Aqeel is available for hire
Hire AqeelAqeel Ahmed Mohammed
Verified Expert in Engineering
Software Developer
Location
Toronto, ON, Canada
Toptal Member Since
February 24, 2021
Aqeel is a software developer with 17 years of experience designing and building performance-sensitive, data analytics dashboards. He's migrated databases (SQL Server, Power BI Report Server) to the Azure ecosystem (Azure SQL Database, Azure SQL Managed Instance) as well as IaaS (data gateway), PaaS (SQL Managed Instance), SaaS (Power BI Service), including PII data (Azure Key Vault). Aqeel has also researched and built POCs and implemented new tech, including migrations to Azure and Power BI.
Portfolio
Scotiabank
Microsoft Power BI, Cognos Analytics 11, AIX, Cognos 10, Big Data, SQL, Netezza...
Canadian Tire Corporation
Cognos Analytics 11, Microsoft Power BI, Tableau, AtScale, AIX, Cognos 10...
Scotiabank
Cognos Analytics 11, Netezza, AIX, Cognos 10, SQL, Excel 365, Dashboards, ODBC...
Experience
Availability
Part-time
Preferred Environment
Cognos Analytics 11, Microsoft Power BI, Tableau, Azure, Big Data, SQL Server 2019, Oracle 11i, AtScale, ThoughtSpot
The most amazing...
...thing was designing several creative dashboards with less visual clutter and better data story telling using Power BI, Tableau, and Cognos reporting solutions.
Work Experience
Senior Business Intelligence Consultant and Architect
2019 - PRESENT
Scotiabank
- Led the requirements gathering session via key stakeholders’ interviews, discovery/brainstorming sessions, and fully documenting communication.
- Helped the adoption of Power BI through the design, development, governance, service management, security, rollout, and support of premium capacity nodes (1,500 users); worked with Power BI, M query, and DAX calculations.
- Created complete Power BI solutions using a desktop/report builder, T-SQL (store procedures for paginated reports), drill-downs, and parameters/schedule report automation based on Azure SQL MI and Azure Analysis services tabular models.
- Built pipelines in ADF using linked services, datasets, and pipes to extract, transform, and load (ETL) data from different sources like Azure SQL, Blob Storage, and Azure SQL Data Warehouse.
- Enabled column-level encryption on the Azure SQL Database and ODBC decryption for consumption at a Power BI level via Key Vault.
- Designed Cognos 11 analytics reports and dashboard for South American countries to capture banks' product SLA.
- Designed large-scale traditional and Hadoop systems and implemented storage optimization of tables.
- Analyzed and chose between calculated columns and measures in Power BI using DAX for performance implications on data model/size.
- Implemented Power BI row-level security and regression-tested a Power BI dashboard across sprints.
- Implemented the Azure Reporting Framework to decentralize data analytics; built a Power BI gateway on a cloud VM, set up a data source setup, and enabled audit logs. Set up Azure Synapse, SQL MI, and analysis services as a source of Power BI.
Technologies: Microsoft Power BI, Cognos Analytics 11, AIX, Cognos 10, Big Data, SQL, Netezza, Excel 365, Dashboards, ODBC, Reports, API Design, REST APIs, DAX, Power Query, Data Integration, Data Structures, Data Engineering
Senior Business Intelligence Consultant and Architect
2015 - 2019
Canadian Tire Corporation
- Implemented Power BI on the cloud and on-premise and advocated premium capacity based on data volume and rollout for more than 3,000 users.
- Created complete Tableau analytical solutions and built content, drill-downs, and parameters based on UX design practices.
- Developed synonyms to support NLP and provide Q&A solutions so that users can do search analytics based on the data model (augmented analytics).
- Implemented a Tableau report bursting process and hyper schedules; became proficient in TabCMD scripts (e.g., report bursting and so on).
- Optimized the performance of SQL/HQL queries for a better user experience.
- Created a Hadoop storage optimization strategy based on the usage (partition, bloom filters, sort order, and so on) that reduced the time for a query of a 2.3 billion row fact (product/SKU drill-down) from 47 seconds to only three seconds with an LLAP/Spark engine.
- Designed a data model for optimal dashboard performance and table transformation.
- Empowered users to adopt a self-serve data culture through NLP models and ad-hoc analytics for various business units.
- Provided advice and training to users in response to any identified difficulties during data analytics sessions.
Technologies: Cognos Analytics 11, Microsoft Power BI, Tableau, AtScale, AIX, Cognos 10, Big Data, SQL, Netezza, Excel 365, Dashboards, ODBC, Reports, DAX, Power Query, Data Integration, Data Structures, Data Engineering
Senior Business Intelligence Consultant
2015 - 2015
Scotiabank
- Designed reports to capture the bank’s various products and customer analytics.
- Contributed to data model/STM and independently designed a framework manager model.
- Created reports based on dynamic tables (to get aggregate aware functionality) and custom grouping for analysis of various factors (product, region, district, branch) of specific time frames (weekly, monthly, yearly).
Technologies: Cognos Analytics 11, Netezza, AIX, Cognos 10, SQL, Excel 365, Dashboards, ODBC, Reports, Data Integration, Data Structures, Data Engineering, Microsoft Power BI
BI Consultant
2014 - 2015
Ministry of Education
- Prepared a Cognos new feature roadmap around 64 bit, dynamic cubes, and workspace advance.
- Contributed to capacity planning to implement Cognos new features.
- Upgraded the framework manager, created transformer models, and fixed reported issues.
- Prepared in-scope and out-of-scope activities for a tool upgrade.
