Foreword

Some people think that Configuration Manager is scary and complex—and it can be if you don’t have a good, solid background in it before you attempt to tackle it for your enterprise. I think that training is essential to having a great background in Configuration Manager before you take on its challenges in a production environment. When you throw reporting into the picture, it is even scarier.

Reporting is a bit of a black box for most Configuration Manager admins: They don’t deal with it much, other than running the default reports, and they certainly don’t know how to create custom reports. Each of the various releases of Configuration Manager has had a great set of default reports (and that count is nearing 500 now) that cover all the various features and functions of the product. But what happens when management comes to you and says, “We need a report that shows x and y?” Now you get nervous and wonder how you are going to accomplish that. Hopefully you have a SQL guru who can help you out, but not everyone is that fortunate.

If you don’t have a SQL guru handy to help out, you search the web for content that others have created in an attempt to find something that will work to satisfy management’s request. Often, customizations are needed, such as adding charts, logos, colors, drillthrough actions, and so on. That’s where it really gets complicated for most of us. And there have not been a lot of great resources out there to help us novices really learn how to quickly and efficiently create custom reports that will not only satisfy the desires of management but really empower the admin to no longer be afraid, and maybe even welcome, the opportunity to create reports.

Now along comes this book, a treasure chest of gold for admins who need to create reports in Configuration Manager, who may not have a SQL background, and who have shied away from these types of requests in the past. Knowing some of the authors of the book, I have great confidence that you will really enjoy the product they have produced to assist you on your path to learning how to create Configuration Manager reports. For those of you who are already familiar with the process, I’m sure that you will find some nuggets here to help take your reports to an even more impressive level than they already are. And, knowing the brilliant mind of the book’s technical reviewer, I know how accurate and detailed the final result will be. Steve won’t let anything slip through that is not 100% correct.

With all that, I really do hope that you enjoy the book, and expect that you will be creating great reports in no time at all.

All the best,

Wally Mead, (former) Senior Program Manager
Configuration Manager Product Group
Microsoft Corporation
Now Principal Program Manager, Cireson