SQLSaturday #48 - Columbia 2010

Event Date: 10/02/2010 00:00:00

Event Location:

  • Midlands Technical College - Airport Campus
  • 1260 Lexington Dr
  • West Columbia, South Carolina

PDF of Schedule

This event has completed. All data shown below is from the historical XML public data available.

If there are any data quality issues or corrections needed, please contact the webmaster for this site or submit a pull request for the appropriate file(s).


Sessions

This is a list of sessions from the event, based on the schedule in the XML files.


Title: Business Intelligence: Decaffeinated Please!

Abstract: For many Database Administrators, Data Analysts and other IT and Business Professionals, Business Intelligence (BI) and Data Warehousing (DW) may be a new and uncharted territory with no clear path towards the destination. Others, who have already jumped head-on into the Business Intelligence journey, may be facing challenges that can potentially put their efforts at risk of failure. In this session I will go over some of the basic concepts that are key in understanding BI and DW. I will also go over the natural roadmap towards BI success, its maturity stages and some of the factors that influence a successful BI project. I will exemplify all these concepts by showcasing a successful real-world BI and DW solution.

Speaker(s):

  • Jose Chinchilla

Track and Room: BI 2 - N/A


Title: Managing Database Schemas With VS201 DB projects

Abstract: Most developers agree that the database is the most important component in a typical application, yet the processes for managing changes to database objects as part of the development cycle are often rudimentary or inexistent. In this session Rafael explains how you can use Visual Studio database projects to have better control over your database development cycle and reduce the risk and complexity involved in managing schema changes, testing and deployment. He will talk about the pros and cons he has experienced when using VS DB projects in his last projects, and will highlight some of the improvements available in the latest version of the tool. This session showcases VS 2010, but most the content remains relevant for VSDB2008 GDR2

Speaker(s):

  • Rafael Salas

Track and Room: DB Dev 2 - N/A


Title: Windows PowerShell Best Practices for SQL DBA’s

Abstract: Learn Windows PowerShell best practices as they apply to each stage of the script development lifecycle. See the differences between working interactively from the Windows PowerShell prompt, writing an inline script, adding basic function, advanced functions and finally the implementation of Windows PowerShell Modules. What is a local best practice for Windows PowerShell development is not the same as a global best practice, and this talk covers those differences.

Speaker(s):

  • Ed Wilson

Track and Room: Large Session - N/A


Title: You Got XML In My Database? What’s Up With That?

Abstract: A brief presentation exploring the marriage of XML and relational databases, including when it works and when it doesn’t. Coverage will include an overview of four of the five basic xQuery functions supported by SQL Server 2005+, a couple of use case scenarios, and some tips on how to improve performance using design techniques.

Speaker(s):

  • Stuart Ainsworth

Track and Room: DB Dev 1 - N/A


Title: Information Visualization - Making great Charts

Abstract: This session will provide you with some surprising and interesting insights into how dashboards and charts should be designed. Called Information Visualization, there is a whole line of thinking which maps how the brain interprets what the eyes see. We will translate this into best (and worst) practices related to visualization in dashboard, scorecard, table, and report design. Both funny and informative, you will probably learn, as I did, that you have been designing your dashboards/scorecards and reports badly. We are going to take a visualization test, and learn how to convey information in a clearer, better way. I will prove that you are blind! You will be surprised. Join me - this session is going to be hoot!

Speaker(s):

  • Wayne Snyder

Track and Room: BI 1 - N/A


Title: Planning your ETL architecture with SSIS

Abstract: The complexity and importance of Extract, Transform and Load (ETL) projects are often underestimated, and the consequences of a poorly planned and executed ETL project will inevitably lead to maintenance nightmares, low reliability of the system, or worse yet, to the failure of the project. In this session, we will use ETL best practices to make a requirements checklist you can use in your next ETL implementation, and will demonstrate how you can use SSIS to implement and meet such requirements. If you already learned the basics about SSIS and now want to take your ETL solutions to the next level, or if you became an SSIS developer/architect by accident and wonder what do you need to succeed, then this is the right session for you.

Speaker(s):

  • Rafael Salas

Track and Room: Misc - N/A


Title: To click or to type, that is the question.

Abstract: Are you a clicker or a typer? This session explores the use of scripting vs. using the GUI in SSMS to get day to day tasks accomplished, with a bent toward scripting for increased accuracy, control and speed.

Speaker(s):

  • David Taylor

Track and Room: DB Admin 1 - N/A


Title: Confessions of a Data Integrator: Bad Designs

Abstract: As database systems become more prevalent, the need to integrate disparate data sources becomes more pressing. DBA’s and developers are often forced to support code they can’t control, and must find ways to support poorly designed relational systems. The purpose of this presentation is to explore some of those challenges and discuss possible solutions using certain “taboo” tools including string parsing, looping, and dynamic SQL. Recommended for experienced T-SQL programmers only.

Speaker(s):

  • Stuart Ainsworth

Track and Room: BI 2 - N/A


Title: DBA 101: The Basics

Abstract: Are you an “accidental” or “unintentional” DBA? Or are you a manager or developer who wants to see more into the DBA world? If you’re someone who has to wear a DBA hat or someone considering it, this presentation is for you. This presentation is a beginner session intending to show the basics every DBA needs to know to do the job.

Speaker(s):

  • Andy Warren

Track and Room: DB Admin 1 - N/A


Title: Who Needs a Data Warehouse?

Abstract: The decision to incorporate a data warehouse into your company’s daily routine is not an easy process. This interactive session will discuss the benefits and disadvantages of having a data warehouse. As a group, we will present reporting and structural alternatives, as well as the pros and cons of building, maintaining, and using a data warehouse.

