SQLSaturday #548 - Kansas City 2016
Event Date: 09/24/2016 00:00:00
Event Location:
- Rockhurst University
- 1100 Rockhurst Road
- Kansas City, Missouri
This event has completed. All data shown below is from the historical XML public data available.
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Sessions
This is a list of sessions from the event, based on the schedule in the XML files.
Title: SQL Server R Services in SQL 2016
Abstract: One of the most exciting new features of SQL Server 2016 is the integration of the R statistical programming language into the platform with the brand-new SQL Server R Services. In this introductory session we’ll briefly introduce the R language and then look at how to install and administer SQL Server R Services. We’ll start to demonstrate the power of R by showing you how to create and run simple R scripts from within T-SQL. We’ll then discuss some of the powerful open source packages that are available to aid your data analyses. Finally, we’ll go through some examples of how to use R to integrate data analytical methods in real-world situations, and wow your customers with the power of statistics!
Speaker(s):
- Chris Hyde
Track and Room: Advanced Analysis Techniques - ARP 314
Title: Mobile, Paginated, KPIs and Power BI, Oh My! SSRS 2016 Reporting
Abstract: SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) 2016 is getting the biggest update since SQL Server 2005! This session will define and demo each of the SSRS report types are and how they are developed and supported: Mobile, Paginated, KPIs and Power BI.
- Mobile - previously DataZen reports
- Paginated - SSRS RDL reports
- KPIs - new standalone Key Performance Indicators
- Power BI - now Power BI can be managed in SSRS for an on-premises solution All of these report types can now be managed in SSRS for a single reporting solution. We will also look at the new SSRS Web Portal (replacement for Report Manager) and how the development environment will change as well. Sometime will also be spent on how to support all of these report types and the impact it will have on IT. If you have been curious about what has changed with SSRS in SQL Server 2016 and you want to be ahead of the curve, this is the session for you!
Speaker(s):
- Steve Wake
Track and Room: BI Information Delivery - ARP 116
Title: Does it Hurt When I Do This? Performing a SQL Server Health Check
Abstract: How often do you review your SQL Servers for basic security, maintenance, and performance issues? Many of the servers I “inherit” as a managed services provider have quite a few gaping holes. It is not unusual to find databases that are never backed up, servers with constant login failures (is it an attack or a bad connection string?), and servers that need more RAM/CPU/etc. (or sometimes that even have too much!)
Come learn how to use freely available tools from multiple layers of the SQL Server stack to check your servers for basic issues like missing backups and CheckDB as well as for more advanced issues like page life expectancy problems and improper indexing. If you are responsible in any way for a Microsoft SQL Server (DBA, Windows Admin, even a Developer) you will see value in this session!
Speaker(s):
- Andy Galbraith
Track and Room: Enterprise Database Administration Deployment - ARP 210
Title: Troubleshooting Skills for the DBA
Abstract: Watching someone who is good at troubleshooting complex issues is like watching a magician perform on stage. It looks easy but unless you have the skills and know the trick, it can be black magic to you. Many DBAs and technology professionals can easily look in Books Online to find an answer to a technical question or how a SQL Server feature works. But where do you look on how you would become a better DBA at troubleshooting issues? How do you do you identify the root cause of the issue? This session will cover different approaches and skills to be a more efficient problem solver which is critical when your production system is down and time is money. The session will also cover how to create and present the root cause analysis so your team can learn from the mistakes and fix the issue.
Speaker(s):
- Ben DeBow
Track and Room: Professional Development - ARP 116
Title: Introduction to Microsoft Analytics – Turning Data into Intelligent Action
Abstract: Data Science, Azure Machine Learning, and Analytics are all becoming core pieces to the success of every business. As data professionals we need to know how these will affect what we do, and how we can use it to help our business and clients. In this session we will take a look at these hot topics and learn how it helps us turn data into intelligence that will lead to actions that drive profits. We will take a look at how Microsoft’s Cortana suite is the central hub for learning and implementing each of these core pieces. An easy to follow example showing the flow from Data to Data Intelligence and thru to Action will be presented using Cortana Intelligence Suite.
