Our Insights

Written By: Mark DeRosa, Director of Data Analytics and Modernization

Introduction This article provides an introductory overview of data lakes. We’ll begin with a brief history, highlight some benefits of a data lake, and define some terms you may hear used in various information technology (IT) circles. By the end of this article you should have a solid understanding of data lakes and why people are embracing this exciting new approach to creating a more data-driven culture within their organizations ...
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With Microsoft’s recent release of Azure DevOps, Microsoft is bringing modern DevOps to the enterprise.   To improve deployment frequency and achieve faster time to market, developers can take advantage of Microsoft’s recent Live Share Extension in VS Code.  Our DevOps team has put together a whitepaper detailing the Live Share Extension and how it can improve developer collaboration, bug fixes, and deployment. ...
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Recently, I have done a lot of work with SharePoint Designer 2013 and External Content Types (ECT).  In a previous blog, SharePoint Online to Azure SQL Database: Part 1, I covered how to work with ECTs.  Since, writing that blog, I ran into an unexpected issue that caught me by surprise.  I was adding a data source for my ECTs in a new environment and made a mistake when entering the credentials for the Secure Store Application ID.  This blog is not meant to be long or mind blowing.  It is meant to save you some time.  The following is what to do if you enter the wrong credentials for the Secure Store Application ID in SharePoint Designer 2013. What Happened When I was setting up the data source for the Secure Store Application ID, I entered everything correctly to start: Figure 1.  SQL Server Connection Strings After I entered the information and clicked “OK”, a windows dialog opened requiring the credentials for the Application ID in the Secure Store: Figure 2.  Windows Authentication Dialog If you read section 6, External Content Types in SharePoint Online to Azure SQL Database: Part 1, you will see the steps for adding an external data source for ECTS.  In my own writing, I warned about how to enter the credentials and to ensure that the credentials were entered in the [Server admin login]@[server name] format.  However, I was rushing and entered the database name for the server name.  I clicked “OK” and waited ...
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by John Bonfardeci Are you developing a client-side JavaScript application on the SharePoint platform? Is your data in an external database such as Azure or SQL Server? Are you using views and/or stored procedures to join two or more tables? If you’ve answered “yes” to these questions, this lessons learned article is for you. It’s relatively simple to create external content types in SharePoint Designer via Business Connectivity Services (BCS) and many articles have been published covering the steps. Furthermore, you can filter data with the REST `$filter` parameter. However, SQL server will return all the data in a view or table and only then will SharePoint filter the results. For example, if a view returns 10,000 rows and you only need 10, this can be an obvious performance issue. To compound the problem, SharePoint will throw an error if your external list returns more than 2,000 rows. You can overcome the 2,000-row limit by setting a default Limit filter on your external content type in SharePoint Designer and include a CAML query in your AJAX POST request as outlined in this Microsoft blog post. Now in simple cases, filtering a view in a database can be just as fast as filtering with parameters in a stored procedure, but not always. Using a CAML query to filter results from a view isn’t the same and it can be much slower depending on the query and how much data a view returns. With a recent project, I had a payroll report ...
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Definitive Logic is pleased to announce reaching Microsoft Gold Partner status for Data Analytics.  Our new status adds to our existing Gold Application Development and Collaboration and Content status. This is a result of 10+ years of delivering successful Microsoft Solutions. Contacts us today for a free consultation in how Microsoft can help you ...
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When you do development for many years in one platform it gives you the chance to learn a thing or two about all the different limitations across all its different versions. The same rule applies to SharePoint. Recently our team had to develop in a SharePoint 2013 environment using PowerPivot on a SQL Server 2012 environment.  For about three months our work was going well, until we went from Office 2013 to Office 2016.  Several PowerPivot files began to get an error “Call to Excel Services Returned Error” during their scheduled refresh.  If we opened the file in Excel 2016 and refreshed the file, it refreshed with no issue. Our team got a hold of the ULS logs and while we could see when the errors occurred and the stack traces, the logs were of little help.  On top of that, hours of googling left no clues.  Ultimately, our team went through a process of elimination to identify the cause of the issues.  Long story short, we whittled down the issue to the DAX formulas used in the PowerPivot files. We would like to share some do’s and don’ts when creating PowerPivot reports with Excel 2016 and using SharePoint 2013: Do’s and Don’ts

1. Do NOT use the IN function ex. (FILTER(‘Table’, [Status ID] IN {1,2}))
   • DO use the OR function instead (FILTER(‘Table’, OR([Status ID]=1,[Status ID]=2)))
2. Do NOT use the DATEDIFF function. In 2016 you can subtract dates and get negative numbers (future dates), but in 2013 ...
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Definitive Logic is pleased to announce it has been named one of the “Top Workplaces 2018” in the Washington, D.C., area by The Washington Post. This is the 4th consecutive year our company has been named a top D.C.-area employer by the publication.   “Definitive Logic is honored by this continued recognition as one of the Washington, D.C. area’s Top Workplaces,” said Mary Kerski, Definitive Logic’s human resources director. “We actively foster a culture that thrives on a passion for understanding, problem solving and teamwork. The fact this award is voted on by the employees is especially meaningful.”   The Washington Post 2018 Top Workplace survey honors companies in the D.C. area with the highest ratings from their employees.  In all, 341 organizations agreed to take the survey. Combined, they employ 105,538 workers in the Washington area.   To learn more about Definitive Logic’s culture and career opportunities, please visit the Definitive Logic Careers page ...
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Continued uncertainty and risk in the healthcare industry is pressuring healthcare executives to keep a steady focus on reducing costs and transforming delivery models to improve the patient experience. Artificial intelligence (AI) manifested through machine learning algorithms is already transforming a variety of healthcare applications including medical imaging diagnosis, drug discovery and personalized medicine. The McKinsey Gold Institute estimates that applying big-data strategies to better inform decision making could generate up to $100 billion in value annually across the US health-care system, by optimizing innovation, improving the efficiency of research and clinical trials, and building new tools sets for physicians, consumers, insurers and regulators to meet the promise of more individualized approaches.   How Machine Learning Analyzes Data  The healthcare industry sits on a goldmine of data that is generated from many sources:  research and development (R&D); physicians and clinics; patients; caregivers; insurers and others. Healthcare organizations with large networks of web-enabled connected devices have the added challenge of continually capturing and storing immense amounts of data.   To effectively manage and make sense of these enormous data sets, machine learning is becoming an increasingly important decision-making tool. Data is analyzed in two specific ways to support the process. The first method is to train the machine in an existing algorithm to browse live data faster and more efficiently than people. By combing through data stores, the machine can discover key indicators that map to a specific outcome and bring those items to the forefront. Applications such as predictive health trackers use this method to help monitor patients’ health status using real-time data collection.  The second method analyzes historical data with specific outcomes and allows the machine learning algorithm to discover previously unknown indicators to predict outcomes. This method, also called predictive analytics, can help monitor patients and prevent emergencies before they occur. For ...
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Definitive Logic Corporation now acts as a one-stop shop for Microsoft solutions for Enterprises and Federal Government Agencies, offering full service of the industry-leading products, such as Azure, Office 365, Microsoft 365, and Dynamics 365. Definitive Logic, a multi competency Microsoft Gold Partner supplier of transformative digital services, is proud to become a Microsoft Tier 1 Cloud Solution Provider in both Azure Government and Commercial ...
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Definitive Logic is pleased to announce reaching #Microsoft Gold Partner status for Application Development, in addition to our Collaboration and Content Partnership. This is a result of 10+ years of delivering successful Microsoft Solutions. Contacts us today for a free consultation in how Microsoft can help you. #modernization #IT ...
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