This episode is the first installment in a series of episodes that will serve as a primer on the key terms and technologies surrounding data management. Brick and Caleb begin with the fundamental differences between transactional and analytical databases, explaining concepts like OLAP, OLTP, normalization, and denormalization in an accessible way. They also clarify the essence of SQL, how it interacts with databases, and introduce the concept of Serverless SQL. Whether you're new to data or looking to deepen your understanding, this episode is a good place to start getting a handle on common data terminology.

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Blue Margin increases enterprise value for PE-backed, mid-market companies by serving as their fractional data team. We advise on, build, and manage data platforms. Our strategy, proven with over 300 companies to-date, expands multiples through data transformation, as presented in our book, The Dashboard Effect.

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Visit Blue Margin's library of additional BI resources.

In this episode, Caleb and Kate discuss important KPIs for the manufacturing industry. While there are no one-size-fits-all solutions, they outline and provide insight on the leading and lagging KPIs that have helped our midmarket manufacturing clients improve sales operations, inventory management, labor and machine utilization, and cash flow.

Click here to watch this episode on our YouTube channel.

Blue Margin increases enterprise value for PE-backed, mid-market companies by serving as their fractional data team. We advise on, build, and manage data platforms. Our strategy, proven with over 300 companies to-date, expands multiples through data transformation, as presented in our book, The Dashboard Effect.

Subscribe here to get more episodes of The Dashboard Effect podcast on your favorite podcast app.

Visit Blue Margin's library of additional BI resources.

Brick and Caleb discuss Blue Margin's use of Azure Data Lake for unified data management. Using a recent client project as an example, Caleb explains how he integrated multiple data sources using serverless SQL to create a single data repository with a semantic model to enhance consistency across projects and reports. They also discuss the current performance benefits of using a serverless SQL and the Microsoft Fabric OneLake updates they're waiting on before transitioning from Azure Data Lake.

In this episode:

• Introduction to Azure Data Lake: Caleb kicks off the discussion with an overview of Azure Data Lake, emphasizing its role in creating a unified data repository. The conversation highlights the significance of maintaining "one copy of your data" to eliminate redundancy and ensure consistency across various data analysis projects.
• Client Case Study: Caleb walks through a recent project of creating an Azure Data Lake for a client. Learn about the challenges of integrating multiple data sources and how serverless SQL views simplify data modeling and reporting.
• Serverless SQL Explained: Caleb outlines the benefits of serverless SQL, including its flexibility, cost-effectiveness, and how it caters to users familiar with SQL Server without the need for a traditional database setup.
• Semantic Modeling for Unified Reporting: Understand the process of creating a semantic layer that merges data from disparate systems, enabling consolidated reporting across different business units without compromising data integrity.
• Performance Insights: Caleb shares his experience with the performance of serverless SQL on Azure Data Lake, busting myths about query execution times and handling large datasets efficiently.
• Looking Ahead: Brick and Caleb discuss the features they're waiting on within Microsoft's Fabric OneLake before transitioning from Azure Data Lake. 

Click here to watch this episode on our YouTube channel.

Blue Margin increases enterprise value for PE-backed, mid-market companies by serving as their fractional data team. We advise on, build, and manage data platforms. Our strategy, proven with over 300 companies to-date, expands multiples through data transformation, as presented in our book, The Dashboard Effect.

Subscribe here to get more episodes of The Dashboard Effect podcast on your favorite podcast app.

Visit Blue Margin's library of additional BI resources.

In this episode, Brick and Caleb explain the distinctions of and interdependencies between data setup/data pipelines, data modeling, and reporting, emphasizing their individual roles within an effective approach to data analytics and BI. 

Starting by explaining the necessity of a solid data pipeline structure, this episode highlights how the specific requirements of a report influence the development of a corresponding data model (also known as a semantic layer) and concludes with a practical discussion on balancing the complexities of data models. 

 Click here to watch this episode on our YouTube channel.

Blue Margin increases enterprise value for PE-backed, mid-market companies by serving as their fractional data team. We advise on, build, and manage data platforms. Our strategy, proven with over 300 companies to-date, expands multiples through data transformation, as presented in our book, The Dashboard Effect.

Subscribe here to get more episodes of The Dashboard Effect podcast on your favorite podcast app.

Visit Blue Margin's library of additional BI resources.

Brick and Caleb explain how Blue Margin is using ChatGPT for generating synthetic data to populate data models in Power BI reports. Caleb shares his insights on how this approach has streamlined the process of creating sample reports with fake, yet realistic data, to demonstrate work without compromising customer data privacy. They discuss the limitations of traditional data-generating tools and highlight how ChatGPT's ability to produce specific data sets, like email addresses or location codes, significantly eases the task of generating authentic-looking fake data for reports. They also explore other practical applications, such as anonymizing sensitive data, generating test cases for row-level security issues, and training on complex data models. This conversation provides a deep dive into how emerging AI technologies like ChatGPT are revolutionizing data management and visualization in the field of business intelligence.