Speaker(s):

  • Jessica Moss

Track and Room: BI 1 - N/A


Title: Consolidated SQL Server Architectures

Abstract: There is more than one way to approach a consolidation effort, and you must understand the pros and cons of each. Consolidate on physical hardware? Use virtualization? Multiple instance per server or VM? How will availability be achieved for a consolidated environment? These topics and more will be addressed in this session.

Speaker(s):

  • Ben DeBow

Track and Room: DB Admin 1 - N/A


Title: Creating Custom Components for SSIS

Abstract: SSIS data flows are great tools for moving data. But what if you need to go beyond the out-of-the-box components provided with SSIS? Custom components are a great way to encapsulate and reuse functionality for the data flow in SSIS. We will discuss what it takes to create and deploy custom components in SSIS, review the pros and cons of using custom components instead of scripts, and discuss some of the common challenges and issues with creating them.

Speaker(s):

  • John Welch

Track and Room: BI 2 - N/A


Title: Building a Professional Development Plan

Abstract: A good professional development plan has to go far beyond ‘learning more technology’, it has to encompass the wide variety of skills you need to build the next step in your career, and it has to include a variety of learning methods. We’ll discuss how much time and money you should budget when building your plan, and how the distribution of time and money changes as your career evolves. We’ll look at the growth phases you’ll encounter, learning how you learn best, how to keep up with new technology without burning out, and even how things like blogging and Twitter can be an interesting part of your plan.

Speaker(s):

  • Andy Warren

Track and Room: Misc - N/A


Title: Make Reporting Services Work For You

Abstract: Are you frustrated with building reports in SQL Server Reporting Services? Tired of telling your users that you can’t give them the perfect report due to limitations in the product? If so, this session will calm your nerves and make you a guru by showing how to utilize custom code and expressions to shine up your new or existing reports. Specifically, we will show how to create dynamic data groups, use paging techniques, add color and formatting, and more. This session is best suited for people with some knowledge of SSRS.

Speaker(s):

  • Jessica Moss

Track and Room: BI 1 - N/A


Title: SSIS Design Patterns

Abstract: This session is for experienced SSIS developers. Attend and learn the Parent-Child SSIS design pattern, how to leverage less-than-well-documented characteristics of SSIS to centralize logging, and how to pass variable values between parent and child packages by value and by reference.

Speaker(s):

  • Andy Leonard

Track and Room: BI 1 - N/A


Title: Getting Started with MDX

Abstract: In this session we will concentrate largely upon crafting simple MDX expressions and queries whose purposes, for the most part, are to return a set of data. We will overview the structure of a cube, using as a basis the sample Adventure Works cube that is available to anyone installing SQL Server Analysis Services 2008 R2. We will then outline the components of simple MDX syntax, and get started writing basic expressions and queries. We will expose basic member functions, introduce filters (or “slicers”), and begin exploring core MDX functionality, including calculated members, and named sets.

Speaker(s):

  • William E Pearson III

Track and Room: BI 2 - N/A


Title: Processing Flat Files with SSIS

Abstract: When doing data integration, a common requirement is to work with flat files, whether for importing data into a system from an external source, or to export it to provide to other systems. SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) supports flat files, but there can be a number of challenges when working with them. This is particularly true if your flat files have multiple data formats contained in a single file, the data has complex formatting, or the files have inconsistent formatting. This session will help you to be more efficient when working with these types of files. You’ll learn to handle missing delimiters in the files, and parsing files that have multiple data formats.

Speaker(s):

  • John Welch

Track and Room: DB Dev 2 - N/A


Title: SQL Server Service Broker – An Overview

Abstract: Service Broker can be used to simplify messaging between applications and assist in asynchronous programming by queuing messages and/or events. This presentation will explain how to use the Service Broker services, discuss its many components and show why you’ll benefit from using it. Finally a case study will illustrate an elegant way to maintain data across multiple servers and show how to reduce dependencies between related programs and/or data structures.

Speaker(s):

  • Janis Griffin

Track and Room: DB Admin 1 - N/A


Title: Tuna Helper - Proven Process for Tuning SQL

Abstract: Many DBAs and Developers are faced with tuning poorly performing SQL statements. However, many tuning projects fail because the process being used is inefficient. This presentation will walk through a process Confio Software uses with great success and will include topics such as indexing strategies, use of column statistics, SQL wait event data, column selectivity and several more that will help the you succeed on future tuning projects.

Speaker(s):

  • Janis Griffin

Track and Room: DB Admin 2 - N/A


Title: Cool Tricks to Pull from your SSIS Hat

Abstract: Cool Tricks to Pull from your SSIS Hat: Variables, For Each Loops, and the SSIS Expression Language. This presentation will cover some useful SSIS features commonly used to add flexibility and elegance to more advanced ETL solutions. The presentation demonstrates short case studies of real world business scenarios and solutions.

Speaker(s):

  • Julie Smith

Track and Room: BI 1 - N/A


Title: Attribute Discretization in Analysis Services

Abstract: Attribute discretization is an oft-overlooked feature in Analysis Services that allows us to automatically create a manageable number of groups of attribute values that are clearly separated by boundaries. Discretization can help us to make it easier for information consumers to work with large numbers of possible attribute member values. In this session, we will discuss the varied options, the design (and other) considerations involved, and best practices surrounding the use of this capability.

Speaker(s):

  • William E Pearson III

Track and Room: Misc - N/A


Title: What’s New In SSRS 2008 (With Added R2 Flair)

Abstract: Microsoft SQL Server 2008 was released to much fanfare, excitement and anticipation in the IT community. The bevy of enhancements made to the various components coupled with sweeping performance gains made this version one of the most competitive and feature-rich database platforms on the market. In this session, we will examine the enhancements made to Reporting Services in SQL Server 2008 and 2008 R2.

