About This Course
In today's data-driven economy, organisations that can rapidly collect, integrate, analyse, and present data hold a decisive competitive advantage. Microsoft Business Intelligence (MSBI) — built on the SQL Server platform — provides a comprehensive, enterprise-grade suite of tools that covers every stage of the data lifecycle: extraction and transformation with SSIS, multidimensional and tabular analytics with SSAS, and rich reporting with SSRS. Together, these technologies form one of the most widely deployed BI stacks in the world, used across banking, government, healthcare, retail, and manufacturing sectors.
This ten-day TrainingComplex programme takes participants from foundational BI concepts through to advanced implementation techniques. Each tool is explored in depth — from designing robust ETL workflows and building OLAP cubes to authoring paginated reports and deploying solutions to production environments. The curriculum balances conceptual understanding with intensive hands-on labs, ensuring that every delegate leaves with practical, immediately applicable skills.
The course is structured to mirror real-world BI project workflows, allowing participants to experience how the three MSBI components work together as an integrated pipeline. By the end of the programme, delegates will be capable of architecting and delivering complete BI solutions — from source-system data ingestion through to executive dashboards — using the Microsoft toolset they are most likely to encounter in enterprise environments.
Whether you are a database developer expanding into analytics, a business analyst seeking to automate reporting, or a BI architect formalising your skills, this course provides the depth, structure, and practical grounding needed to accelerate your career and add measurable value to your organisation.
Who Should Attend
- Database developers and administrators looking to expand into BI development
- Business analysts and data analysts who work with Microsoft SQL Server environments
- BI developers seeking formal, structured training on the full MSBI stack
- IT professionals responsible for enterprise reporting and data integration
- Data engineers and ETL developers building or maintaining data pipelines
- Software developers transitioning into data warehousing and analytics roles
- Solutions architects designing Microsoft-based BI and data warehouse systems
Learning Objectives
- Understand the architecture and components of the Microsoft BI stack and how SSIS, SSAS, and SSRS integrate
- Design and implement ETL processes using SQL Server Integration Services, including transformations, error handling, and package deployment
- Build and manage data warehouse schemas, including star and snowflake schema design
- Create multidimensional OLAP cubes using SQL Server Analysis Services and configure dimensions, measures, and hierarchies
- Develop tabular models in SSAS and write DAX formulas for calculated columns and measures
- Query SSAS cubes and tabular models using MDX and DAX expressions
- Design, parameterise, and publish professional paginated reports using SQL Server Reporting Services
- Configure SSRS report subscriptions, snapshots, and security for enterprise deployment
- Implement best practices for performance tuning, incremental loading, and data quality management across the MSBI stack
- Deploy and manage MSBI solutions in production SQL Server environments, including scheduling, monitoring, and troubleshooting
Course Modules
Module 1: Introduction to Business Intelligence and the Microsoft BI Stack
- Core concepts of business intelligence, data warehousing, and OLAP vs. OLTP
- Overview of the MSBI toolset: SSIS, SSAS, and SSRS and how they interrelate
- The BI project lifecycle: from requirements gathering to production deployment
- Setting up the development environment: SQL Server, SSDT, and SSMS configuration
- Understanding the role of staging layers, data marts, and the enterprise data warehouse in a BI architecture
- Key BI roles and responsibilities: ETL developer, data modeller, report developer, and BI architect
Module 2: Data Warehouse Design Principles
- Dimensional modelling fundamentals: facts, dimensions, and grain definition
- Star schema and snowflake schema design — trade-offs and best practices
- Slowly Changing Dimensions (SCDs): Type 1, Type 2, and Type 3 strategies
- Data warehouse physical design considerations: indexing, partitioning, and naming conventions
- Designing degenerate dimensions, junk dimensions, and role-playing dimensions for complex business scenarios
- Conformed dimensions and conformed facts: enabling cross-process analysis across multiple subject areas
Module 3: Getting Started with SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS)
- SSIS architecture: control flow, data flow, connections, and package structure
- Building a basic ETL package: source adapters, transformations, and destination adapters
- Using variables, expressions, and parameters to make packages dynamic
- Debugging and testing SSIS packages using breakpoints and data viewers
- Implementing precedence constraints and sequence containers to control package execution flow
- Configuring connection managers and using project-level connections to promote reusability across packages
Module 4: Advanced SSIS: Transformations and Data Quality
- Key transformations in depth: Lookup, Derived Column, Conditional Split, and Merge Join
- Implementing data cleansing and validation logic within the data flow
- Error handling strategies: redirect rows, error output routing, and logging
- Using the Fuzzy Lookup and Fuzzy Grouping transformations for data standardisation
- Applying the Aggregate, Sort, and Multicast transformations for data shaping and fan-out scenarios
- Orchestrating multi-source data reconciliation using the Union All and Data Conversion transformations
Module 5: SSIS Package Management and Deployment
- Implementing incremental loading patterns: change detection and delta processing
- SSIS project and package deployment models: Project Deployment vs. Package Deployment