Click here to watch this episode on our YouTube channel.

Blue Margin increases enterprise value for PE-backed, mid-market companies by serving as their fractional data team. We advise on, build, and manage data platforms. Our strategy, proven with over 300 companies to-date, expands multiples through data transformation, as presented in our book, The Dashboard Effect.

Subscribe here to get more episodes of The Dashboard Effect podcast on your favorite podcast app.

Visit Blue Margin's library of additional BI resources.

Brick and Caleb call out key aspects of Microsoft's Power BI Copilot documentation related to structuring datasets for Large Language Models (LLMs) and explain how to get these best practices in place. Data structure and organization are critical for getting useful outputs from advanced analytics tools like Power BI Copilot, and useful outputs will determine, in large part, whether or not these tools will be widely adopted.

Here is the Microsoft documentation referenced: Update your data model to work well with Copilot for Power BI - Power BI | Microsoft Learn

Click here to watch this episode on our YouTube channel.

Blue Margin increases enterprise value for PE-backed, mid-market companies by serving as their fractional data team. We advise on, build, and manage data platforms. Our strategy, proven with over 300 companies to-date, expands multiples through data transformation, as presented in our book, The Dashboard Effect.

Subscribe here to get more episodes of The Dashboard Effect podcast on your favorite podcast app.

Visit Blue Margin's library of additional BI resources.

While some features are not quite up to par (yet) with Azure Synapse Pipelines, Brick and Caleb discuss Microsoft Fabric's Direct Lake mode and Data Pipelines and the speed and advances they're bring to data management. Fabric's unified platform and source control integration streamline development, and Direct Lake allows organizations to operate off of a single copy of data -- providing data consistency and near real-time Power BI updates.

Click here to watch this episode on our YouTube channel.

Blue Margin increases enterprise value for PE-backed, mid-market companies by serving as their fractional data team. We advise on, build, and manage data platforms. Our strategy, proven with over 300 companies to-date, expands multiples through data transformation, as presented in our book, The Dashboard Effect.

Subscribe here to get more episodes of The Dashboard Effect podcast on your favorite podcast app.

Visit Blue Margin's library of additional BI resources.

For months, Brick and Caleb have been recommending that companies start preparing their data infrastructure to leverage the current and upcoming AI technologies. In this episode, however, they break down how to prepare. They emphasize the need for data consolidation (and recommend OneLake on Microsoft Fabric), a robust semantic layer for report development, data literacy development within the organization, and consistent metric definitions.

Click here to watch this episode on our YouTube channel.

Blue Margin increases enterprise value for PE-backed, mid-market companies by serving as their fractional data team. We advise on, build, and manage data platforms. Our strategy, proven with over 300 companies to-date, expands multiples through data transformation, as presented in our book, The Dashboard Effect.

Subscribe here to get more episodes of The Dashboard Effect podcast on your favorite podcast app.

Visit Blue Margin's library of additional BI resources.

In this episode, we discuss the key takeaways from the AWS report "CDO Agenda 2024: Navigating Data and Generative AI Frontiers." According to the report, the top focus for CDOs is creating visible value and achieving business objectives while preparing company data to leverage generative AI advances. Brick and Caleb share strategies for improving data infrastructure and considerations for generative AI's growing impact. Regardless of when/whether generative AI advances materialize, companies stand to benefit from consolidating their data tools onto a single platform to improve their data quality and security.  

Click here to watch this episode on our YouTube channel.

Blue Margin increases enterprise value for PE-backed, mid-market companies by serving as their fractional data team. We advise on, build, and manage data platforms. Our strategy, proven with over 300 companies to-date, expands multiples through data transformation, as presented in our book, The Dashboard Effect.

Subscribe here to get more episodes of The Dashboard Effect podcast on your favorite podcast app.

Visit Blue Margin's library of additional BI resources.

In this episode, hosts Brick Thompson and Caleb Ochs discuss the current state of data and AI, inspired by a recent report from Salesforce. They discuss the importance of a strong data foundation (and what constitutes one) for effective use of generative AI, emphasizing the need for high-quality, consolidated, and secure data. They also cover some of the challenges of advancing data initiatives (e.g. keeping data projects aligned to business goals, differing perceptions of data quality and usefulness across business departments, etc.)

Click here to watch this episode on our YouTube channel.

Blue Margin increases enterprise value for PE-backed, mid-market companies by serving as their fractional data team. We advise on, build, and manage data platforms. Our strategy, proven with over 300 companies to-date, expands multiples through data transformation, as presented in our book, The Dashboard Effect.

Subscribe here to get more episodes of The Dashboard Effect podcast on your favorite podcast app.

Visit Blue Margin's library of additional BI resources.