Speaker(s):

  • Brett Tomson

Track and Room: DB Dev 1 - N/A


Title: How, where, why, and when to use Dynamic SQL

Abstract: This session will be an in-depth session of the reasons for and against using dynamic SQL in database applications. We’ll look at different ways to write dynamic SQL statements, performance and security considerations that accompany using dynamic SQL, and how and when to take advantage of this powerful tool.

Speaker(s):

  • Tim Chapman

Track and Room: DB Dev 1 - N/A


Title: Maximizing Plan Re-use in SQL 2008

Abstract: Lack of plan reuse is one of the biggest performance killers in SQL Server and almost everyone has experienced problems in this area before. We will explore exactly how to determine if this is an issue for you and more importantly, how to address it. See what factors determine if a plan gets reused or not and why. We will cover how to issue calls to the database that guarantee reuse and peak performance. Understanding this aspect of SQL Server is something every good DBA should be fully aware of and attending this session will get you the insight to get started immediately.

Speaker(s):

  • Andrew Kelly

Track and Room: DB Dev 2 - N/A


Title: T-SQL Enhancements in SQL Server 2008

Abstract: The release of SQL Server 2008 represents a paradigm shift in the way that we program T-SQL. With new commands and new data types, 2008 provides the SQL developer with a bevy of options intended to make their development tasks easier. In this session, we will explore what enhancements have been made to T-SQL including (but not limited to) row constructors, the MERGE statement, table-valued parameters as well as what new data types are available to us.

Speaker(s):

  • Brett Tomson

Track and Room: DB Dev 1 - N/A


Title: The Dirty Dozen: PowerShell Scripts for Busy DBAs

Abstract: For DBAs PowerShell provides a simple but powerful way to automate everyday tasks. This session walks you through a dozen scripts to simplify and easily automate time-consuming and tedious elements of your day to day job. This isn’t stuff you’ll use SOMEDAY, these are scripts you can use when you get home tonight. Harness the power of PowerShell to easily find Servers short on space, Script out tables and constraints across all of your databases at once. Backup databases and restore them to a different environment. These tricks and many others will allow PowerShell to simplify your job like no other tool.

Speaker(s):

  • Aaron Nelson

Track and Room: DB Admin 2 - N/A


Title: Introduction To Column Level Encryption

Abstract: With the new data security standards and legislation, encryption has become a necessity in today’s business world. This session will introduce the new encryption options in SQL Server and then narrow the focus to column level encryption (not so new). The session will include slides and discussions to introduce concepts and will also have a live demo of a simple implementation of column level encryption. This is intended for anyone who is interested in SQL Server encryption, or those who need to implement some sort of encryption as part of their overall database information security strategy.

Speaker(s):

  • Bob Langley

Track and Room: DB Dev 2 - N/A


Title: Going Spatial

Abstract: Thinking of adding spatial functionality to your application? You’ll need to learn how to start using SQL Server Spatial data types. This session will cover the basics of spatial support in SQL Server 2008 as well some freely available tools that will help you go spatial with your data.

Speaker(s):

  • Matthew Campbell

Track and Room: DB Dev 1 - N/A


Title: Get Cert! Get Cred!

Abstract: Obtaining a certification may be a dreaded and stressing process for some people. Most people fail because of their failure to plan a realistic roadmap towards their goals and not necessarily because they lack the skills.

This session will focus on establishing a roadmap towards certification success for the MCTS and MCITP programs of SQL Server and Business Intelligence. I will do a quick overview of my recent success obtaining 4 certifications in 30 days and how you can achieve similar goals.

But why certify? Join me to find out the opportunities you may be missing on!

Speaker(s):

  • Jose Chinchilla

Track and Room: Misc - N/A


Title: Storage and I/O Best Practices for SQL Server

Abstract: SQL Server relies heavily on a well configured storage sub-system to perform at its peak but unfortunately this is one of the most neglected or mis-configured areas of a SQL Server instance. Here we will focus on the best practices related to how SQL Server works with the underlying storage subsystem and what you can do to maximize the relationship between the two. The core topics will include discussions on SANs vs. Direct Attached storage, Raid Groups, Caching, Types of I/O, Number of Files their placement and more.

Speaker(s):

  • Andrew Kelly

Track and Room: Large Session - N/A


Title: Database Design for Developers

Abstract: This session is for software developers tasked with database development. Attend and learn about patterns and anti-patterns of database development, one method for building re-executable Transact-SQL deployment scripts, a method for using SqlCmd to deploy re-executable Transact-SQL deployment scripts, and fodder for a lively discussion about NULLs.

Speaker(s):

  • Andy Leonard

Track and Room: Large Session - N/A


Title: CLR 101

Abstract: This session will bring you up to speed on simple CLR SQL Server objects implementations. We will show you how to organize your environment to work with VS2010 Express and up. We will also show you how to organize your SQL Server Express and up, for hosting deployed CLR objects.

Speaker(s):

  • Alex Tocitu

Track and Room: DB Dev 2 - N/A


Title: Object Relational Mappers for the DBA

Abstract: Object Relational Mappers (ORMs) are a tool often praised by developers and despised by DBAs. I’ll show that, like most tools, ORMs have their place if used responsibly. They can also get out of hand if they are trusted to always do the right thing. I will demonstrate usage of the most common ORMs for .NET and how each can go awry as well as how to monitor each for proper usage. This will not be a validation or admonishment of their usage; simply a look at their advantages and how to overcome some of their disadvantages.

Speaker(s):

  • Eric Humphrey

Track and Room: Misc - N/A


Title: OLTP (yes!) Databases and Cube Design

Abstract: OLAP, Cube, BI, SSAS – what is the difference? In this session look at the difference between a database designed for OLAP and OLTP – star and snowflake schemas and the benefits and costs of each. After we understand what is sourcing a cube we will look at the basic cube structure, how to source from OLTP or OLAP database and the cost of ROLAP, HOLAP and MOLAP. I have implemented many cubes for small finance departments allowing them to browse a nightly set of data in Excel, without them downloading spreadsheets of data during production hours. The cube improved overall system performance without a redesigned database.