- Involved in data model/STM and independently designed a framework manager model.
- Designed Cognos reports that captured student/enrollment analytics.
Technologies: AIX, SQL, Excel 365, Dashboards, ODBC, Reports, Data Engineering, Microsoft Power BI
BI Consultant
2007 - 2014
Canadian Tire Corporation
- Involved in all phases of the data warehouse project lifecycle, including business requirements gathering, data modeling and database/ETL design, Cognos reporting model, Report Studio development and performance tuning, and setup.
- Delivered advanced/complex reporting solutions such as dashboards (with a 7-second SLA), bursting Cognos reports to 1,500+ recipients, and standardized reporting with a performance focus for various business units and a dealer community.
- Designed and implemented Cognos framework, transformer models, and report template as reporting standards.
- Managed object deployment across environments/environment-specific access management.
- Oversaw 45 Linux/Windows machines for Cognos/BusinessObjects environment supporting several thousand users.
- Optimized Cognos Dynamic cube performance and stability/fine-tune query service.
- Installed, configured, and maintained BusinessObjects Servers in a multi-tier environment.
- Designed a data model for optimal dashboard performance and table transformation.
- Designed several amazing dashboards for various users (strategic, tactical, operational) and franchise retail store owners.
- Managed the Cognos License and usage audits; also developed operations and fixed documents.
Technologies: SAP BusinessObjects (BO), Cognos 10, SQL, Excel 365, Dashboards, ODBC, Reports, Microsoft Power BI
BI Consultant
2007 - 2007
Auto Trading Center—OPENLANE
- Involved in all phases of the data warehouse project lifecycle, which includes business requirements gathering, data modeling, database design, ETL/BI architectures, reporting model, report development, and performance tuning.
- Installed and upgraded Cognos across multiple environments.
- Performance-tuned and worked on servers (load balancing), processors (report and batch), dispatchers, and gateways for 500 users.
Technologies: Cognos 10, Excel 365, Dashboards
BI Developer | Administrator
2006 - 2007
Toronto Transit Commission
- Installed and upgraded Cognos across multiple environments and applied timely patches during the project lifecycle (development, testing, pre-production, and production).
- Created and implemented a corporate reporting template.
- Provided consulting solutions to the application, Cognos developers, and business customers.
- Implemented single sign-on with Windows Active Directory.
- Participated in the planning and implementation of Cognos integration in the source application.
- Developed and enforced standards concerning Cognos content and the server environment.
Technologies: Business Intelligence (BI), Cognos ReportNet, Excel 365, Dashboards
Cognos Developer
2004 - 2006
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
- Implemented analysis/reporting needs on student academic achievements.
- Migrated Series 7 (IMR, Upfront, and so on) content to Cognos ReportNet.
- Designed and developed reports and multidimensional cubes on various factors like year-over-year student enrollment gains, attendance, goals by region, school, and ethnicity.
- Built Oracle Tables for reporting purposes and massaged the data for Cognos reporting.
Technologies: Oracle, Cognos ReportNet, Excel 365, Dashboards
Experience
Business Intelligence Dashboards
I built a product dashboard that enabled key decision-makers to have a complete picture of the organization’s top five products. Users can analyze and manage service-level agreements and product approval/rejection percent rate for its five products.
Features:
• The analysis can be done by timeframe, regions, and branches with drill-up and drill-down capabilities.
• It takes less than five seconds to complete.
• The UI design was made using best practice design principles.
• The audience for this dashboard are C-level and tactical managers.
Features:
• The analysis can be done by timeframe, regions, and branches with drill-up and drill-down capabilities.
• It takes less than five seconds to complete.
• The UI design was made using best practice design principles.
• The audience for this dashboard are C-level and tactical managers.
Retail Deposits
I designed an easy-to-use retail-deposits-and-investments (RD&I) dashboard to support the RD&I management and staff with ready access to key performance metrics to understand better retail customers manage their product portfolios.
This financial reporting dashboard gives high-level visualizations of KPIs such as customers new to the product, customers new to the institution, the number of new products, and so on. This was a multipage dashboard aimed at supporting the C-level suite, managers, and analysts.
This financial reporting dashboard gives high-level visualizations of KPIs such as customers new to the product, customers new to the institution, the number of new products, and so on. This was a multipage dashboard aimed at supporting the C-level suite, managers, and analysts.
Portfolio Dashboard
I designed this portfolio dashboard for the CIO, chief information security offices, group project managers, and IT directors. These are the people that oversee multiple projects and analyze all project aspects (path to green) by LOB (e.g., analyze the total number of projects concerning budgets, overspending, and architecting).
With this dashboard, users can see the top ten projects according to the highest spend, stats (planned vs. actual), and more. The information is presented in cards, heat maps, columns, and scatter plot charts, among others.
With this dashboard, users can see the top ten projects according to the highest spend, stats (planned vs. actual), and more. The information is presented in cards, heat maps, columns, and scatter plot charts, among others.
Skills
Languages
SQL
Libraries/APIs
ODBC, REST APIs
Tools
Cognos Analytics 11, Microsoft Power BI, Tableau, Power Query, Cognos ReportNet
Paradigms
Business Intelligence (BI)
Storage
Netezza, Data Integration, Oracle 11i, JSON
Other
Cognos 10, Excel 365, Dashboards, Reports, DAX, Big Data, Data Analysis, Data Structures, Data Engineering, AtScale, ThoughtSpot, SAP BusinessObjects (BO), API Design
Platforms
Azure, AIX, Oracle
Education
2002 - 2004
Master's Degree in Information Systems
Wayne State University - Detroit, MI, United States
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