- Configuring the SSIS Catalogue (SSISDB) and managing environments and parameters
- Scheduling and monitoring SSIS packages using SQL Server Agent
- Implementing package security: sensitive parameter encryption, protection levels, and certificate-based encryption
- Using SSISDB execution reports and custom logging providers to audit and troubleshoot package runs in production
Module 6: Introduction to SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS) — Multidimensional Models
- SSAS architecture: data sources, data source views, dimensions, and cubes
- Building a multidimensional cube: measure groups, measures, and aggregations
- Designing attribute hierarchies and user-defined hierarchies within dimensions
- Processing and deploying an SSAS multidimensional database to a server
- Configuring dimension relationships: referenced, many-to-many, fact, and data mining relationships
- Implementing translations and currency conversion to support multi-language and multi-currency reporting requirements
Module 7: Advanced Multidimensional Modelling and MDX
- Implementing calculated members and named sets using MDX expressions
- Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), actions, and perspectives in SSAS cubes
- Configuring dimension intelligence: time intelligence, account intelligence, and currency conversion
- Performance optimisation: aggregation design, partitioning, and storage modes (MOLAP, ROLAP, HOLAP)
- Writing advanced MDX using scope assignments, subselects, and the EXISTING function for complex analytical calculations
- Implementing cube security: dimension data security, cell security, and role-based access control for multidimensional models
Module 8: SSAS Tabular Models and DAX
- Tabular model architecture: in-memory xVelocity engine and DirectQuery mode
- Importing data and defining relationships in the tabular model designer
- Writing DAX calculated columns, measures, and time intelligence functions
- Deploying and querying tabular models; comparing tabular vs. multidimensional approaches
- Implementing row-level security (RLS) in tabular models using DAX filter expressions and roles
- Optimising tabular model performance through column cardinality management, relationship design, and measure evaluation strategies
Module 9: Getting Started with SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS)
- SSRS architecture: Report Server, Report Manager, and Report Builder overview
- Designing table, matrix, and chart reports using SQL Server Data Tools
- Adding parameters, filters, and drill-through actions to reports for interactivity
- Formatting reports for professional presentation and multi-format export (PDF, Excel, Word)
- Using shared data sources and shared datasets to promote consistency and reduce maintenance across the report catalogue
- Implementing subreports and linked reports to support modular report design and content reuse
Module 10: Advanced SSRS: Subscriptions, Security, and Deployment
- Creating data-driven and standard subscriptions for automated report delivery
- Configuring report snapshots and caching for performance optimisation
- SSRS security model: role assignments, item-level security, and row-level data security
- Deploying reports to the Report Server and managing report lifecycle in production
- Configuring scale-out deployment and report server database settings for high-availability production environments
- Auditing report usage and managing the report execution log to identify adoption patterns and optimise server resources
Module 11: Integrating SSAS Data into SSRS Reports
- Connecting SSRS to SSAS multidimensional and tabular data sources
- Building MDX and DAX-based datasets for use in SSRS reports
- Designing scorecards and dashboards that surface cube KPIs and measures
- Handling parameter cascading and cross-filtering across SSAS-sourced report datasets
- Using the Analysis Services field list and named sets within SSRS to simplify dataset authoring against complex cube structures
- Implementing dynamic member selection and slicer-style parameter controls to enable self-service exploration within SSRS reports backed by SSAS
Module 12: Performance Tuning and Best Practices Across the MSBI Stack
- Identifying and resolving common SSIS performance bottlenecks in large-volume ETL
- SSAS query performance analysis using SQL Server Profiler and Flight Recorder
- Report execution optimisation: shared datasets, report caching, and report server sizing
- Documentation, version control, and team development practices for MSBI projects
- Applying buffer size tuning, engine thread configuration, and asynchronous transformation strategies to maximise SSIS data flow throughput
- Establishing a cross-stack performance baseline using SQL Server Extended Events to correlate ETL, SSAS processing, and SSRS execution metrics
Module 13: End-to-End MSBI Project and Production Readiness
- Capstone project: designing and building an integrated BI solution from source data to SSRS report
- Production deployment checklist: server configuration, security hardening, and backup strategies
- Monitoring and troubleshooting deployed MSBI solutions using SQL Server logs and SSISDB reports
- Career pathways, Microsoft certification roadmap, and continuing professional development in BI
- Implementing a disaster recovery plan for the BI platform: SSISDB backup, SSAS database restore procedures, and Report Server encryption key management
- Conducting a post-deployment solution review: performance benchmarking, user acceptance validation, and iterative improvement planning
Requirements & Prerequisites
Participants should have a working knowledge of relational databases and SQL, including writing basic SELECT queries and understanding table relationships. Familiarity with Microsoft SQL Server and the SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) interface is recommended. Prior exposure to data warehousing concepts or business reporting is helpful but not strictly required, as foundational concepts are covered in the opening modules.