Speaker(s):

  • Sandra Mueller

Track and Room: BI 2 - N/A


Title: PowerShell 2.0 Beyond the Dirty Dozen

Abstract: Now that you’ve learned the basics of PowerShell we’ll dive a little deeper and learn to develop scripts that help you get the most out of SQL Server. We’ll take a look at advanced functions, event logging and error handling. Then put everything together in a nice package and create our own modules to deploy to profiles across our entire SQL Server environment.

Speaker(s):

  • Aaron Nelson

Track and Room: DB Admin 2 - N/A


Title: Clustering for Mere Mortals

Abstract: Learn about the major changes in clustering in recent SQL and Windows releases and how clustering is something you can implement that will actually make your work life easier.

Speaker(s):

  • Geoff Hiten

Track and Room: DB Admin 2 - N/A


Title: Things To Do With PowerShell SMO

Abstract: Want to automatically store your database schema in a version control system (VCS)? Want to make changes across your database or server with less labor? Learn how with PowerShell and SMO. Bonus: compress your backups using 7zip and PowerShell.

Speaker(s):

  • Eric Humphrey

Track and Room: DB Dev 2 - N/A


Title: SQL Server Diagnostics Tools Unleashed

Abstract: What tools SQL CSS uses to troubleshoot SQL Server issues?Which tools are shipped with SQL Server the product and which can be downloaded?How to use SQL Server diagnostics tools most effectively. These and other diagnostics tools related questions are going to be covered in this session. We will go over data collection and interpretation based on troubleshooting scenarios.

Speaker(s):

  • Sergey Pustovit

Track and Room: Large Session - N/A


Title: PowerSQL(CLR)

Abstract: This session will gradually increase your awareness of the capabilities of the .NET CLR. We will show you half a dozen how-to’s for querying external system objects like event logs and performance counters. We will continue with ways to integrate these with SSRS, SSIS, and/or Windows Forms.

Speaker(s):

  • Alex Tocitu

Track and Room: DB Dev 1 - N/A


Title: Data Files and Transaction Logs – beyond the GUIs

Abstract: Performance of SQL Server poor? One cause may have been that starting file size that you didn’t think was important because it will auto-grow. Why is auto-grow bad? Why shouldn’t logs be auto-shrunk? Explore the physical structure of a database, how table structure effects use of memory and key mistakes to avoid. Additionally, dive into the transaction log process - VLFs, auto-recovery and lock escalation. Solid foundation for Programmers and Administrators!

Speaker(s):

  • Sandra Mueller

Track and Room: DB Admin 1 - N/A


Title: Parameter Sniffing

Abstract: Is your stored procedure, prepared statement, or ad-hoc query taking to long after a good start?

Learn what is parameter sniffing, how it could affect your query response time, and what can we do when it doesn’t help. In this session we will learn about recompiling, OPTION clause, and plan guides.

Speaker(s):

  • Alejandro Mesa

Track and Room: Large Session - N/A


Title: Diagnosing connectivity issues with SQL Server

Abstract: Evan will show you how to diagnose and solve common connectivity issues. This will include covering GNEs, Kerberos, and completely inaccessible SQL Servers. He will demonstrate how to use UDLs and network traces to easily identify the problem, plus provide tips that often solve the problem in seconds.

Speaker(s):

  • Evan Basalik

Track and Room: DB Admin 2 - N/A


Abstract: There are number of tools available on the market for the SQL Server performance troubleshooting. But do we use the full power of the internal SQL Server Data Management Views (DMVs)? Some very challenging issues can be solved using DMVs. What the Dynamic Management Views are? How diagnostics data is getting populated? Using the examples we are going to talk about diagnostic data analysis using T-SQL queries against SQL Server DMVs.

Speaker(s):

  • Sergey Pustovit

Track and Room: DB Admin 2 - N/A


Title: Troubleshooting SSRS Performance

Abstract: Evan will discuss and demonstrate how to troubleshoot Reporting Services performance issues. This will cover both tools included in the product plus some real-world scenarios he has dealt with in the past.

Speaker(s):

  • Evan Basalik

Track and Room: BI 1 - N/A


Title: Data Mining with PowerPivot 2010

Abstract: Excel provides a compelling and ubiquitous interface for Microsoft Data Mining. With new features available through PowerPivot, business users can apply the technology through a well-designed infrastructure of Microsoft technologies. This presentation will welcome any newcomers to data mining, and provide interactive demos which highlight data mining through these technologies.

Speaker(s):

  • Mark Tabladillo

Track and Room: BI 2 - N/A


Title: Top 5 fastest ways as DBA to get fired

Abstract: Are you new to DBA role, but would rather be a programmer? Have you been a DBA for a while but want a life changing event? Then this session is for you. I’ll cover the top 5 things you as a DBA can do to get fired. If instead you want to keep your job as a DBA, attend to see what others are doing in order to get fired and open for you a job opportunity.

Speaker(s):

  • Chris Skorlinski

Track and Room: Misc - N/A


Title: Bad SQL

Abstract: How do you tell good code from bad? Bad SQL code makes the system work harder for the same results. Bad SQL does not scale well with larger data sizes, nor does it scale with increased server activity. Extreme Bad SQL can bring a server to a grinding halt. This presentation shows you how and why certain commonly used SQL constructions are Bad SQL. Bad SQL is not very useful by itself so each example includes its Good SQL counterpart.

Speaker(s):

  • Geoff Hiten

Track and Room: Large Session - N/A


Title: Introduction to Transactional Replication

Abstract: SQL Server Replication allows you to distribute your data across multiple servers in support of a Disaster Recovery strategy or to offload data to a Reporting server. This sessions provides an overview of design and planning needed to successfully implement Transactional Replication topology in your organization.

