The Best Articles and Tutorials About Cloud Analytics, BI and Management
Paul Hansen is an experienced Analytics Engineer and Senior BI Developer, skilled in data architecture, ETL processes, and data visualization. He has a strong background in SQL, Python, and cloud platforms like AWS and Azure. Paul has led teams to create integrated data solutions, leveraging tools such as dbt, SSIS, and Power BI. His recent roles have ranged from Senior BI Developer to BI Team Lead, demonstrating his ability to manage complex projects and deliver insightful business intelligence solutions. Paul values a collaborative work environment that fosters innovation and professional growth.
Please access his resume here:
Paul Hansen – Business Intelligence Professional 2023
LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulhansenza/
Contact Me
Business Intelligence and Analytics Blog
The May 2025 Power BI update introduces a range of exciting advancements to Power BI, including a standalone Copilot feature allowing users to “Ask Anything!” in preview, enhanced language understanding for data-related questions, and an important announcement regarding the deprecation of the 32-bit Power BI Desktop build. Packed with valuable updates and insights, this month’s […]
This post first appeared at https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/power-bi-may-2025-feature-summary/. The author isWe’re excited to announce the public preview of a new chat with your data experience in Power BI. This new standalone, full-screen Copilot experience, easily accessible from the left navigation of Fabric, can help you find and ask questions about any data you have access to. This post first appeared at https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/the-next-era-of-copilot-in-power-bi-chat-with-your-data/. The author is Read More
This post first appeared at https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/the-next-era-of-copilot-in-power-bi-chat-with-your-data/. The author isIf you have a Power BI report with a matrix visual on it it’s quite likely that you’ll want all the levels in the matrix to be fully expanded by default. But did you know that the way you expand all the levels could have performance implications, especially if you’re using DirectQuery mode? Here’s an […]
This post first appeared at https://blog.crossjoin.co.uk/2025/05/18/performance-implications-of-different-ways-of-fully-expanding-a-power-bi-matrix-visual/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=performance-implications-of-different-ways-of-fully-expanding-a-power-bi-matrix-visual. The author is Chris WebbIf you’ve worked with calculation groups, you know how powerful they are for simplifying measure logic and enhancing report functionality. It doesn’t stop there though; selection expressions offer even more fine-tuned control. This post first appeared at https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/deep-dive-into-selection-expressions-for-calculation-groups/. The author is Read More
This post first appeared at https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/deep-dive-into-selection-expressions-for-calculation-groups/. The author isOver the last few years one topic I have blogged about several times is how to link the detailed data about DAX query execution that can be found in Log Analytics – and now Workspace Monitoring – to the visual in a Power BI report that generated those DAX queries, something that is extremely useful […]
This post first appeared at https://blog.crossjoin.co.uk/2025/05/11/finding-events-linked-to-a-specific-power-bi-visual-in-fabric-workspace-monitoring/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=finding-events-linked-to-a-specific-power-bi-visual-in-fabric-workspace-monitoring. The author is Chris WebbLevel: Beginners Original: Feb 2016 It has been many years since Matt wrote his first take on Calculated Columns vs Measures, back in 2014 when he wrote the blog post 5 common mistakes of self taught DAX students at PowerPivotPro.com. Since then Matt expanded his ideas with the original release […]Read More » This post […]
This post first appeared at https://exceleratorbi.com.au/calculated-columns-vs-measures-dax-2/. The author is Jason CockingtonThis update comes with a marked improvement when generating DAX queries and conversationally editing them. This includes overall correctness of the DAX queries and Copilot shows a deeper understanding of how to utilize DAX. This post first appeared at https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/fabric-copilot-to-help-write-dax-queries-improvements/. The author is Read More
This post first appeared at https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/fabric-copilot-to-help-write-dax-queries-improvements/. The author isThe unification of Power BI datamarts with Fabric data warehouses offers a significant evolution in Microsoft’s analytics capabilities. By addressing user feedback and enhancing features such as scalability, security, and AI integration, Fabric data warehouses offer a robust solution for modern data needs. We encourage users to migrate their existing datamarts to Fabric data warehouses […]
This post first appeared at https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/unify-datamart-with-fabric-data-warehouse/. The author isIn the rapidly evolving landscape of data warehousing, organizations are constantly seeking platforms that not only store vast amounts of details but also enable swift, insightful analysis. Two heavyweights frequently enough emerge in these conversations: Snowflake Data Warehouse and Microsoft SQL Server. While both have established their reputations, the nuances and innovations embedded in Snowflake’s […]
AI is meant to help us automate boring tasks, and what could be more boring than creating documentation for your Power BI semantic models? It’s such a tedious task that most people don’t bother; there’s also an ecosystem of third party tools that do this job for you, and you can also build your own […]
