NET MVC 5 Web application, the customer needs to understand and determine who is using the application and how they were using it. To assess how users are using the application, one would have to instrument the application in such a way as to collect ...
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Cutting the Tech Ties. Tips for a Tech-Free Vacation.
Technology is all around us—at work, at home and even on vacation. It is hard to get a break from email, social media and our many devices, but sometimes a break is a good thing and just the thing we need.
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Superior Consulting Services Leader Awarded Microsoft Most Valuable Professional
Dan English Recognized for Sixth Consecutive Year, Also Recently Named SCS Chief of Technology Minneapolis – July 21, 2015 – Superior Consulting Services (SCS), a technology firm that combines highly experienced IT professionals with Microsoft products and tools to solve business problems, today ...
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Getting Metadata from Digital Photographs Using C#
Contemporary digital cameras imprint metadata, or information about the photo, within the photo itself. This blog addresses what information is commonly available, the data extracted from a specific JPEG image, and how to extract it using the C# programming language.
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Hard Coding: What Is It and When Is It Used?
Initially used as an analogy to hardwiring electronic circuits, “hard coding” was meant to convey the inflexibility which results from its usage within software design and implementation.
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ASP.NET Identity Framework
Introduction Securing a website is important to maintaining security and privacy for both users and hosted information. ASP.NET Identity provides a membership system for building and securing ASP.NET web applications. ASP.NET Identity allows the developer to add login features to an application, ...
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Including Non-existent Data in Reports
Scenario When running a query, many times there are instances where there is non-existent data. The following blog addresses various scenarios and solutions for overcoming this issue.
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Microsoft Recognizes Superior Consulting Services Expert Dan English as Most Valuable Professional for Fifth Consecutive Year
English also invited to join Microsoft’s Power Business Intelligence Community Council Minneapolis – August 7, 2014 – Superior Consulting Services (SCS), a technology firm that combines highly experienced IT professionals with Microsoft products and tools to solve business problems, today announced ...
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Risk Analytics: Methods and Benefits
All businesses must assume risk to create profits. So dealing with risk is inherent in the nature of business. The way that these risks are managed can vary greatly, however. Taking on risks smartly can cause an organization to thrive while assuming foolish risks can drive the same organization ...
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Using Entity Frameworks to Simplify Data Access
Introduction Microsoft Entity Framework (EF) is an object-relational mapper (ORM) based on ADO.NET, and is a set of technologies that support the development of data-oriented software applications. As a replacement to Linq-to-SQL, EF enables developers to work with data in the form of ...
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Creating a Forward-looking KPI
Much of our organizational reporting today looks only at the past. It shows us what happened in the past month, most recently completed quarter or year-to-date. This information has value, but in many cases it would have more value if it helped us look in to the future. Often, when decision makers ...
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Restful Web Services Through ASP.Net Web API 2
In this blog, I’ll discuss ASP.Net Web API 2, plus the architecture and details of using it to work with data.
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Using Google Analytics in an ASP.NET MVC Website
Google Analytics is a service offered by Google that generates detailed statistics about a website’s traffic and traffic sources, and can be configured to measure product conversion rate and sales. Google Analytics is used by many professionals, including marketers, webmasters and technologists. It ...
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Why Technology Best Practices are Critical
As with many things in life, technology sometimes allows you to take the “easy way out.” For example, you have been working hard on implementing the new Exchange server and you hit a road block. The install won’t complete. You do some digging and find out what the issue is, then you come to a ...
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Preventing Cross Site Request Forgery
Cross Site Request Forgery (CSRF) is an attack against web applications that forces users to execute unwanted actions within the web applications that they are currently authenticated. By sending a malicious link via email, social network post or chat, an attacker may trick users of web ...
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Avoiding T-SQL Scalar Function Performance Issues
By Rick Bielawski
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SCS Announces Change in Ownership
Superior Consulting Services recently underwent a change in ownership, in line with an established succession plan designed to ensure the company’s long-term growth and prosperity. As a result, SCS founder John Miller has retired, turning the leadership reins over to Brian Larson, Lisa Schmid and ...
