Data Modeling vs DAX in Power BI: Solving Problems the Right Way (with Markus Ehrenmuller-Jensen)

LIVESTREAM DATE/TIME 📅

February 6th 2026 - 9:30AM (Pacific Time)

DESCRIPTION 📄

When should you solve a problem in the data model, and when should you solve it with DAX?

In this livestream, Markus Ehrenmuller-Jensen will walk through practical scenarios where you can take either route: modeling changes, DAX measures, or even report-level settings. Instead of “it depends,” you’ll see how to choose a clear, maintainable approach.

In this session, we discuss:

• How a solid data model can simplify or eliminate complex DAX

• When it actually makes sense to push logic into DAX instead of the model

• Typical patterns: role-playing dimensions, cascading filters, synced slicers, and more - Trade-offs around performance, maintainability, and usability

• How to think about long-term governance when mixing modeling and DAX solutions

Whether you’re a Power BI developer who loves writing measures or a data model purist, this session will help you decide where each piece of logic really belongs.

GUEST BIO 👤

​Markus Ehrenmuller-Jensen is the founder of Savory Data, with a career spanning project leadership, data engineering, and business intelligence architecture since 1994. He holds degrees in software engineering and business education and serves as a professor of databases and project engineering at HTL Leonding, a technical college. He is also certified in PL-300 (Power BI Data Analyst), DP-203 (Azure Data Engineer Associate Certification), DP-600 (Fabric Analytics Engineer Associate), and DP-700 (Fabric Data Engineer Associate).

Markus actively contributes to the global data community, speaking regularly at international conferences such as SQL Bits in London, Power BI Next Step in Copenhagen, Data Saturdays throughout Europe, and SQL Days. He co-founded SQL PASS Austria in 2013 and the Power Platform User Group Austria in 2016; both organizations merged in 2021 to form Data Community Austria. Since 2014, he has organized Data Community Austria Day in Vienna, fostering knowledge sharing among data professionals. In recognition of his technical leadership and community involvement, Markus has been honored as a Microsoft Data Platform Most Valuable Professional (MVP) since 2017.​

In addition to his speaking engagements, Markus contributes articles to reputable journals and has authored the book "Data Modeling with Microsoft Power BI," published in June 2024.

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This One Change Made My Time-Intelligence [DAX] Performance Faster!

Video by: Reid Havens

Microsoft's new calendar-based time intelligence isn't magic, but it's a necessary optimization for every new model (and existing ones with performance issues).

The Results:
✅ Simplified query plans
✅ Fewer rows scanned by Storage Engine (SE)
✅ Same DAX, better syntax

The performance gains come from smarter query optimization. If you're working with large fact tables and time-based calculations, this is how the engine should be working.

What I cover:

• How calendar-based functions optimize the storage engine

• DAX Studio query plan comparison (side-by-side)

• Setting up calendar categories in Power BI

• Migrating from classic DATEADD to calendar-based syntax

• FREE Power BI Calendar Template (PBIX)

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PBI Calendar Overhaul: Calendar-Based Time Intelligence (with Jeroen [Jay] ter Heerdt)

LIVESTREAM DATE/TIME 📅

October 31st @ 9:30 AM (Pacific Time)

DESCRIPTION 📄

Product Manager Jeroen ter Heerdt demos Power BI’s new calendar-based time intelligence (Preview) — the long-overdue toolbox for anyone who’s ever cursed at week calculations, fiscal oddities, or retail 4-4-5 madness. He’ll show how to enable the preview and use the Calendar options UI or the TMDL model view to declare calendars so DAX finally behaves the way your business calendar actually does.

Expect live demos of week-aware DAX, examples mapping fiscal/retail/ISO calendars, tips on validating calendars (cardinality, partial vs complete categories), and notes on when this can improve performance versus classic time intelligence. This session is practical, so follow along with the preview enabled and bring your weird calendar.

GUEST BIO 👤

Dutch Data Dude. Product Manager at Microsoft.

Jeroen (Jay) ter Heerdt is a Product Manager at Microsoft. He works on Power BI and is passionate about "all things data"; his current focus is on DAX and modeling topics. He strives to be a “datanerd” in all aspects of his life. Jeroen combines enthusiasm, vision, and hands-on experience into his talks. He is on most social media as @jaypowerbi.

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Communication is the New Code: Beyond Copy/Paste with GPT's (w/ Kurt Buhler)

LIVESTREAM DATE/TIME 🗓️

October 17th 8:30 AM

DESCRIPTION 📄

The landscape of Power BI development is rapidly evolving as AI tools transform how we approach data modeling, DAX development, and report creation. While many professionals are familiar with ChatGPT, the ecosystem of AI assistance has expanded dramatically, offering specialized tools that can revolutionize your Power BI workflow.

In this comprehensive session, we'll explore cutting-edge AI tools that go far beyond basic chatbots:

🤖 Claude Desktop & MCP Servers - Discover how Claude's advanced reasoning capabilities and Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers can provide deeper insights into your data models, suggest optimizations, and help debug complex DAX expressions with unprecedented accuracy.

⚡ GitHub Copilot for Power BI - Learn how this code completion tool adapts to Power BI development, accelerating DAX writing, M queries, and even documentation generation.

🔍 Advanced AI Workflows - See real-world demonstrations of AI-assisted Power BI development, from automated measure generation to intelligent data modeling suggestions.

We'll provide an honest assessment of these tools - the goods (incredible productivity gains), the bads (current limitations), and the uglies (potential pitfalls and over-reliance risks). You'll leave with practical strategies to integrate these AI tools into your daily Power BI development process.

Whether you're a seasoned Power BI developer or just getting started, this session will show you how "communication truly is the new code" in our AI-augmented world.

GUEST BIO 👤

Kurt Buhler is a renowned Power BI expert and prolific content creator. Follow his insights and tutorials at [Kurt's Blog] and connect with the community using #PowerBI #AITools #DataAnalytics #DAX #PowerPlatform #ArtificialIntelligence #DataModeling #BusinessIntelligence

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