Voice of the DBA

Category: Editorial

  • Data Science en Masse

    GE is an amazing company. They seem to have so many divisions and produce a wide variety of products. Their financial investment success amazed the world and made Jack Welch an icon to many businesspeople. I remember reading about revolutionary management techniques at one of their jet engine plants that dramatically increased efficiency and performance of that location, similar to the ways that DevOps can produce better software. They have transformed the company from light bulbs to televisions to nuclear power and more across the decades.

    And they’re not done yet. GE is building a workforce for the 21st century, teaching many of their employees about data science and machine learning. The company is working to retrain scientists and help them explore new ways of using AI techniques to build better software. There are machine learning and data analytics courses available to employees, with the aim of creating hybrid employees that add digital skills to the knowledge they already have in other areas.

    Why is GE looking to transform it’s workforce with data science skills? They are creating AI software for their products and hoping to expand this further into more areas. With the competition from many other vendors, the ability to generate better results for clients, even just slightly better, might be enough of a differentiator to allow them to continue to grow as a leading industrial company.

    Would this work for your company? Your import organization, service company, retail business? Perhaps. Machine Learning isn’t perfect and doesn’t produce the best decisions, but if it can slightly improve the performance of your organization, perhaps it’s worthwhile. Microsoft is certainly making some of practical elements cheaper with the easy to use with new products, such as Azure Machine Learning.

    The challenge is that this is just the final element. Your company still needs someone that has built some knowledge of the deep mathematical concepts behind machine learning and has spent quite a bit of time experimenting with your data, building models and determining the relevant features needed. Preparing and loading data is also a challenge, which is why I think one of the core skills future data professionals need is the ability to quickly and effectively build ETL pipelines. If you can get those things done, a tool like Azure ML might be just the thing to add a few efficiency (or profitability) points to your bottom line.

    Steve Jones

    The Voice of the DBA Podcast

    Listen to the MP3 Audio ( 3.8MB) podcast or subscribe to the feed at iTunes and Libsyn.

     

  • The Second Best Job

    I think I have one of the best jobs in the world. I get to run SQLServerCentral, focusing on the Microsoft Data Platform, writing articles, experimenting with technology, speaking at events, and more, all with a bit of autonomy. I’ve been doing this job for well over a decade, and I’ve built routines and rhythms that have allowed me to balance work, family, and life. I really enjoy my job with Redgate.

    Redgate also runs Simple Talk, a companion site that seeks to educate and inform the community, just like SQLServerCentral. Simple Talk runs somewhat longer pieces and has fewer newsletters, but it’s a part of Redgate’s effort to give back to the community and help our current and future customers get better at their jobs. And now, we’re hiring a new editor for Simple Talk, which means the second best job in the company has an opening.

    This isn’t necessarily the easiest job, and it does take a certain kind of person. I’ve told many people for years that almost anyone versed in SQL Server could do my job for a few days, but few could do it for a month. Or maybe, few would want to do it for a month. Producing new content on a regular basis, handling some of the tedious duties of an editor, these can be difficult tasks for many people over time. Even managing yourself (we need an independent self-starter) can be a challenge.

    We have a great team in marketing, and Redgate is a fantastic company. The highest praise I can give them is that they have been the kind of company I’d want to build if I were to start a new venture. There are great benefits, you can work from home and work with autonomy. Plus, you get to work with me.

    We need good technical skills, strong communication skills, and someone that wants to help grow the site even further. If you think this might be your kind of job, think about applying. Who knows, maybe the second best job could be yours.

    Steve Jones

    The Voice of the DBA Podcast

    Listen to the MP3 Audio ( 3.7MB) podcast or subscribe to the feed at iTunes and Libsyn.

  • Auto DevOps

    As much as I like DevOps, this scares me. There are a lot of employees (20%) at BMW that are software engineers. They want to increase that to a larger percentage, which I assume means that we’ll have more and more code in our automobiles, with more systems tightly integrated. We’re even gathering more and more data in modern vehicles. Maybe there are good database job opportunities for some of you with automakers.