Training Methodology
- Instructor-led demonstrations of SSIS, SSAS, and SSRS tool interfaces with live walkthroughs of real-world BI workflows
- Step-by-step hands-on labs in which participants build ETL packages, OLAP cubes, and paginated reports from scratch on provided datasets
- Case study analysis drawn from actual enterprise BI implementations in sectors such as finance, retail, and public administration
- Guided data warehouse design exercises where participants model star and snowflake schemas for realistic business scenarios
- MDX and DAX query workshops with pair-coding exercises to reinforce analytical query writing
- Troubleshooting sessions using intentionally broken packages and reports to build diagnostic skills
- Group project work culminating in a mini end-to-end BI solution — from source data through ETL to a deployed SSRS report
- Peer review of report designs and cube structures, with structured instructor feedback
Organisational Benefits
- Reduced reliance on manual data consolidation and spreadsheet-based reporting, freeing analyst time for higher-value work
- Faster, more consistent delivery of business reports and executive dashboards across the organisation
- Improved data quality and governance through structured ETL pipelines and centralised data warehouses
- Stronger in-house capability to build and maintain BI solutions, reducing dependence on external consultants
- Better business decisions driven by timely, accurate, and visually clear analytical outputs
- Enhanced staff confidence and productivity when working with SQL Server BI tools in day-to-day roles
- A pipeline of certified BI talent capable of supporting future data strategy and digital transformation initiatives
- Alignment of reporting infrastructure with Microsoft ecosystem investments already in place across the organisation
Where Is Microsoft Business Intelligence (MSBI) Training Offered?
This course runs in-person across: Kampala, Nakuru, Johannesburg, Nairobi, Dar es Salaam, Accra, Riyadh, Cape Town, Lagos, Naivasha, Kigali, Abuja, Mombasa, Dubai, Zanzibar, Kisumu, Pretoria, Arusha, Addis Ababa, plus Live Virtual (online) cohorts. Browse live dates for your city below.
Upcoming Schedules
| Location | Format | Dates | Price |
|---|
| Live Virtual |
Online |
28 Sept 2026 – 9 Oct 2026 |
KES 160,000 |
| Kampala, Uganda |
In-Person |
5 Oct 2026 – 16 Oct 2026 |
USD 3,800 |
| Nakuru, Kenya |
In-Person |
5 Oct 2026 – 16 Oct 2026 |
KES 230,000 |
| Johannesburg, South Africa |
In-Person |
5 Oct 2026 – 16 Oct 2026 |
USD 7,000 |
| Nairobi, Kenya |
In-Person |
5 Oct 2026 – 16 Oct 2026 |
KES 230,000 |
| Dar es Salaam, Tanzania |
In-Person |
12 Oct 2026 – 23 Oct 2026 |
USD 4,600 |
| Accra, Ghana |
In-Person |
12 Oct 2026 – 23 Oct 2026 |
USD 7,600 |
| Live Virtual |
Online |
17 Oct 2026 – 6 Dec 2026 |
KES 160,000 |
| Riyadh, Saudi Arabia |
In-Person |
19 Oct 2026 – 28 Oct 2026 |
USD 9,000 |
| Cape Town, South Africa |
In-Person |
19 Oct 2026 – 28 Oct 2026 |
USD 7,600 |
| Lagos, Nigeria |
In-Person |
19 Oct 2026 – 28 Oct 2026 |
USD 5,000 |
| Naivasha, Kenya |
In-Person |
19 Oct 2026 – 30 Oct 2026 |
KES 230,000 |
| Kigali, Rwanda |
In-Person |
19 Oct 2026 – 28 Oct 2026 |
USD 3,800 |
| Abuja, Nigeria |
In-Person |
19 Oct 2026 – 30 Oct 2026 |
USD 5,600 |
| Mombasa, Kenya |
In-Person |
19 Oct 2026 – 28 Oct 2026 |
KES 240,000 |
+233 more dates — view live schedule →
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need prior experience with SQL Server to attend this course?
Yes, a working knowledge of SQL and relational databases is expected before attending. Participants should be comfortable writing basic SQL queries and navigating SQL Server Management Studio. Those with limited SQL experience are encouraged to complete a foundational SQL course beforehand.
Which version of SQL Server and tools does the course use?
The course is delivered using SQL Server 2019/2022 and SQL Server Data Tools (SSDT) integrated with Visual Studio. All necessary software is provided in the training lab environment, so participants do not need to install anything in advance, though they may bring their own laptops with the tools pre-installed if preferred.
Will I receive a certificate upon completing the course?
Yes, all participants who complete the ten-day programme receive a TrainingComplex Certificate of Completion in Microsoft Business Intelligence (MSBI). The course also aligns with Microsoft's BI certification pathway, providing a strong foundation for those pursuing the DP-900 or related Microsoft data credentials.
Is this course suitable for someone who has used Power BI but not SSIS or SSAS?
Absolutely. Many Power BI practitioners find this course valuable because it addresses the back-end data engineering and modelling layer that feeds Power BI. The course focuses on the SQL Server BI stack (SSIS, SSAS, SSRS) rather than Power BI itself, so prior Power BI experience is helpful context but not a prerequisite.
Can the course be delivered on-site at our organisation for a team?
Yes, TrainingComplex offers customised in-house delivery of this programme for corporate teams. Organisations can request tailored datasets and case studies drawn from their own industry or business processes. Please contact us directly to discuss group pricing, scheduling, and customisation options.