Speaker(s):
- Melody Zacharias
Track and Room: BI Information Delivery - ARP 316
Title: Kerberos Delegation Made Simple
Abstract: Kerberos delegation is often needed for SQL Server Reporting Services security. Many DBAs avoid Kerberos because of the complexity and come up with workarounds that may violate security policies in their shops. They also may not understand why Kerberos delegation is even required. Configuring Kerberos for SSRS can be broken down into three simple steps: SPN registration, setting delegation properties, and application configuration. It’s really not so difficult, and there are a number of tools that can help you troubleshoot when things don’t go as planned. Attend this session to learn why Kerberos is necessary and how to configure and troubleshoot it.
Speaker(s):
- Kathi Kellenberger
Track and Room: Enterprise Database Administration Deployment - ARP 210
Title: SQL Server Databaseology: A Deep Dive Into Database Internals
Abstract: Have you ever taken apart a toaster or an alarm clock just to see how it worked? Ever wondered how that database actually functions at the record level, behind the scenes? SQL Server Databaseology is the study of SQL Server databases and their structures down to the very core of the records themselves. In this session, we will explore some of the deep inner workings of a SQL Server database at the record and page level. You will walk away with a better understanding of how SQL Server stores data and that knowledge will allow you to build better, faster databases.
Speaker(s):
- John Morehouse
Track and Room: Enterprise Database Administration Deployment - ARP 212
Title: A New Approach to Unit and Integration Testing in SSIS
Abstract: Testing is a critical part of the release process and vital to a high-quality data management lifecycle. Unfortunately, Integration Services (SSIS) does not have built-in support for testing and the tools for relational database testing are limited. As a result, most organizations forgo automated testing and focus entirely on manual user testing, which is both expensive and often occurs too late in the process to address all of the issues discovered.
In this session, a new approach to unit testing (focusing on verifying the correctness of individual packages, tasks, or dataflows) and integration testing (focusing on validating that the data produced by an entire sequence of transformations) will be discussed. This development pattern uses metadata authored by analysts to automatically generate testing logic within the corresponding packages or to automatically generate standalone test packages that contain all of the necessary validation logic.
Speaker(s):
- Reeves Smith
Track and Room: BI Platform Architecture, Development Administration - ARP 114
Title: Revenge: The SQL!
Abstract: Pop quiz DBA: Your developers are running rampant in production. Logic, reason, and threats have all failed. You’re on the edge. What do you do? WHAT DO YOU DO?
Hint: You attend Revenge: The SQL!
This session will show you how to “correct” all those bad practices. Everyone logging in as sa? Running huge cursors? Using SELECT * and ad-hoc SQL? Stop them dead, without actually killing them. Ever dropped a table, or database, or WHERE clause? You can prevent that! And if you’re tired of folks ignoring your naming conventions, make them behave with Unicode…and take your revenge!
Revenge: The SQL! is fun and educational and may even have some practical use, but you’ll want to attend simply to indulge your Dark Side. Revenge: The SQL! assumes no liability and is not available in all 50 states. Do not taunt Revenge: The SQL! or Happy Fun Ball.
Speaker(s):
- Rob Volk
Track and Room: Enterprise Database Administration Deployment - ARP 314
Title: Data Migration Using BIML
Abstract: Many companies scale out their databases horizontally, partitioning data by customer (or some other identifier) into separate databases or instances. Sometimes, it becomes important to move that data from one database to another. SQL Server Integration Services is a fantastic tool for ETL, but creating and maintaining dozens or hundreds of data flows by hand is exhaustingly tedious. Instead of doing it the hard way, use the BI Markup Language (BIML) to automate package development. This talk will show how we can use metadata tables and BIML to auto-create SSIS packages to migrate data from one database to another, handling foreign key constraints along the way.
Speaker(s):
- Kevin Feasel
Track and Room: Biml - ARP 114
Title: Pragmatic Power BI: Transforming Data
Abstract: Once we’ve extracted data from a source, we typically need to clean, or otherwise change, that data in preparation for loading it into Power BI. In this session, BI Architect, SQL Server MVP and Analysis Services Maestro Bill Pearson will explore the options Power BI offers to unpivot, filter, sort, aggregate, and perform other needed operations to make these preparations. We’ll employ a dataset containing issues that commonly present real-world challenges, and work through the steps we can take in Power BI to transform the data to a state that works within Power BI. Moreover, we’ll define calculations, and get a glimpse of the M language that underlies transformational processes we construct.
