PASS Summit 2013
Not much news came out of the PASS Summit 2013 from last week, but boy did I have a blast! I met over 100 people who were presenters or bloggers (I counted). I made an effort to find them as I … Continue reading →
Microsoft releases SQL Server 2014 CTP2
Microsoft has released SQL Server 2014 CTP2 (download): What’s new in SQL Server 2014 CTP2? New Mission Critical Capabilities and Enhancements Enhanced In-Memory OLTP, including new tools which will help you identify and migrate the tables and stored procedures will … Continue reading →
Recording Audio of Meetings
As a consultant I am often starting from the ground floor on a new data warehouse/business intelligence project, and usually one of the first tasks is to interview business users from various groups. During these interviews I am doing an … Continue reading →
Presentation Slides for Transitioning to a BI role
Thanks to everyone who attended my session “Transitioning to a BI role” at the PASS SQL Saturday Charlotte. The abstract is below. Another packed room with a number of people standing! Here is the PowerPoint presentation: Transitioning to a BI role. Transitioning to a … Continue reading →
Presentation Slides for Building an Effective Data Warehouse Architecture
Thanks to everyone who attended my session “Building an Effective Data Warehouse Architecture” at the PASS Summit 2013. The abstract is below. It was a packed room with many people having to stand. Maybe next year I’ll get a bigger room 🙂 I … Continue reading →
PASS Summit 2013
The PASS Summit 2013 is almost here! Check out all the great sessions and speakers. I feel very fortunate to be able to speak alongside many of the experts in the industry. I will be arriving Sunday night in Charlotte and attending a pre-conference … Continue reading →
Data Warehouse Maturity Model
I have talked about the Business Intelligence Maturity Model (see Business Intelligence Maturity Assessment), but I wanted to dig further into one area and talk about the Data Warehouse Maturity Model. The graphic below, from Wayne Eckerson, is very accurate based on my … Continue reading →
Does Business Intelligence equal Data Warehousing?
I have seen many times at clients where the terms business intelligence and data warehousing are used interchangeably. In reality, these are two separate disciplines. This is especially true for enterprise data warehouses due to an EDW’s scope, complexity, and large volumes … Continue reading →
I’m a Microsoft SQL Server Most Valuable Professional (MVP)!
I have been honored to be chosen a Microsoft SQL Server Most Valuable Professional (MVP). Here is a video on my reaction: I’m a Microsoft MVP and I feel great! The Microsoft MVP Award is an annual award that recognizes exceptional … Continue reading →
SQL Server 2014: Partition Improvements
SQL Server 2014 has enhancements to two common database maintenance operations:Partition Switching and Online Index Rebuild. This will greatly increase enterprise application availability by reducing maintenance downtime impact. The two new features are: Managed Lock Priority: This allows you to manage the … Continue reading →
Data Warehouse vs Master Data Managment
Sometimes I see confusion on the difference between a data warehouse (DW) and master data management (MDM). Below is a good list of how they differ. Note the typical scenario is the data in a MDM database is fed into … Continue reading →
Power BI for Office 365 preview released
I first blogged about Power BI for Office 365 two months ago (see Power BI for Office 365) when it was announced. Microsoft has started inviting participants subscribed to the Power BI for Office 365 Preview to test the prerelease version … Continue reading →
SQL Server Data Tools (SSDT) – August 2013 update
SQL Server Data Tools (SSDT) has a new update: VS 2010: August 2013 version: 10.3.30822.0, June 2013 version: 10.3.30618.1, December 2012 version: 10.3.21208.0, November 2012 version: 10.3.21101.1, September 2012 version: 10.3.20905.0, initial version: 10.3.20225.0 VS 2012: August 2013 version: 11.1.30822.0, June 2013 version: 11.1.30618.1, December … Continue reading →
Microsoft Certified Master program killed
The Certified Master and Architect community was collectively notified Friday, August 30, at 10PM PST that the Certified Master (MCM/MCSM) and Certified Architect (MCA) programs are dead. The email transcript has been reported by Neil Johnson. For those of you who … Continue reading →
Presentation Slides for Building an Effective Data Warehouse Architecture
Thanks to everyone who attended my session “Building an Effective Data Warehouse Architecture” at the Houston Area SQL Server User Group Monthly Meeting. The abstract is below. I hope you enjoyed it! Here is the PowerPoint presentation: Building an Effective Data Warehouse Architecture Building … Continue reading →
SQLBits XI videos online
All the videos for this popular conference are online (69 of them). Take a look at the recorded sessions at http://sqlbits.com/content/Event11. All are free to watch!
Continue reading →Vendor Management Systems
A vendor management system (VMS) is a web-based application that acts as a mechanism for businesses to manage and procure staffing services (temporary and permanent) as well as outside contract or contingent labor. Typical features of a VMS application include … Continue reading →
Presentation Slides for Building an Effective Data Warehouse Architecture
Thanks to everyone who attended my session “Building an Effective Data Warehouse Architecture” for the PASS DBA Fundamentals Virtual Chapter. The abstract is below and the recording of the session will be available soon here. I hope you enjoyed it! Here is the … Continue reading →
Building an Effective Data Warehouse Architecture Presentation
I will be presenting the session “Building an Effective Data Warehouse Architecture” today at 11am CST for the PASS DBA Fundamentals Virtual Chapter. Info about watching the presentation online is here, and the abstract for my session is below. I hope … Continue reading →
Resume hoarders
Unfortunately in my line of work as a consultant, I am contacted far too often by resume hoarders, who are “recruiters” who sole job is to collect resumes, with no attempt at all to try to match the right person … Continue reading →