Great Intro to Data Mining Web Cast

I just got finished watching this web cast: http://msevents.microsoft.com/cui/WebCastEventDetails.aspx?EventID=1032289986&EventCategory=5&culture=en-US&CountryCode=US

It starts by defining what data mining is and what it isn't, and then presents several of the SQL Server 2005 Data Mining tools in a demonstration.  I highly recommend viewing this if you are completely new to Data Mining.

Database Administration for Non-Database-Administrators

The following article from TechNet lists the Top Tips for Effective Database Maintenance:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/cc671165.aspx

While I'm not actively administering a database, I have had control of a few in the past, and may in the future.  These tips may come in handy some day.

Good Blog Read

I came across this blog entry by Derek Comingore: So you want to be a Microsoft DW/BI Pro.  He gives a chronological "learning plan" for how to learn Data Warehousing and Business Intelligence. At the end of the post, he gives some additional URLs to check out, many of which are blogs of other BI experts.

As I read his post, I was pleased to find out that I already knew the terminology and have some experience with some of the technologies.  I'm on the right path, it seems.

BI Resources

I asked my company's internal BI mailing list for suggestions on how to get up-to-speed on Business Intelligence technologies, and here are some of the responses.  Note that I have no personal experience with any of these references as of this date.

Books

• The Microsoft Data Warehouse Toolkit: With SQL Server 2005 and the Microsoft Business Intelligence Toolset
  [A] must have book to get you started with designing a data warehouse with SQL Server [...] It covers a beginning to end solution using Kimball design principals.
• Practical Business Intelligence with SQL Server 2005
  Even with 2008 coming out, book is still relevant - and it guides you through a practical example from the ground up,  from the relational database through data warehouse design, analysis services ,and reporting.

Web Sites

• http://www.ralphkimball.com
• http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sqlserver/bb331753.aspx
• http://blogs.conchango.com/jamiethomson/archive/2007/07/18/Business-Intelligence_2C00_-what-is-it-and-what-is-it-not_3F00_.aspx
  [A] 30,000 foot view of what BI is, and what it is not

Whitepapers

• Microsoft SQL Server 2008 White Paper: Business Intelligence (a video is here)

As I get additional links I'll add to this list.