Speaker(s):
- William E Pearson III
Track and Room: BI Platform Architecture, Development Administration - ARP 224
Title: Get Your Optimizer to Give up All Its Secrets
Abstract: You know that execution plans can provide you with vital information to tune a query, but just how does that plan get generated? In this session, we will examine details the query optimization process that are not very well known. We will discuss how SQL Server parses a T-SQL statement then and begins applying rules to make it more efficient. Did you know that SQL Server can be coaxed into outputting hidden structures such as parse trees and memos? We’ll do just that, and then take it a step further with a unique visualization tool that I have created. With a better understanding of how SQL Server optimizes T-SQL (and sometimes doesn’t do it as well as might be hoped), you can write more efficient SQL statements.
Speaker(s):
- Brian Hansen
Track and Room: Enterprise Database Administration Deployment - ARP 316
Title: Introduction to BIML and BimlScript
Abstract: You have a lot of data to move and a lot of pieces to manage. Perhaps you’re a developer and know that SSIS is the best way to move it, but you naturally dislike GUI-based development or you’re just not looking forward to the tedium.
Or perhaps you’re a team lead/architect and are looking for an efficient platform that best utilizes the development skills of your team.
Jeremy Marx will introduce BIML, a language you can quickly pick up to develop SSIS solutions with code, and BIMLscript, intelligently mixing in C# to make your BIML practically build itself.
Jeremy will demonstrate how to build a simple, single-table SSIS package using BIML, then extend it to many tables with just a few lines of code, and finally apply a more robust data flow designed for reuse. You’ll leave with tools and resources to begin coding SSIS solutions faster and more efficiently.
Speaker(s):
- Jeremy Marx
Track and Room: BI Platform Architecture, Development Administration - ARP 314
Title: Top 10 Wait Types Everyone Should Know
Abstract: There are over 800 wait types in SQL Server 2014, but there are only 10 (in my experience) that are seen very often. If you can learn these 10 wait types, what causes them and their solutions, you will be ahead of the performance analysis game. The list of 10 wait types to be discussed came from over 100 consulting engagements with customers, so come find out what they are and improve your performance troubleshooting skills.
Speaker(s):
- Janis Griffin
Track and Room: Enterprise Database Administration Deployment - ARP 218
Title: Biml: Your 3D Printer for SSIS
Abstract: In this demo-heavy session, you will learn about the basic concepts of increasing productivity by creating your SSIS packages using Biml.
We will look into manual Biml code to understand the general idea of Biml, then take it from there and generate a whole staging area from scratch and end with a complete manageable solution to completely maintain your staging process using SQL tables.
Have you ever spent hours fixing your SSIS due to a schema change on the source? Ever wanted to add a “load timestamp” to 370 tables in your staging area but refrained because it would have taken you weeks to do so? If so, this is the session for you!
Speaker(s):
- Ben Weissman
Track and Room: Biml - ARP 114
Title: An Architect’s Strategy for Consistent SSIS with SQL Server 2016
Abstract: Now that you’ve developed solid patterns for SSIS, how do you communicate that to your junior team members? How do you ensure they are following your practices? Let’s look at what SQL Server 2016 has to offer the busy architect. We’ll address some basic recipes for SSIS and how innocuous deviations from that pattern can lead to disastrous results. With fear fresh in your minds, we’ll then cover the great new features like Control Flow Templates. Finally, we’ll look at other systematic approaches for standardizing solution development.
Speaker(s):
- Bill Fellows
Track and Room: Biml - ARP 224
Title: Incrementally Moving to the Cloud Using Biml
Abstract: Many organizations are interested in the cost savings, ease of maintenance, and other benefits of hosting data solutions on Microsoft Azure. For most, moving to the cloud is easier said than done, especially when they have a large existing solution that is being actively used by stakeholders.
In this session, we will examine various strategies for incrementally moving your solution to the cloud. This will include strategies that incorporate the use of: 1) New value-added features and services, such as machine learning and big data 2) Hybrid approaches where portions of your existing solutions can be moved to the cloud without requiring everything to be moved 3) Failover and surge approaches that enable the cloud to supplement on premises resources 4) and much more
Business Intelligence Markup Language (Biml) will be central to our approach, enabling the rapid movement of assets back and forth between on premises and cloud hosting.
All code will be shared with attendees.
Speaker(s):
- Scott Currie
Track and Room: Biml - ARP 114
Title: I’m It – Survival Techniques for the Lone DBA
Abstract: Are you the only database person at your company? Are you both the DBA and the Developer? Being the only data professional in an environment can seem overwhelming, daunting, and darn near impossible sometimes. However, it can also be extremely rewarding and empowering. This session will cover how you can keep your sanity, get stuff done, and still love your job. We’ll cover how I have survived and thrived being a Lone DBA for 15 years and how you can too. When you finish this session, you’ll know what you can do to make your job easier, where to find help, and how to still be able to advance and enrich your career.