Speaker(s):

  • Chris Skorlinski

Track and Room: DB Admin 1 - N/A


Speakers

This is a list of speakers from the XML Guidebook records. The details and URLs were valid at the time of the event.

Andy Leonard

Twitter: - AndyLeonard

LinkedIn: Andy Leonard

Contact: https://andyleonard.blog

Andy Leonard is founder and Chief Data Engineer at Enterprise Data Analytics, Microsoft Data Platform MVP, creator of the DILM (Data Integration Lifecycle Management) Suite, an SSIS trainer, consultant, developer, Business Intelligence Markup Language (Biml) developer and BimlHero, SQL Server database and data warehouse developer, community mentor, engineer, and farmer. He is a co-author of “The Biml Book and SQL Server Integration Services Design Patterns” and author of “Managing Geeks - A Journey of Leading by Doing”, “Data Integration Lifecycle Management with SSIS”, “Building Custom Tasks for SSIS”, and the “Stairway to Integration Services”. Andy blogs at andyleonard.blog where you can learn more on the About Andy page.

John Welch

Twitter: - @john_welch

LinkedIn: John Welch

Contact: http://agilebi.com/jwelch

John Welch joined SentryOne in spring 2018 as VP of Engineering with the acquisition by SentryOne of the software division of Pragmatic Works. John leads the development of a suite of products that make developing, managing, and documenting data solutions easier. John has been successfully delivering IT solutions to business problems since 1994, and has been focused on business intelligence and data warehousing technologies since 2001. He is a Microsoft Most Valued Professional (MVP), and a frequent presenter on SQL Server and data topics. He also contributes to several open source projects and community initiatives targeted toward making data professionals work more productive.

Andy Warren

Twitter: - @sqlandy

Contact: https://sqlandy.com

Andy Warren is a SQL Server consultant and trainer based in Orlando, FL. Focusing on administration, performance tuning, and SQL Server patterns and practices, he’s been a SQL Server MVP since 2008. Andy served two terms on the PASS Board of Directors, was a founding principal in SQLServerCentral, and created both the SQLSaturday and SQLRally event models.

John Welch

Twitter: - @john_welch

LinkedIn: John Welch

Contact: http://agilebi.com/jwelch

John Welch joined SentryOne in spring 2018 as VP of Engineering with the acquisition by SentryOne of the software division of Pragmatic Works. John leads the development of a suite of products that make developing, managing, and documenting data solutions easier. John has been successfully delivering IT solutions to business problems since 1994, and has been focused on business intelligence and data warehousing technologies since 2001. He is a Microsoft Most Valued Professional (MVP), and a frequent presenter on SQL Server and data topics. He also contributes to several open source projects and community initiatives targeted toward making data professionals work more productive.

Rafael Salas

Twitter: - @RafSalas

Contact: http://www.rafael-salas.com

Rafael Salas is a recognized speaker and published author with more than 17 years of experience in business intelligence and information architecture. He is the recipient of multiple industry recognition, including the Microsoft MVP Award and The Data Warehouse Institute Best Practices Award. Rafael is also an active member of the SQL Server technical community and blogs regularly at www.rafael-salas.com.

Jessica Moss

Twitter: - @jessicammoss

Contact: http://www.jessicammoss.com

Jessica M. Moss is a well-known architect, speaker, author, and Microsoft MVP of SQL Server Business Intelligence. Jessica#39;s expertise includes data warehouse modeling, Integration Services ETL, Analysis Services semantic modeling, Reporting Services report design, and helping customers across industries successfully implement and enhance their BI solutions. She enjoys sharing her knowledge with the SQL community and has co-authored numerous technical books.

Brett Tomson

Brett Tomson is an independent consultant specializing in delivering solutions using the Microsoft Business Intelligence stack and related .NET technologies. He is an accomplished architect and developer of large-scale enterprise systems as well as an author and mentor to others. Brett has been using SQL Server actively for the past 12 years and is the Chapter Leader of the Triangle SQL Server User Group (http://www.tripass.org).

Sergey Pustovit

As an Architect in Parallel Data Warehouse Center of Excellence Sergey designs complex EDW solutions based on Massively Parallel Processing (MPP) approach. He has 20+ years of industry experience, working with distributed database systems, designing and developing software. Sergey serves on advisory board for the SQL PASS local chapter in Charlotte, NC.

Andy Warren

Twitter: - @sqlandy

Contact: https://sqlandy.com

Andy Warren is a SQL Server consultant and trainer based in Orlando, FL. Focusing on administration, performance tuning, and SQL Server patterns and practices, he’s been a SQL Server MVP since 2008. Andy served two terms on the PASS Board of Directors, was a founding principal in SQLServerCentral, and created both the SQLSaturday and SQLRally event models.

Rafael Salas

Twitter: - @RafSalas

Contact: http://www.rafael-salas.com

Rafael Salas is a recognized speaker and published author with more than 17 years of experience in business intelligence and information architecture. He is the recipient of multiple industry recognition, including the Microsoft MVP Award and The Data Warehouse Institute Best Practices Award. Rafael is also an active member of the SQL Server technical community and blogs regularly at www.rafael-salas.com.

Chris Skorlinski

Contact: http://blogs.msdn.com/ReplTalk/

Chris Skorlinski has been with Microsoft for 17 years. He is a Support Escalation Engineer at the Microsoft Charlotte NC office specializing in performance tuning and troubleshooting Replication. His is a contributor to SQLShare.com training as well as his own BLOGs on Replication Performance at http://blogs.msdn.com/ReplTalk/.

Bob Langley

Bob Langley, MCDBA, has been in IT for 24+ years in the financial services industry and local government. Starting out in programming, then moving to Business Systems Analysis, Systems Administration, and finally Database Administration and Development, administering and developing databases for many departments for a local county government, utilizing both SQL Server and Oracle databases.