    If there’s one thing we’ve learned in a few decades of writing software, it’s that large monolithic systems are a mess. They contain vulnerabilities, and more importantly, they are very difficult to patch and change. All of the DevOps success stories I’ve seen from large systems have either been a complete rewrite, or a long term refactoring that removes dependencies and tight couplings between modules.

    In cars, we’ve seen all sorts of hacking issues. Hackers can attack a vehicle remotely and a faulty (or hacked) update might leave you in trouble. Granted these things aren’t that likely, yet, though I think this piece understates the potential problems. I think that because once a hack is discovered, how sure are we that a) it will be reported to vendors (hackers might just exploit it), or b) that a fix will certainly be developed that works well and doesn’t cause any issues (remember 10s of millions of lines of code current year cars), and c) consumers will apply the patch. That last item worries me, especially if cars become more connected and share data about operation or as we move to autonomous (semi- or total) vehicles.

    Personally I’m not against code in vehicles. I’m not even against some connected systems. What I am against is a monolithic, tightly coupled system. I don’t want engine control or drive by wire sharing a network or code with a CD player or navigation system. I don’t want one computer controlling vehicular functions, entertainment, and climate control. I also want to be sure that there is some protection for all this data, to be sure it doesn’t overwhelm any system. I’ll also admit I like idea of upgrading or replacing parts from different vendors, some of whom might do a much better job of building systems.

    We’ve learned a lot about software and complex systems. While I don’t want all manufacturers to use one system or have tight regulations, I would like to see some mandates that separate critical systems from each other. Both in code, and physically. We don’t need to specify code standards, or encryption, or any details, but let’s ensure that a base bar of building software is being used in any of the mass produced vehicles, planes, trains,  automobiles, or anything else of substantial size that is operated by the general public.

    Steve Jones

    The Voice of the DBA Podcast

    Listen to the MP3 Audio ( 4.7MB) podcast or subscribe to the feed at iTunes and Libsyn.

  • A Summit Just North of The Big Easy

    I’m off today, traveling down to The Big Easy, New Orleans for a beignet. Well, not just a beignet, but also because I’ll be speaking at SQL Saturday #628 in Baton Rouge tomorrow. It’s easier, and more fun, to fly into New Orleans, so I’ll do that, have a quick snack at Cafe Dumonde and then drive up to Baton Rouge. It’s an easy, relaxing drive, and a nice (albeit warm) part of the country.  Hopefully I’ll arrive in time for a quick jog around University Lake.

    This is the 9th SQL Saturday for Baton Rouge, one of the oldest (they started with #17) and this is my fifth time going. I always enjoy the people and crowds down there and this is one of the largest SQL Saturday events in the country. The schedule has 12 tracks, and with over 500 people coming, they need that many to keep from having every room overcrowded. I have two sessions, and I’m looking forward to seeing quite a few others from other speakers, learning a bit more about SQL Server.

    I think it’s great that this event includes lots of developers from the area and covers a huge variety of topics. People come from all over the area, from Texas to West Florida, and sometimes from Arkansas and Tennesee. There is a wide variety of data related, and a few developer, sessions, as well as a nice career track. There is a huge thirst for knowledge, and for some reason SQL Saturday Baton Rouge on the campus of LSU attracts many people from all over.

    It’s great that we have people in our community that will put together a large event to help others improve their careers and get excited about databases and software. Holding an event like this takes a lot of work, and my hat is off to the organizers. They do a fantastic job and really put on a great event for everyone. I’m glad we have large events like this, and I also am glad we have people putting on smaller events all over the world. We have a fantastic SQL Server community, and it’s always a treat to get accepted to present. I hope to see some of you tomorrow and many more in the future.

    Steve Jones

    The Voice of the DBA Podcast

    Listen to the MP3 Audio ( 3.4MB) podcast or subscribe to the feed at iTunes and Libsyn.