Speaker(s):
- Monica Rathbun
Track and Room: Professional Development - ARP 116
Title: Understanding SQL Server 2016 Always Encrypted
Abstract: Always Encrypted is a highly-touted new feature of SQL Server 2016 that promises to make encryption simple to use and transparent to applications while still protecting the data both at rest and in motion, even from high-privilege users such as developers and DBAs. Does that sound too good to be true? It isn’t - Always Encrypted is an incredible feature - but like any new technology, it does have some limitations. In this session, you’ll see how to configure Always Encrypted, and we’ll talk about when you should and shouldn’t use it in your environment.
Speaker(s):
- Ed Leighton-Dick
Track and Room: Application Database Development - ARP 218
Title: Powershell Jumpstart for SQL Server DBAs
Abstract: Powershell can be hard. As a language, it is fairly complex and provides a large array of functionality. Fortunately, you can teach yourself how to use Powershell with tools that are built right into the language. This session will cover some Powershell fundamentals, how you can use Powershell itself to learn about concepts and syntax, and techniques for using Powershell with SQL Server. We will focus on core language patterns that you can use immediately, taking the mystery out of the code and helping you start writing your own Powershell scripts. The key to learning Powershell is using it and this session will give you a launchpad to start building your own tools.
Speaker(s):
- Michael Fal
Track and Room: Enterprise Database Administration Deployment - ARP 224
Title: Disaster Recovery From On Premises to Azure
Abstract: Recovery in the cloud is now easier and more convenient than ever. This session describes some common scenarios and reviews the steps needed to prepare for a disaster with a recovery in Azure. We will focus on the IAAS offerings.
Speaker(s):
- Carlos L Chacon
Track and Room: Enterprise Database Administration Deployment - ARP 212
Title: Dimensional Modeling Design Patterns: Beyond the Basics
Abstract: Dimensional modeling is one of cornerstones of successful Business Intelligence initiatives. Even with new technologies like PowerPivot and Analysis Services Tabular models, you need to represent your organization’s data in a way that is accessible for end users and IT staff alike. An effective dimensional model will also ensure that your data warehouse or data mart will be responsive and capable of accommodating emerging requirements. In this session, we will dive deeper into the art of dimensional modeling. We will look at how and when to create the different types of fact and dimension tables, Including patterns for enriching dimensional data, creating usable hierarchies for efficient navigation, and tracking historical changes. After attending this session you will be able to confidently assess the quality of your organization’s dimensional model and recommend and implement changes. Bring your toughest quandaries to help make this an interactive and engaging session.
Speaker(s):
- Jason Horner
Track and Room: BI Platform Architecture, Development Administration - ARP 212
Title: Essential steps to ensure survivability of your SQL Server database
Abstract: Survivability of data should be the #1 priority for any database administrator. Corruption can happen to any database at any time. How soon corruption is detected and a quick response is key to minimize lost data and recovery in a timely manner. Have a plan ready when it happens, as this is one time you don’t want to “learn on the job”. In addition to daily and monthly maintenance that should be performed, other topics discussed will include e-mail notification when data becomes corrupt and Service Level Agreements.
Speaker(s):
- Andre DuBois
Track and Room: Enterprise Database Administration Deployment - ARP 316
Title: Isolation Levels – Understanding Transaction Temper Tantrums
Abstract: In this session we will review Isolation levels and how they affect applications that run on SQL Server. We will explore what happens when multiple applications accessing the same data use different isolation levels, and how that effects the server as a whole. We will also explore different ways to relieve these tantrums, and make your applications play nice together.
Speaker(s):
- Adam Koehler
Track and Room: Enterprise Database Administration Deployment - ARP 212
Title: Near real time analytics with Azure Stream Analytics
Abstract: As recently as 5 years ago, most companies could not afford the technology or did not possess the in-house skill sets needed to implement real-time analytics. At least not without involving a lot of money, a large development team and some duct tape. However, in the last few years, Microsoft has made this type of technology available at an affordable cost (and without the need of large dev team or duct tape) in the form of Azure Stream Analytics. In this session we will review the architecture of Azure Stream Analytics, a walk through to implement this technology and a live demo with audience participation using PowerBI and Azure SQL Data Warehouse.
