July 15th, 11:30 am

Download to your calendar: Prometheus, Barbeque, and Forest Fires: how to get started with Power BI

Topic: Prometheus, Barbeque, and Forest Fires: how to get started with Power BI
Location: via Microsoft Teams
Speaker: Jay Eckles
Cost: FREE

Topic Details

Just as Prometheus brought fire from Mt. Olympus and gifted it to humanity, Microsoft brought Power BI from Redmond and gifted it to O365 customers. Perhaps it isn’t difficult to imagine the combination of awe and fear of those Promethean beneficiaries, especially when we find ourselves looking at Power BI for the first time. The utility and capability are immediately obvious, but the wary among us perceive an unnerving potential suffusing the tool. So, the question is, can you have a barbeque without burning down the entire forest? This conversation will be about acknowledging and moving beyond your initial reaction to Power BI and getting to a point where you believe you can learn to control it.

We will discuss your perceptions of Power BI, discuss the capabilities and limitations of the tool, and discuss how not to burn yourself. Expect to leave the conversation with a clearer understanding of how you might take advantage of Power BI and a concrete plan on how to begin a journey to master it.

Be sure to forward this meeting info to your colleagues and friends!

Speaker Details

Jay Eckles, Ed.D., is a group lead in the IT division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Prior to that he served as the director of business intelligence for the University of Tennessee system where he and his team designed, implemented, and managed a BI stack built almost entirely on Microsoft products. In addition to being a Microsoft Certified: Data Analyst Associate, he has taught business intelligence and analytics at the master’s and non-credit levels at UT Knoxville, Lincoln Memorial University, and with the Tennessee Digital Jobs Factory. He holds degrees in computer science and business from Rhodes College, information science from Penn State, and higher and adult education from the University of Memphis. Jay is originally from the Memphis area and has made Knoxville his home for six years, where he has since become an avid angler and hiker.