Network, learn, ask a question, meet other folks - these are all things that happen at user group events. These events are a really great opportunity to socialise in an informal learning experience.

Remember to tell your friends and the people you work with; make sure you register as soon as you can.

In-Person only event. Not being recorded.

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17:45 – 18:00 Intro and updates 18:00 – 19:00 Juliana Smith: Uncovering the Secrets of Dashboard Design.

Great dashboards don’t just show data—they guide users to insights effortlessly. In this fast-paced session, we’ll unlock the power of alignment, white space, and page scanning patterns to create visually stunning, easy-to-navigate and accessible Power BI dashboards. Learn how to hack human perception with smart design choices, so your audience finds what they need before they even realise they’re looking for it! Expect real-world examples, and plenty of “aha!” moments. Ready to level up your dashboard game? Let’s go!

19:00 – 19:15 Break & Pizza 19:15 – 20:15 Ian Pike : Fabric Conference Community Conference 2025 - Summary of what was the updates from Vienna A look at all the new announcements from FabCon Vienna. What things to look into further and some deep dives into an updates I can demo

Send us a text 🎙️ From Host to Hot Seat! This week on Making Data Simple, Al Martin flips the mic and becomes the guest as Ian Smith, co-founder of Lighthouse Technology, steps in to host a fast-paced, thought-provoking episode of the Baseline Podcast. It’s a casual convo with some serious zingers—think startup energy, AI honesty, automation truths, and even a little NFL shoutout. You won’t want to miss this one! 🕒 Episode Highlights 00:52 – How Making Data Simple got started 06:11 – IBM as a Startup?! 08:38 – Why IBM, really 11:49 – Competing with “Real-time” AI 23:20 – How to get clients to truly embrace automation 32:12 – The test AI flunked… but still got a B 🤖 33:06 – GO CHIEFS! 🏈 37:54 – The real IBM use case 47:06 – “Nothing went wrong” (famous last words?) 🔗 Connect with Ian: linkedin.com/in/ian-smith-a803701 🌐 Learn more: baselinepodcast.com 💡 Want to be featured on Making Data Simple? Pitch us your story at [email protected]—we’re always on the lookout for brilliant minds in tech, data, leadership, and innovation. 🎧 Hosted by Al Martin, WW VP Technical Sales, IBM. LinkedIn. Executive Producer, Katherine Mayne LinkedIn. We talk trending tech, bold ideas, and big leadership—all with a focus on keeping it simple and fun. 

MakingDataSimple #BaselinePodcast #TechLeadership #AIConversations #StartupTalk #AutomationInnovation #IBMTech #DataDriven #PodcastGuest #BusinessInnovation #LighthouseTechnology #AlMartin #IanSmith #GoChiefs

Want to be featured as a guest on Making Data Simple? Reach out to us at [email protected] and tell us why you should be next. The Making Data Simple Podcast is hosted by Al Martin, WW VP Technical Sales, IBM, where we explore trending technologies, business innovation, and leadership ... while keeping it simple & fun.

Details

PBIMCR Jan 2025 Meetup

When: Thursday 30th of Jan 2025 Time: arrive for 5:30pm with talks starting from 6pm start prompt Location: Manchester Technology Centre, Oxford Road Session will not be streamed over MS Teams Complimentary Drinks and Pizza will be provided by our long-time sponsor Robert Walters https://www.robertwalters.co.uk/our-stories/power-bi-manchester-user-group.html

Speaker: Juliana Smith

Topics: Implementing alternative accessible colours in Power BI Reports

This session highlights the importance of accessible colour usage and compliance with WCAG guidelines, offering a concise overview of Power BI’s accessibility considerations. I will also present a practical solution that allows users to toggle between standard and accessible views, ensuring reports are optimised for individuals with vision impairments. By making these adjustments, we can create more inclusive, user-friendly reports for everyone

2nd speaker Ian Pike and David Mitchell from Microsoft

They will give us the latest news from Micrsoft Ignite conference with updates on Fabric and what 2025 has instore...

Agenda:

17.00 - 18.00 Walk-in + Dinner 18.00 -19.00 End-to-End CO2 Reporting with Fabric By Jordy Sels and Maria Lysenko 19.00 -19.30 Short break 19.30 - 20.30 Microsoft Fabric: Architecture, Implementation, and Future Standards By Ian Smith and Gijs Dekkers 20.30 - 21.00 Round-up and drinks

Sessions & Speakers We will have amazing speakers lined-up for this meetup. Below you will find their session abstracts as well as speaker biographies. As always, we're looking for speakers. So, if you have an interesting story to share, please submit your session to our call for speakers. If you're a first-time speaker, don't worry! We are more than happy to help you taking your first steps in the wonderful world of public speaking. Also, for all sessions submitted and not selected, we will keep a list of all sessions for future events.

End-to-End CO2 Reporting with Fabric By Jordy Sels and Maria Lysenko This presentation delves into leveraging Microsoft Fabric for ESG reporting, with a focus on CO2 emissions. It examines both the advantages and disadvantages of Fabric, demonstrated through a dummy dataset. Key highlights include data transformations from the silver to gold layer using built-in Jupyter notebooks to create processes that are auditor-friendly for external ESG reviews. The session also addresses the limitations of Copilot in generating visuals, underlining the need for a design sprint approach to ensure effective and impactful reporting solutions.

Microsoft Fabric: Architecture, Implementation, and Future Standards By Ian Smith and Gijs Dekkers In the session we'll explore the architecture that powered our solution, the programming languages leveraged for development, and the innovative standards we established to guide future implementations. This session is ideal for data professionals, architects, and developers aiming to understand the practical deployment of Microsoft Fabric. This session showcases examples from real implementation's done for multiple customers.

Making Sense of NoSQL clearly and concisely explains the concepts, features, benefits, potential, and limitations of NoSQL technologies. Using examples and use cases, illustrations, and plain, jargon-free writing, this guide shows how you can effectively assemble a NoSQL solution to replace or augment the traditional RDBMS you have now. About the Technology About the Book If you want to understand and perhaps start using the new data storage and analysis technologies that go beyond the SQL database model, this book is for you. Written in plain language suitable for technical managers and developers, and using many examples, use cases, and illustrations, this book explains the concepts, features, benefits, potential, and limitations of NoSQL. Making Sense of NoSQL starts by comparing familiar database concepts to the new NoSQL patterns that augment or replace them. Then, you'll explore case studies on big data, search, reliability, and business agility that apply these new patterns to today's business problems. You'll see how NoSQL systems can leverage the resources of modern cloud computing and multiple-CPU data centers. The final chapters show you how to choose the right NoSQL technologies for your own needs. What's Inside NoSQL data architecture patterns NoSQL for big data Search, high availability, and security Choosing an architecture About the Reader Managers and developers will welcome this lucid overview of the potential and capabilities of NoSQL technologies. About the Authors Dan McCreary and Ann Kelly lead an independent training and consultancy firm focused on NoSQL solutions and are cofounders of the NoSQL Now! Conference. Quotes Easily digestible, practical advice for technical managers, architects, and developers. - From the Foreword by Tony Shaw, CEO of DATAVERSITY Cuts through the jargon and gives you the information you need to know. - Craig Smith, Unbound DNA A concise yet thorough description of the many facets of NoSQL, from big data to search. - John Guthrie, Pivotal Brings common sense to the world of NoSQL. - Ignacio Lopez Vellon, Atos Worldgrid Get ahead of your peers ... fast-track to NoSQL now! - Ian Stirk, Stirk Consultancy, Ltd