Speaker(s):
- Frank Kearney
Track and Room: BI Information Delivery - ARP 316
Title: SSAS 2016 Tabular - Diving into the new features
Abstract: Taking a looking at all the new features of SSAS 2016 Tabular, how to use them effectively and avoid pitfalls. Features include Bi-Directional Cross Filtering, Parallel Partition Processing, Calculated Tables, etc.
Speaker(s):
- Brian Beswick
Track and Room: BI Platform Architecture, Development Administration - ARP 314
Title: Microdata For Microservices
Abstract: Applications continue to get more complicated and distributed as inexpensive hardware becomes more and more ubiquitous. Currently the trend is to lead more towards a microservice paradigm when ti comes to large scale application development.
The missing piece of the puzzle for most companies when it comes to micro services is “How does data fit in?” I hope to answer that question and give you and your organization some strategies on handling massive amounts of data and massive amounts of productivity in a highly concurrent/maintainable way.
Speaker(s):
- Chase Aucoin
Track and Room: Application Database Development - ARP 218
Title: So this is Power BI. What now?
Abstract: Everyone is talking about Power BI. People are starting to use and interact with Power BI. That is a good thing, Power BI is fun! As an organization however, what do I do now and how do I handle a periodically changing beast? Here is what to consider…
Speaker(s):
- George Bryant
Track and Room: BI Platform Architecture, Development Administration - ARP 224
Title: Using SQL Nexus for system health
Abstract: How do you determine a root cause of failure in your database server? What do you do with stack dump data and other logging you may be collecting? What do you do if you don’t have a 3rd party tool to diagnose issues? Take a look at SQL Nexus, the latest tool for SQL Server aimed at making you a Rockstar DBA! We will cover setup, collection and analysis of the data.
Speaker(s):
- Wendy Pastrick
Track and Room: Enterprise Database Administration Deployment - ARP 210
Title: Analyze Visualize SQL Server Data w/ PowerPivot, PowerView Excel
Abstract: Your end users want to analyze data in your data warehouse. They could deal with the learning curve of SSAS but they’d prefer to utilize a familiar application like MS Excel. Welcome PowerPivot, a tool that retrieves data from your data warehouse by combining the power of SSAS models and your SQL Server Data warehouse within the familiar interface of MS Excel. In this presentation well explore SSAS BI Semantic model, PowerView, PowerPivot in Excel.
Speaker(s):
- Wylie Blanchard
Track and Room: Analytics and Visualization - ARP 218
Title: What is new in SQL Server 2016 for DBAs?
Abstract: This session will provide you with high level overview of several of the new features in SQL Server 2016. It will cover Always Encrypted, PolyBase, Stretch Database and more. This is a high level session on advanced features of SQL Server 2016 so we will not be going deep into any one technology. The idea is to give you the taste of the new features of SQL Server 2016 and whatever spikes your interest, you can then go learn and test those features in your Dev environment.
Speaker(s):
- Ameena Lalani
Track and Room: Enterprise Database Administration Deployment - ARP 314
Title: Your Data, in the Cloud
Abstract: We will talk about cloud-only and hybrid cloud features of SQL Server 2016 and Azure. This session will include introductions to technologies such as Azure AlwaysOn AG replicas, Stretch Database, PolyBase, Azure Data Warehouse, HDInsight and Azure Data Lake. We will cover practical uses for features, and discuss migrating existing applications to Azure. We will also touch upon methods that can be used to secure your data in the cloud, too
Speaker(s):
- Dave Walden
Track and Room: Enterprise Database Administration Deployment - ARP 212
Title: Building a Modern Transaction System on SQL Server
Abstract: Developers today face an onslaught of data storage applications. Various NoSQL offerings promise performance, scalability and easy development on commodity boxes. How does one get these benefits in SQL Server? What does a SQL Server application built today using the newest features and best practices look like? This session will discuss client applications, new SQL Server features and application architectures to support a modern, high-throughput transaction environments.
Speaker(s):
- Bill Graziano
Track and Room: Strategy and Architecture - ARP 316
Title: Biml: I got the basics - what’s next?
Abstract: So you have made first contact with Biml and are excited? Good!
You’re wondering, if Biml can do more than just transfer data from SQL table to another? Great!
Because Biml does so much more than just simple SSIS packages. We’ll explore the potential on how to improve your existing packages using BimlScript and LINQ. Topics covered, amongst others, are derived columns, incremental changes and how to handle flat files.