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Six Ways SCS is the Perfect Fit for this Recruiter
By Emily Orton
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Why SCS is A Great Place to Work For an Account Executive (Like Me!)
By Joe McWilliams
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Backup. Restore. Repeat. Your System Backup Survival Guide.
By Tim LaPean, SCS Infrastructure Consultant
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Top Three Reasons Superior Consulting Services is a Perfect Fit from an Application Development Consultant’s Point of View
John D. Floyd – Application Development Consultant
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Quality Assurance – Let’s give them a break
Dave Henry, Application Development Practice Manager
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15 Years of Teamwork & Technology Solutions
They say that if you start a business and make it to the one-year anniversary, you have accomplished something big. As we wrap up 2012 and near the end of our 15th anniversary year of providing businesses with smart technology solutions, SCS is having lot of fun remembering what it is that has ...
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Dynamic SQL Search Performance
Recently SCS was approached by a client and presented with an interesting problem: frequently, their data management application – a critical piece of their business model – would grind to a halt. Searches would take many minutes to complete, if they completed at all. Important reports which ...
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SCS – 15 Years of Technology Consulting By Brian Larson, VP of Technology
Superior Consulting Services is 15 years old. How did that happen? It seems like only yesterday I was walking into our little first-floor office suite over on the Highway 13 frontage road, shaking John’s hand, and finding out what FoxPro work he had lined up for me to do.
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The Human Side of Software Architecture
The primary analysis effort for new software architecture always revolves around the computer hardware and software structure and new software technologies. But it’s surprising how much the software architecture is really influenced by and dependent on the people in the business organization rather ...
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Dan English Receives 2011 Microsoft SQL MVP Award!
Superior Consulting Services Senior Business Intelligence Consultant Dan English was informed today that he has again received the Microsoft SQL Server MVP award for 2011. This award is given to the best and brightest of the Microsoft community for their extensive knowledge and skills, as well as ...
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Backups – The Who What Where Why When and How
Who should do backups? Anyone that has data they cannot afford to lose, whether that is a small business, large enterprise, or a single person with one laptop. If you have data you don’t want to lose, you should be doing backups.
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How Smart BI Today Can Illuminate Tomorrow
Insights from Superior Consulting Services’ Panel Discussion on BI On January 20, 2011, Superior Consulting Services (SCS) hosted a lively and informative panel discussion on business intelligence (BI). The goal was to bring together Midwestern business leaders to analyze the role of BI today as ...
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Who is SCS?
Superior Consulting Services (SCS) is a Microsoft Gold Certified technology firm providing innovative solutions that enable our clients to solve business problems. We use Microsoft products and tools to provide custom solutions to small- to medium-sized businesses in the Twin Cities, as well as ...
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Superior Consulting Services Reports Sixth Consecutive Positive Year
Technology solutions firm continues to grow in down economy with two positive quarters in 2010, new clients, new hires and an expanded, new location
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Superior Consulting Services Upgrades to New Location
Technology solutions firm moves to new offices with 1,500-sq.-ft. more space Minneapolis, MN (April 9, 2010) — Superior Consulting Services (SCS), a technology firm that combines highly experienced IT professionals with Microsoft products and tools to solve business problems, announced it is moving ...
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Superior Consulting Services Continues to Offer Consultants Unrivaled Benefits Package in 2010
Includes an annual monetary and comp day budget for training Burnsville, MN (November 30, 2009) — Superior Consulting Services (SCS), a technology firm that combines highly experienced IT professionals with Microsoft products and tools to solve business problems, announced the continuation of its ...
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Superior Consulting Services Creates Custom Software Application to Replace the Venerable Time
Burnsville, MN (July, 2009) — Superior Consulting Services (SCS), a technology firm that combines highly experienced IT professionals with Microsoft products and tools to solve business problems, has created a custom software application that moves the age-old time clock in to the 21st century.
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Superior Consulting Services Sells 29% of Company to Key Employees
Company plans to be 100% employee-owned by December 2013
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