If you use Microsoft Excel 2007 or 2010 to analyze data
from:

Microsoft Analysis Services cubes

PowerPivot for Excel

Oracle OLAP (using Simba Technologies' MDX Provider
for Oracle OLAP)

Teradata OLAP Connector
then read on to learn about one of
Excel's best kept secrets.You love the
slice, dice, pivot and drill that PivotTables afford but you
are frustrated by their limitations of placement and formatting
(ever tried inserting a column in the middle of a PivotTable or
moving just part of it?).

You want to build reports that are
dynamically linked to your database but you want to place your
report sections in the worksheet precisely where you want them.
The solution to your problem is Cube Formula Reports.Still
part of Excel, they use CUBE functions that can be positioned
almost anywhere in a worksheet, just like any other Excel
functions.And just like Excel functions you leverage your
existing Excel skills ; no new products to
learn.

Data and presentation (your Excel report) remain
separated, drastically reducing the potential for spreadsheet
hell; report users that access a central database all retrieve
the same version of the truth.Building Dynamic Reports and
Dashboards with Excel Cube Functions is a self-paced
multi-media training course that is your express chair lift up
the cube function learning curve.The course media provide
instruction to suit your learning style and comprise :


Learning Guide (PDF over 90 pages) with links to

35 short, digestible videos

8 annotated workbook examples that you can re-use

supported by a sample database
You will get off and running, developing reports quickly
using the "80/20" method (80% of the result with 20%
of the effort).

In subsequent sections you will learn how to:


make your reports more robust, easier to maintain, and
re-usable

add drop-down lists to make report parameter selection
easy for users

add functionality to check key report numbers and display
alerts if numbers don't tie

use Excel's built-in graphic capabilities to create
dynamic dashboards that convey at a glance the values, trend
and status of your KPIs, pulled from your centrally-stored
data

automate report printing using VBA macros

debug formulas, work with nested dimensions, member
properties, multiple data sources, add additional data rows
and columns to existing reports

tips to convert legacy "copy/paste/re-key"
reports to cube formula reports

use PowerPivot for Excel (2010) as a data source.
PowerPivot can be an aggregator hundreds of millions of rows
of data from multiple Microsoft and non-Microsoft sources -
invaluable for rapid prototyping of new BI applications or
for self-service BI

set up your reports so they remain dynamic when published
to Excel Services in SharePoint

generally leverage Excel's functionality and your
skills to enhance your reports and dashboards and the report
reader's experience
Appendices in the Learning Guide explain technical topics,
including:


CUBE function syntax

connecting to data sources

understanding the implications of uniqueness of dimension
member names
Contain software and training costs by capitalizing on
your existing Excel knowledge and software investment.Order
Building Dynamic Reports and Dashboards with Excel Cube
Functions now.(Download is large and may take several
minutes).