This post first appeared at https://blog.crossjoin.co.uk/2025/05/04/documenting-power-bi-semantic-models-with-fabric-data-agents/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=documenting-power-bi-semantic-models-with-fabric-data-agents. The author is Chris WebbIt’s time for another one of my occasional posts about free books that I’ve been given that you might be interested to check out. The usual disclaimers apply: these aren’t impartial, detailed reviews and the links contain an Amazon UK affiliate code so I get a kickback if you buy a copy. Power Query Beyond […]
This post first appeared at https://blog.crossjoin.co.uk/2025/04/27/two-new-power-bi-power-query-books/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=two-new-power-bi-power-query-books. The author is Chris WebbThe latest update to DAX query view introduces a major improvement to IntelliSense, eliminating auto-preselection to enhance efficiency and accuracy. This post first appeared at https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/intellisense-improvements-to-dax-query-view/. The author is Read More
This post first appeared at https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/intellisense-improvements-to-dax-query-view/. The author isMicrosoft Fabric’s OneLake data can be visualized and analyzed in Power BI without moving any data using the new Direct Lake storage mode. . Power BI Desktop users can now create these just like any Power BI solution, right in Power BI Desktop. This post first appeared at https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/deep-dive-into-direct-lake-on-onelake-and-creating-direct-lake-semantic-models-in-power-bi-desktop/. The author is Read More
This post first appeared at https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/deep-dive-into-direct-lake-on-onelake-and-creating-direct-lake-semantic-models-in-power-bi-desktop/. The author isWe are thrilled to share that Microsoft Power BI has been recognized as a leader in the Forrester Wave™: Business Intelligence Platforms, Q2 2025 again. Microsoft received the highest score of any vendor in generative AI functionality and excelled in several other categories. This post first appeared at https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/microsoft-named-a-leader-in-the-forrester-wave-business-intelligence-platforms-q2-2025/. The author is Read More
This post first appeared at https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/microsoft-named-a-leader-in-the-forrester-wave-business-intelligence-platforms-q2-2025/. The author isThe series of blog posts I wrote last year on semantic model memory usage, in particular this post on the query memory limit and the “This query uses more memory than the configured limit” error in Power BI, gets a lot of traffic. Since writing that post on the query memory limit I’ve written a […]
This post first appeared at https://blog.crossjoin.co.uk/2025/04/20/memory-overhead-of-distinct-count-measures-in-power-bi/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=memory-overhead-of-distinct-count-measures-in-power-bi. The author is Chris WebbThe Microsoft Fabric Community Conference (FabCon) was a monumental success with over 6,000 attendees, 200+ breakout sessions, 20 workshops, and 70+ sponsors. Day 1 keynotes at the T-Mobile Arena featured a packed auditorium of Fabric enthusiasts ready to discover the future of Microsoft’s unified AI platform. This post first appeared at https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/watch-the-fabcon-las-vegas-keynote-recording-now/. The author is Read More
This post first appeared at https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/watch-the-fabcon-las-vegas-keynote-recording-now/. The author isThere are a lot of exciting features this month, including mobile optimized report layouts, the best way to view data in the general availability of Power BI mobile apps, editing your semantic models with TMDL (Preview), and improved layouts for live editing semantic models. These are just a few of the updates this month. This […]
This post first appeared at https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/power-bi-april-2025-feature-summary/. The author isThe Microsoft Azure Maps visual in Microsoft Power BI enables all Power BI users to visualize and analyze their data on maps to uncover patterns and trends. This post first appeared at https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/new-mapping-and-location-analytics-capabilities-in-microsoft-power-bi/. The author is Read More
This post first appeared at https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/new-mapping-and-location-analytics-capabilities-in-microsoft-power-bi/. The author isSince the November 2024 Power BI release blog post announced that queries sent to Snowflake by Power BI include a query tag I’ve had a lot of questions from people who couldn’t see this happening or wanted to know what the query tags contained, so in this blog I thought I would outline the current […]
This post first appeared at https://blog.crossjoin.co.uk/2025/04/13/current-status-of-snowflake-query-tags-in-power-bi/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=current-status-of-snowflake-query-tags-in-power-bi. The author is Chris WebbJust over a year ago, we introduced a set of embedded analytics solution accelerators created by our partners with our guidance. These tools significantly reduce the time-to-market for self-service analytics embedded into multi-tenant, web applications for ISVs and customers. This post first appeared at https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/update-to-the-power-bi-embedded-analytics-accelerators-program/. The author is Read More
This post first appeared at https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/update-to-the-power-bi-embedded-analytics-accelerators-program/. The author is