You’ll leave with sample code and hopefully a couple of ideas on how to bring your Biml development to the next level.
Speaker(s):
- Ben Weissman
Track and Room: Biml - ARP 114
Title: Turbo Charged Transaction Logs - Internals and Performance
Abstract: The transaction log is one of the most critical, yet often misunderstood, components of SQL Server. From out of control log growth to very long start-up times, problems with the transaction log can cause a lot of pain. In this session, we’ll look at how the transaction log works and what information is actually stored in the log. You’ll learn how to optimize the log’s performance, determining the right settings for log growth, and what to do when things get out of control.
Speaker(s):
- David Maxwell
Track and Room: Enterprise Database Administration Deployment - ARP 212
Title: WIT: Identifying, Understanding and Combating Gender Bias
Abstract: Gender Bias is something we’re all guilty of. It’s typically unconscious and often stems from long held misperceptions about women and job responsibilities. We’ll learn about the origins of some of these biases and how to identify gender bias when we see it. We’ll discuss some strategies for how both men and women can combat this at work and in our every day lives. This session is about developing positive solutions to a problem that often goes undiscussed.
Speaker(s):
- Rie Irish
Track and Room: Professional Development - ARP 116
Title: Understanding Azure SQL Data Warehouse
Abstract: Microsoft recently announced general availability of Azure SQL Data Warehouse, a massively parallel processing elastic data warehouse platform in the cloud. In this session we will provide an overview of the fundamental technology behind Azure SQL Data Warehouse, talk about its origins, discus its future, compare it to alternative products, and discuss best practices for implementation.
Speaker(s):
- Pierre LaFromboise
Track and Room: BI Platform Architecture, Development Administration - ARP 224
Title: Shaping Your Process to Hire Top Talent
Abstract: Hiring Managers and Employers run into various roadblocks when trying to identify, screen and attract quality candidates to join their teams. It’s frustrating when it takes considerable time to identify strong candidates, and also when you lose a quality candidate throughout the process. In this session, we’ll cover the top 5 reasons we’ve seen clients lose good candidates, provide a 6-step formula for a quality hiring process, highlight some primary motivators of technical candidates, how to write quality job descriptions, and 11 best practices for a strong interview process that both screens and attracts top talent!
Speaker(s):
- Erica Woods
Track and Room: Professional Development - ARP 116
Title: Lock, Block, and Two Smoking CPUs
Abstract: This is a talk on my own experience rewriting the locking mechanism that my company has used. Migrating from a locking table to using sp_getapplock. The ups and downs that I experienced in the transition. Also to talk about how this can be a great streamline and better performing approach to gaining locks that could be used by the application or other queries.
Speaker(s):
- Daniel Maenle
Track and Room: Application Database Development - ARP 218
Title: SQL Server Tips and Tricks from a lazy DBA
Abstract: Good managers believe lazy people don’t accomplish much. Great managers realize that a lot of lazy people get their work done, just more efficiently. The right lazy person will find YOU a better way to accomplish the same amount. In this session, I will show you several of the tips and tricks I have picked up and use to make my life easier. From keyboard shortcuts to some lesser-known SSMS built-in tools, I hope to make your life easier, and make you a lazy DBA, too!
Speaker(s):
- Chuck Hieber
Track and Room: Other - ARP 210
Title: Test Automation: Agile Enablement for DW and BI Teams
Abstract: Test automation is one of several key technical enablement practices that allows teams to be more successful in their agile journeys. While there are lots of test practices and automation tools out there for software development teams to leverage, very few are targeted to data-related development and testing. Agile analytics practitioner Lynn Winterboer and DW/BI architect and developer Cher Fox will share essential agile test foundations and data-focused test automation technologies to help data warehousing and business intelligence teams get a leg up on this important agile practice, including a demo of how this works!
Speaker(s):
- Cher Fox
Track and Room: Other - ARP 210
Speakers
This is a list of speakers from the XML Guidebook records. The details and URLs were valid at the time of the event.
Ben DeBow
Twitter: - bbqsql
LinkedIn: Ben DeBow
Contact: http://www.fortifieddata.com
Ben DeBow is an active member of the technology community. With his strong belief in creating relationships and supporting others, he has actively worked on providing results to clients in order to provide them with the end result that the client may have not even had known they needed. Over the year, Ben has presented at several industry thought leadership events and aspires to educate others on data in order to expand the technological community and provide knowledge to those seeking to discover hidden talents within the field.