Sandra Mueller

Sandra A. Mueller started with Administration (via a programming job) in 1997 and moved into Database Design and performance optimization. She has always had a passion for sharing knowledge and trying to help others avoid the hard lessons she learnt. To this end she has been an MCT for 16 years, writing course ware, providing training and follow-on project consultation. In 2004 after an activation with the military her focus turned to SQL Server 2005 and its Business Intelligence (BI) capabilities. She is currently working as a BI Architect with SQL Server 2008R2 OLAP solutions.

Sandra blogs on http://www.SandraAMueller.com. She recently started the Raleigh NC SQL Server BI User Group (http://www.tripassBI.org). She consistency speaks at SQLSaturday events and supports her local community by speaking, volunteering and attending regional chapters.

Andy Leonard

Twitter: - AndyLeonard

LinkedIn: Andy Leonard

Contact: https://andyleonard.blog

Andy Leonard is founder and Chief Data Engineer at Enterprise Data Analytics, Microsoft Data Platform MVP, creator of the DILM (Data Integration Lifecycle Management) Suite, an SSIS trainer, consultant, developer, Business Intelligence Markup Language (Biml) developer and BimlHero, SQL Server database and data warehouse developer, community mentor, engineer, and farmer. He is a co-author of “The Biml Book and SQL Server Integration Services Design Patterns” and author of “Managing Geeks - A Journey of Leading by Doing”, “Data Integration Lifecycle Management with SSIS”, “Building Custom Tasks for SSIS”, and the “Stairway to Integration Services”. Andy blogs at andyleonard.blog where you can learn more on the About Andy page.

Jessica Moss

Twitter: - @jessicammoss

Contact: http://www.jessicammoss.com

Jessica M. Moss is a well-known architect, speaker, author, and Microsoft MVP of SQL Server Business Intelligence. Jessica#39;s expertise includes data warehouse modeling, Integration Services ETL, Analysis Services semantic modeling, Reporting Services report design, and helping customers across industries successfully implement and enhance their BI solutions. She enjoys sharing her knowledge with the SQL community and has co-authored numerous technical books.

Ben DeBow

Contact: http://www.counterlogic.com

Ben DeBow is a MDCBA and MCSE focused on SQL Server consolidations, data architecture and performance tuning for organizations both large and small. Involvement in the SQL community has included 6 years of SQLPass committee member, webcasts for SQLMag and other groups, co-author or reviewer for several Microsoft whitepapers, delivered training and past SQLPass presenter. Besides his work as a consultant, Ben is a volunteer firefighter, avid traveler and photographer.

Sandra Mueller

Sandra A. Mueller started with Administration (via a programming job) in 1997 and moved into Database Design and performance optimization. She has always had a passion for sharing knowledge and trying to help others avoid the hard lessons she learnt. To this end she has been an MCT for 16 years, writing course ware, providing training and follow-on project consultation. In 2004 after an activation with the military her focus turned to SQL Server 2005 and its Business Intelligence (BI) capabilities. She is currently working as a BI Architect with SQL Server 2008R2 OLAP solutions.

Sandra blogs on http://www.SandraAMueller.com. She recently started the Raleigh NC SQL Server BI User Group (http://www.tripassBI.org). She consistency speaks at SQLSaturday events and supports her local community by speaking, volunteering and attending regional chapters.

Julie Smith

Twitter: - @juliechix

LinkedIn: Julie Smith

Contact: http://datachix.com

Julie Smith is a Microsoft Data Platform MVP and a BI consultant for Innovative Architects in Atlanta, GA. She#39;s implemented increasingly complex Business Intelligence solutions for over a decade at various organizations. She#39;s also worn many other database “hats” in her career – production DBA and database developer–but data integration and BI are her true passions. Julie holds a BA from the University of South Carolina. She and Audrey Hammonds co-created The Datachix.com blog.

**Mark Tabladillo **

Contact: http://marktab.net/

Mark Tabladillo provides consulting and training for data mining with Solid Quality Mentors. He has taught statistics at Georgia Tech and for the graduate business school of the University of Phoenix. In addition to his Microsoft certifications (MCAD .NET and MCT), Mark has years of deep experience with the SAS System, and has presented at many local, regional, and national technical conferences. Mark produces a data mining resource and blog at http://www.marktab.net

Alex Tocitu

Alex Tocitu is a software engineer with an MSEE in Automation and Control, and an MBA in Finance. With over 2x years of software practice he has enjoyed 1x of them in Sillicon Valley. After a long time with Java and Sybase/Oracle, he currently works with C#/C++ and SQL Server and has lots of fun. Alex Tocitu speaks at local user groups, SQLSaturdays and code camps; he also writes articles for MSSQLTips and SQLServerCentral. Alex is an avid chess player both live and online.

Tim Chapman

Tim Chapman is a Microsoft Certified Master (MCM) and works as a dedicated field engineer (PFE) at Microsoft specializing in performance tuning and high availability. Tim is from Louisville, KY and has over 12 years of database architecture, programming, and administration experience.

Alex Tocitu

Alex Tocitu is a software engineer with an MSEE in Automation and Control, and an MBA in Finance. With over 2x years of software practice he has enjoyed 1x of them in Sillicon Valley. After a long time with Java and Sybase/Oracle, he currently works with C#/C++ and SQL Server and has lots of fun. Alex Tocitu speaks at local user groups, SQLSaturdays and code camps; he also writes articles for MSSQLTips and SQLServerCentral. Alex is an avid chess player both live and online.

Eric Humphrey

Twitter: - @lotsahelp

Contact: http://www.erichumphrey.com

Eric Humphrey is a DBA at GameStop in the Dallas area. He earned his B.S. in Computer Science from Louisiana State University – Shreveport in 2004. He has been working in the tech industry since 2003 with companies big and small. His focus is on database development with SQL Server. Eric has a passion for improving his craft while contributing to the development community.

