I am delighted to learn that I have been accepted to speak at the SSWUG Virtual Conference. This conference is an online event that features some well-known speakers (plus me) and top-notch content (plus mine) from April 22-24.

I'll be presenting three sessions:

The Accidental SQL Business Intelligence Administrator

This session is designed for SQL Server DBAs who find themselves having to support SQL Server Business Intelligence projects using Reporting Services, Integration Services or Analysis Services. We’ll talk about the lifecycle of projects using these tools, how they impact your SQL Server infrastructure, and what adaptations you might need to make as a production DBA in order to maintain and secure them. Along the way, you might just learn what all those “other” services do that are listed in the SQL Server Configuration Manager.

Introduction to SQL Server Reporting Services

This session is designed for business intelligence developers and report writers from other environments who want to learn how to design, deploy and manage reports in a SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) environment. We’ll look at the lifecycle of an SSRS project, the tools used, and how to take full advantage of the capabilities of SSRS to provide online interactivity, offline delivery and rich content in your reports, no matter what the data source happens to be. This session will walk you through the process of starting an SSRS project, connecting to data, designing report layouts for various output formats and interactivity scenarios, through to deploying, managing and securing your reports on the server.

Integrating SQL Server Reporting Services with SharePoint

This session is designed for business intelligence developers and administrators who want to take advantage of SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) ability to integrate itself and its content with a SharePoint environment. Beginning in SQL Server 2005 SP2 and extending into the current 2008 release, SSRS goes beyond its initial steps using Sharepoint web parts, into fully integrated management and content delivery hosted seamlessly in Sharepoint. We’ll look at what we need to do on the SSRS installation and configuration side, what we need to do and where we need to go inside Sharepoint to build an integrated BI solution.

If you've not attended a SSWUG Virtual Conference, I think you're in for a treat. The way it works is this: we speakers pre-record our presentations, including demonstrations and the occasional PowerPoint slide. On the conference days, the sessions are webcast in a custom interface which builds in a real-time chat room. The speakers are then able to participate in the chat while the session is broadcast, answering questions, expanding on points, etc.

I took the opportunity to observe some of the sessions at last fall's conference, and I'm excited about the format and about being able to participate this time.

Check back with my blog later for more information, for a VIP registration and discount code, and for any updates to my planned session content.