As founder and Chief Executive Officer of Fortified Data, Ben DeBow guides the team of Fortified Data under the core values of giving back, maintaining curiosity, driving towards results, being respectful, and
Ben Weissman
Twitter: - bweissman
LinkedIn: Ben Weissman
Ben Weissman has been working with SQL Server since SQL Server 6.5, mainly in the BI/Datawarehousing field. He is a Data Platform MVP, MCSE Data Management and Analytics, and a Certified Data Vault Data Modeler. He is also the first BimlHero Certified Expert in Germany and a co-author of ‘SQL Server Big Data Clusters’ and ‘The Biml Book’. Ben has been involved in more than 150 BI Projects and is always looking for ways to become more productive and make SQL Server even more fun! Together with his team at Solisyon, Ben provides training, implementation and consultancy for SQL/BI developers and data analysts in upper-mid-market companies around the globe.
Ed Leighton-Dick
Twitter: - eleightondick
LinkedIn: Ed Leighton-Dick
Contact: http://www.edleightondick.com
Ed Leighton-Dick is a Microsoft MVP, SQL Server performance and architecture specialist, and Founder/Principal Consultant of Kingfisher Technologies. He is a frequent volunteer with PASS, including current roles as a Regional Mentor, co-leader of I-380 PASS local group, and co-leader of the HA/DR virtual group. He can often be found teaching sessions at local, regional, and national events, including user groups, SQLSaturday, and PASS Summit.
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.
Cher Fox
Twitter: - TheDatanista
LinkedIn: Cher Fox
Contact: http://foxconsulting.co
Cher Fox has 30 years of programming experience, including 25 years in analytics technical writing, and 15 years specializing in DW BI in multiple industries. She has held the corporate positions of Customer Services Manager for an international SW development group, IT Manager for a national risk management company, is currently the CEO/Principal Consultant of Fox Consulting, a Denver based firm specializing in high level management process re-engineering, DW BI consulting.
Ms. Fox is passionate about reverse engineering BI challenges to improve data quality reliability, improving performance in DW/BI processes as well as automating clients out of spreadsheet madness time consuming manual processes.
Wylie Blanchard
Twitter: - WylieBlanchard1
LinkedIn: Wylie Blanchard
Contact: https://WylieBlanchard.com/?utm_source=sqlsaturday.comutm_medium=profileutm_campaign=website
Wylie Blanchard, MCSE is an IT consultant, SQL Server professional and web strategist who enjoys helping people learn how to use technology as a tool to amplify their professional lives. He has 15+ years of experience in the IT Industry and holds several certifications in SQL and Oracle systems. He is a father of twin-girls, a gadget enthusiast and a self-proclaimed pizza connoisseur. Learn more about Wylie at: www.WylieBlanchard.com.
Ben Weissman
Twitter: - bweissman
LinkedIn: Ben Weissman
Ben Weissman has been working with SQL Server since SQL Server 6.5, mainly in the BI/Datawarehousing field. He is a Data Platform MVP, MCSE Data Management and Analytics, and a Certified Data Vault Data Modeler. He is also the first BimlHero Certified Expert in Germany and a co-author of ‘SQL Server Big Data Clusters’ and ‘The Biml Book’. Ben has been involved in more than 150 BI Projects and is always looking for ways to become more productive and make SQL Server even more fun! Together with his team at Solisyon, Ben provides training, implementation and consultancy for SQL/BI developers and data analysts in upper-mid-market companies around the globe.
David Maxwell
Twitter: - https://twitter.com/dmmaxwell
LinkedIn: David Maxwell
Contact: https://dmmaxwell.wordpress.com/
David Maxwell has almost 20 years of experience with SQL Server, with a keen interest in performance tuning, monitoring, and troubleshooting. He has experience in environments as diverse as health care institutions, auto manufacturers, and insurance companies. David has been a frequent presenter at SQLSaturday events around the United States since 2012, as well as a presenter for the DBA Fundamentals Virtual Group, the Performance Virtual Group, 24 Hours of PASS, and the annual PASS Summit. David participates in his local Columbus Ohio PASS Local Group, where he serves on the board of directors as SQLSaturday coordinator.
George Bryant
Twitter: - Azure_George0
LinkedIn: George Bryant
George has over a decade of experience in the Business Intelligence industry and is an active member of the BI community across the Midwest. His knowledge spans multiple industries including, retail, manufacturing, finance, and medical, however recent years has seen him focus on the analytics in sports.