Andrew Kelly

Contact: http://sqlblog.com/blogs/andrew_kelly/default.aspx

Andrew J. Kelly is a SQL Server MVP with over 20 years’ experience with relational databases and application development but specializes in Performance, Scalability and Maintainability of large scale SQL Servers. He is a regular speaker each year and a contributing editor and writer for SQL Server Magazine.

Ed Wilson

Twitter: - ScriptingGuys

LinkedIn: Ed Wilson

Contact: http://HTTP://WWW.ScriptingGuys.Com/Blog

Ed Wilson is the Microsoft Scripting Guy and a well-known scripting expert. He writes the daily Hey Scripting Guy! blog. He has also spoken at TechEd, Tech Ready, Geek Ready, SQL Rally and various SQLSaturday conferences. A Microsoft-certified trainer he has taught scripting to Microsoft Premier Customers worldwide. He has written 11 books including 9 on Windows scripting that were published by Microsoft Press. His Windows PowerShell 3.0 Step by Step for MSPress is a current best seller.

Stuart Ainsworth

Twitter: - @codegumbo

LinkedIn: Stuart Ainsworth

Contact: http://codegumbo.com

Stuart Ainsworth (MA, MEd) manages a team of Service Reliability Engineers for the Gladiator Enterprise Information Security Services section of Profitstars, a division of Jack Henry and Associates. He’s a former DBA, developer, consultant, and public speaking professor. He’s one of the chapter leaders for AtlantaMDF, and a long-time organizer of SQLSaturday’s. He tweets infrequently (@codegumbo) and blogs even less often at http://codegumbo.com.

Eric Humphrey

Twitter: - @lotsahelp

Contact: http://www.erichumphrey.com

Eric Humphrey is a DBA at GameStop in the Dallas area. He earned his B.S. in Computer Science from Louisiana State University – Shreveport in 2004. He has been working in the tech industry since 2003 with companies big and small. His focus is on database development with SQL Server. Eric has a passion for improving his craft while contributing to the development community.

William E Pearson III

Twitter: - @Bill_Pearson

LinkedIn: William E Pearson III

Contact: https://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile=02C5CD07-7511-4151-A678-3A4A3451F85E

Bill Pearson created Island Technologies Inc. in 1997, and has developed a large and diverse customer base since. Bill#39;s background as a CPA, Internal Auditor, Management Accountant, and SQL Server MVP (BI) enables him to provide value to clients as a liaison between Accounting / Finance and Information Services. Bill has implemented enterprise business intelligence systems over the years for many Fortune 500 companies and focuses his practice upon the integrated Microsoft Business Intelligence

Brett Tomson

Brett Tomson is an independent consultant specializing in delivering solutions using the Microsoft Business Intelligence stack and related .NET technologies. He is an accomplished architect and developer of large-scale enterprise systems as well as an author and mentor to others. Brett has been using SQL Server actively for the past 12 years and is the Chapter Leader of the Triangle SQL Server User Group (http://www.tripass.org).

Sergey Pustovit

As an Architect in Parallel Data Warehouse Center of Excellence Sergey designs complex EDW solutions based on Massively Parallel Processing (MPP) approach. He has 20+ years of industry experience, working with distributed database systems, designing and developing software. Sergey serves on advisory board for the SQL PASS local chapter in Charlotte, NC.

Andrew Kelly

Contact: http://sqlblog.com/blogs/andrew_kelly/default.aspx

Andrew J. Kelly is a SQL Server MVP with over 20 years’ experience with relational databases and application development but specializes in Performance, Scalability and Maintainability of large scale SQL Servers. He is a regular speaker each year and a contributing editor and writer for SQL Server Magazine.

David Taylor

Contact: http://dyfhid.wordpress.com

David is an DBA/Developer for a private educational institution in New Hampshire. David has five years of experience learning and administering SQL Server and more recently developing BI solutions using SSIS. Having earned both his MCTS and MCITP DBA certifications for SQL Server 2008, he still considers himself a beginner sharing with other beginners.

Aaron Nelson

Twitter: - SQLvariant

LinkedIn: Aaron Nelson

Contact: http://sqlvariant.com/

Aaron Nelson is an author, public speaker, blogger, and leader in the community. He has over 15 years of experience in architecture, Business Intelligence, development, and performance tuning of SQL Server. Aaron has received many certifications and is a six time winner of the Microsoft MVP Award.

Aaron leads the PowerShell Virtual Group of PASS (SQLPS.io), is a board member of PowerShell.org, and is a volunteer at his PASS Local Group, AtlantaMDF.

Geoff Hiten

Twitter: - SQLCraftsman

LinkedIn: Geoff Hiten

Geoff Hiten is a Technical Solutions Professional at Microsoft. Geoff began working with SQL Server in 1992 with version 4.2 and has used every version since. He specializes in highly available SQL systems, performance tuning, and systems migration. Geoff is heavily involved in the Microsoft SQL Server Community and was initially awarded MVP status in 2004. Geoff was appointed in 2011 to fill an interim Director position at the National PASS organization.

Jose Chinchilla

Twitter: - SQLJoe

LinkedIn: Jose Chinchilla

Contact: http://www.sqljoe.com

Jose Chinchilla is an experienced data analytics professional with multiple certifications including Microsoft Certified Database Administration (MCSE), Microsoft Certified Data Management and Analytics (MCSE), and Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT). Jose specializes in Data Warehouse and Data Lake Architecture and Development as the Data Analytics Practice Lead at AgileThought, a full-service custom software and analytics consulting firm based in Tampa, FL. Jose is a book author (SQL 2012 Bible, Professional SQL Server 2012 Administration, Exam Ref 70-767 Implementing a SQL Data Warehouse 2016) and leads the Tampa Bay BI Data Analytics PASS Chapter in Tampa, FL.

