I'm spending today and tomorrow working with DPE on a lab for ISV's working with the Microsoft BI stack (SQL, SSIS, SSAS, Excel, BSM, PPS etc). Basically each customer brings along an application they are working on and we help on everything from architecture to solving any problems they might be having. It's a lot of fun and I even learned a few things. Because customers turn up with their own applications and problems you never really know what to expect. In the mix today we had:

• A stock trading system
• A very cool spreadsheet based query designer
• A tool to automatically create cubes based on Dynamics customizations
• Someone working with SharePoint, Business Scorecard Manager and Reporting Services

I'm not sure when the next lab will be but keep an eye on Eric Nelson as he runs most ISV events in the UK.

On a similar note, I'm taking on a new customer. It seems you never escape your past - the customer has a number of call centers they develop applications for...