Voice of the DBA

Tag: conferences

  • A Summit Rebirth in 2022

    This year the SQL Server and Data Platform community is getting together for the annual Summit virtually. You can still register and attend today through Friday for free. The content is also being recorded, and if you register, you can watch it later, or re-watch it, at your convenience. It’s free training for your career across a wide variety of topics, so take a moment and fill out the form.

    There’s another good reason to register now. Next year’s Summit will be hybrid, with the in-person portion happening back in Seattle next fall. However, there will be a limited number of tickets available for those that want to travel to the event and be in the same room as other professionals. Tickets for the live portion are only going to be available to people registered for this year’s event, so make sure you head over to the site and register today. You can also read about the announcement on the Redgate blog.

    I am thrilled that there will be a live conference next year. I have missed the chance to get together with others now that I’m vaccinated. I was lucky to attend a couple of events this year and am looking forward to SQL Server and Azure SQL Conference in December. I am hoping to get to SQL Bits in the spring in London, and I am very excited to go to next year’s Summit and spend time with the #sqlfamily that have made the last two decades a joy. I relish the chance to talk live with others, get inspired by their knowledge and stories, and bond over meals. It’s been invaluable in my career and brought many smiles to my face.

    I am also glad that next year’s event will be hybrid, allowing those that can’t travel, or don’t feel comfortable, to still access content and interact with others. I know that this is important, and I hope we find ways to provide additional hybrid options in the future. While I do think the pandemic will recede, some of the concerns will remain over large crowds and event safety. I think we should accommodate those that are not attending conferences live, and I expect we will find ways to do this better in the years ahead.

    The annual Summit has been a large part of my career for over 20 years. It has been a time and place where most of the best, brightest, and more generous Data Platform professionals from inside and outside of Microsoft gather to share information and help each other grow our industry. I look forward to the rebirth of this amazing experience in a hybrid form next year, with changes and ideas to make the event even more invigorating.

    Note: The deadline to register and be eligible for a ticket next year is Friday morning, before the Community keynote, presented by Brent Ozar.

    Steve Jones

    Listen to the podcast at Libsyn, Stitcher, Spotify, or iTunes.

  • What I Learned at Community Summits

    I went to the first  Community Summit in 1999. This was one of the first conferences of my career, and I was excited to have one focused on SQL Server and data. I met Kalen Delaney and shook her hand after having her educate me about how tempdb worked in SQL Server 7. That event started a 20-year journey of traveling to subsequent Summits nearly every year since. Over the years, I have a lot of memories from Summits, mostly of people that I’ve met and talked with. Much of the time I’ve been at any of the Summits was spent on networking and business purposes more than learning, but I have picked up a few things along the way.

    Early on Brian Knight and I delivered a presentation in a debate format. We were talking about the pros and cons of using identities. It was an enjoyable session and one where we learned a few things. A developer from Microsoft was in the audience and helped clarify some of the specific numbers related to limitations and scaling issues with using the feature.

    When SQL Server 2005 was ready for release, I still remember going to watch Donald Farmer talk about Integration Services, a radical change from the way that Data Transformation Services used to work. It was quite an eye opening session for me.

    Early in the time when I was working with DevOps and databases, I watched a talk on how you might apply some of the techniques with Reporting Services to implement CI and ensure your report changes would actually work correctly. It was a hack, but I think that a number of the technologies that Microsoft has added to SQL Server aren’t designed with version control and automated code review, which is a shame. However, that’s one of the great things about Summits. You can learn how someone else solved a problem.

    There are many other memories from the event where someone taught me a bit more about SQL Server. Being in the same place as so many smart, talented, inspiring data professionals was magical. That was one of the big reasons that my boss wanted to see the conference continue. Nowhere else in the world brings so many people together.

    You can still register for the event next week. It’s virtual this year, and completely free. No cost, and even if you get busy next week with work, you have access to the content after the conference, so register today. It’s a few minutes, and you’ll get the chance to learn from some amazing speakers.

    Steve Jones

    Listen to the podcast at Libsyn, Stitcher, Spotify, or iTunes.

  • A Live Conference Experience at Data Minds Connect 2021

    Last week I was privileged to attend a live conference in Belgium. dataMinds Connect 2021 took place in Mechelen, just outside of Brussels. I had submitted months ago, was accepted, but didn’t know I’d actually get to go until late September. However, I was glad I went.

    A Normal Experience

    I’ve been able to live parts of my life across the last year, but many things were limited in some way. Either I couldn’t do some activity I expected, or everyone was masked and separated. I’m grateful for what I could do, even with restrictions, but I’ve missed the world since 2019. The exception for me was a volleyball tournament in Orlando in June. It was a busy convention center without masks; the type of event I went to regularly the last few years.

    dataMinds Connect 2021 was the first normal work event I’d attended since SQL Saturday #910 in Slovenia. This was a good sized event, 400+ people, and it felt good. People were interacting with each other, able to shake hands, see each other talking, and recognizing faces was a great experience.

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    I enjoyed being able to chat with people in person, watch body language, meet new friends and see ones that I’ve missed.

    There were multiple sessions during the day, with 15 minute breaks for coffee or a snack. I got to speak in front of a good crowd, was able to see their reactions to my talk, and interact with them.

    Communication and COVID Rules

    I’ve had this event on my schedule for months, and I was happy with the way it was handled. Benni De Jaere (@BenniDeJagere) had emailed early with information on the event, venue, travel, and accommodations. A few months ago he contacted me again, asking if I was coming and giving guidance on the local restrictions.

    Just before the event, we got another long email with all the details of what we needed to be concerned about, how to get tested, quarantine rules, etc.

    While the event did not publish a specific policy, they did note they were deferring to local regulations. Since those can change, and even government sites can struggle to keep coordinated, this was fine for me. Grant (@gfritchey) and I were communicating, trying to decide the rules we needed to follow. I went through the border first, so I let him know about my experience and how to find the testing center and then our plans for quarantine.

    Foreign travelers needed to be tested and show vaccine proof. From there, the city where the event was held (Mechelen) was fairly open. Brussels was more restricted, and I wore masks and abided by their rules while there.

    I understand some people being concerned about safety under this pandemic. I don’t expect events to act differently than their local area. If they do, then they need their specific restrictions published. If not, then we are old enough to check the local guidelines and decide if those are acceptable to us.

    Overall

    I think Benni and his crew did a great job of setting up and running an event. Almost no one has done this in 18 months, and despite the delay, they smoothly handled a large crowd of people at entry and throughout the day.

    I thoroughly enjoyed the event, the people, and the area. I had never been to Belgium before, but it’s on my list as a place to come back to in the future, hopefully at another dataMinds Connect.

  • Register for the 2021 PASS Data Community Summit

    Registration for the 2021 PASS Data Community Summit opened today. This year’s event is virtual on November 8-12, and you can register for free.

    That’s right, free. No cost, just the time, which is something you might point out to your boss to get some time that week to attend.

    Join me and see my sessions, or any of the others that have been selected. There are plenty of great ones to choose from. Register today and I’ll see you online in November.

    2021_Speaking_Summit