William E Pearson III

Twitter: - @Bill_Pearson

LinkedIn: William E Pearson III

Contact: https://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile=02C5CD07-7511-4151-A678-3A4A3451F85E

Bill Pearson created Island Technologies Inc. in 1997, and has developed a large and diverse customer base since. Bill#39;s background as a CPA, Internal Auditor, Management Accountant, and SQL Server MVP (BI) enables him to provide value to clients as a liaison between Accounting / Finance and Information Services. Bill has implemented enterprise business intelligence systems over the years for many Fortune 500 companies and focuses his practice upon the integrated Microsoft Business Intelligence

Aaron Nelson

Twitter: - SQLvariant

LinkedIn: Aaron Nelson

Contact: http://sqlvariant.com/

Aaron Nelson is an author, public speaker, blogger, and leader in the community. He has over 15 years of experience in architecture, Business Intelligence, development, and performance tuning of SQL Server. Aaron has received many certifications and is a six time winner of the Microsoft MVP Award.

Aaron leads the PowerShell Virtual Group of PASS (SQLPS.io), is a board member of PowerShell.org, and is a volunteer at his PASS Local Group, AtlantaMDF.

Geoff Hiten

Twitter: - SQLCraftsman

LinkedIn: Geoff Hiten

Geoff Hiten is a Technical Solutions Professional at Microsoft. Geoff began working with SQL Server in 1992 with version 4.2 and has used every version since. He specializes in highly available SQL systems, performance tuning, and systems migration. Geoff is heavily involved in the Microsoft SQL Server Community and was initially awarded MVP status in 2004. Geoff was appointed in 2011 to fill an interim Director position at the National PASS organization.

Janis Griffin

Twitter: - DoBoutAnything

LinkedIn: Janis Griffin

Janis Griffin has over 30 years of DBA/database experience including design, development and implementation of many critical database applications. Before coming to Quest Software, Janis primarily worked in the Telecom/Network Industry, working with both real-time network routing databases and OLTP business to business applications. Janis also held positions as a Principal Architect and Senior Manager, mentoring other DBAs on best practices in database performance tuning.

Chris Skorlinski

Contact: http://blogs.msdn.com/ReplTalk/

Chris Skorlinski has been with Microsoft for 17 years. He is a Support Escalation Engineer at the Microsoft Charlotte NC office specializing in performance tuning and troubleshooting Replication. His is a contributor to SQLShare.com training as well as his own BLOGs on Replication Performance at http://blogs.msdn.com/ReplTalk/.

Matthew Campbell

Contact: http://www.nanaroo.com

Matthew Campbell is a senior consultant with Mariner. He uses business and location intelligence technologies to help clients make better decisions. When he’s not tinkering with technology, he’s spending time with his wife and 3.5 kids (4th due this Fall).

Evan Basalik

I spent 10 years doing RD for a major textile manufacturer. I joined Microsoft 5 years ago and is currently a Support Escalation Engineer on the SQL Server team. I specialize in connectivity, database client code, and Reporting Services. In addition, he has been working on SQL Azure since before it was even called SQL Azure. .

Alejandro Mesa

Over 10 years of development and experience with Microsoft SQL Server. Member of CSSUG and PASS. SQL Server MVP since 2007.

Evan Basalik

I spent 10 years doing RD for a major textile manufacturer. I joined Microsoft 5 years ago and is currently a Support Escalation Engineer on the SQL Server team. I specialize in connectivity, database client code, and Reporting Services. In addition, he has been working on SQL Azure since before it was even called SQL Azure. .

Janis Griffin

Twitter: - DoBoutAnything

LinkedIn: Janis Griffin

Janis Griffin has over 30 years of DBA/database experience including design, development and implementation of many critical database applications. Before coming to Quest Software, Janis primarily worked in the Telecom/Network Industry, working with both real-time network routing databases and OLTP business to business applications. Janis also held positions as a Principal Architect and Senior Manager, mentoring other DBAs on best practices in database performance tuning.

Stuart Ainsworth

Twitter: - @codegumbo

LinkedIn: Stuart Ainsworth

Contact: http://codegumbo.com

Stuart Ainsworth (MA, MEd) manages a team of Service Reliability Engineers for the Gladiator Enterprise Information Security Services section of Profitstars, a division of Jack Henry and Associates. He’s a former DBA, developer, consultant, and public speaking professor. He’s one of the chapter leaders for AtlantaMDF, and a long-time organizer of SQLSaturday’s. He tweets infrequently (@codegumbo) and blogs even less often at http://codegumbo.com.

Jose Chinchilla

Twitter: - SQLJoe

LinkedIn: Jose Chinchilla

Contact: http://www.sqljoe.com

Jose Chinchilla is an experienced data analytics professional with multiple certifications including Microsoft Certified Database Administration (MCSE), Microsoft Certified Data Management and Analytics (MCSE), and Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT). Jose specializes in Data Warehouse and Data Lake Architecture and Development as the Data Analytics Practice Lead at AgileThought, a full-service custom software and analytics consulting firm based in Tampa, FL. Jose is a book author (SQL 2012 Bible, Professional SQL Server 2012 Administration, Exam Ref 70-767 Implementing a SQL Data Warehouse 2016) and leads the Tampa Bay BI Data Analytics PASS Chapter in Tampa, FL.

Wayne Snyder

Twitter: - @sqlwayne

Contact: http://www.msbicentral.com

Wayne Snyder specializes in Business Intelligence solutions and is an international speaker, author, and PASS volunteer. He is a SQL Server MVP and author of the popular Learnkey SQL Server Training series. He is a Distinguished Architect for Mariner (www.mariner-usa.com), who on the weekend sings and plays keyboards for the regional band soundbarrier (www.soundbarrierband.com).

Sponsors

The following is a list of sponsors that helped fund the event:

Back to the SQLSaturday Event List

Back to the home page