George specializes in BI architecture and end to end development in order to deliver advanced analytics and metrics to multiple organizations across the country. In recent years George has focused on and worked primarily in the Azure cloud, utilizing both established and recent offerings.
Rob Volk
Twitter: - sql_r
LinkedIn: Rob Volk
Contact: http://weblogs.sqlteam.com/robv/
Rob Volk is a SQL Server DBA in the Metro Atlanta area since 2001. He also moderates and answers the forums on SQLTeam.com. While an old-time cranky DBA, he no longer considers quot;business intelligencequot; an oxymoron or quot;the cloudquot; as merely atmospheric moisture, and is delightedly dipping his toes into both of these new oceans, and loves to do things in new and and unusual ways.
Erica Woods
Twitter: - ericawoodsgo
LinkedIn: Erica Woods
Contact: https://www.mssqltips.com/sqlserverauthor/128/erica-woods/
Erica Woods is the Manager of Contractor and Community Relations at Apex Systems, a national IT Staffing and Services firm. Her focus is on program management, training and development, customer relations, community evangelism and corporate social responsibility, communications, marketing and social media. She has 10 years of IT staffing, an MBA from Loyola University, is an Author at MSSQLTips, and runs a group called Techies for Good.
Kevin Feasel
Twitter: - feaselkl
LinkedIn: Kevin Feasel
Contact: http://www.catallaxyservices.com
Kevin Feasel is a Microsoft Data Platform MVP and CTO at Envizage, where he specializes in data analytics with T-SQL and R, forcing Spark clusters to do his bidding, fighting with Kafka, and pulling rabbits out of hats on demand. He is the lead contributor to Curated SQL (https://curatedsql.com), president of the Triangle Area SQL Server Users Group (https://www.meetup.com/tripass), and author of PolyBase Revealed (https://www.apress.com/us/book/9781484254608). A resident of Durham, North Carolina, he can be found cycling the trails along the triangle whenever the weather’s nice enough.
Jeremy Marx
Twitter: - http://twitter.com/jmarx
LinkedIn: Jeremy Marx
Contact: https://www.interworks.com/company/our-team/staff/jeremy-marx
Jeremy Marx is#160;a Data Engineer with InterWorks, specializing in staging data for business intelligence initiatives for clients from nonprofits to Fortune 500 corporations. He also has a decade of experience in SQL Server as a DBA and is President of the Tulsa SQL Server User Group.
Rie Irish
Twitter: - IrishSQL
LinkedIn: Rie Irish
Rie lives with her family just north of Atlanta, Georgia. She worked as a SQL Server DBA, manager director for over 20 years. She’s worked in many industries including the non-profit sector, education, big pharma, and e-commerce. She was awarded the MVP in the Data Platform 3 times beginning in 2017 and gave that up to accept her role as a Senior Program Manager with Microsoft in 2019. She is very involved with the Atlanta MDF User Group, SQLSaturday Atlanta and is co-leader of the PASS Women in Tech virtual group.
Monica Rathbun
Twitter: - SQLEspresso
LinkedIn: Monica Rathbun
Contact: http://www.sqlespresso.com
Monica Rathbun lives in Virginia, is a Microsoft MVP for Data Platform and Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert. She has nearly two decades of experience working with a wide variety of database platforms with a focus on SQL Server and the Microsoft Data Platform. She is a frequent speaker at IT industry conferences on topics including performance tuning and configuration management. She is the Leader of the Hampton Roads SQL Server User Group and a Mid‐Atlantic PASS Regional Mentor. She is passionate about SQL Server and the SQL Server community, doing anything she can to give back. Monica can always be found on Twitter (@sqlespresso) handing out helpful tips. You can find Monica blogging at sqlespresso.com
Andy Galbraith
Twitter: - https://twitter.com/DBA_ANDY
LinkedIn: Andy Galbraith
Contact: http://nebraskasql.blogspot.com/
I’m a forty-something Microsoft SQL Server DBA of 18+ years, a devoted husband, and a father of three young boys (all aged eight and under!) I have been a DBA at a public university, at a major bank, at a healthcare system, and I now work as a consultant with customers across the United States. I write and speak primarily about the tips and tricks that I discover along my SQL Server journey.
Bill Fellows
Twitter: - @billinkc
LinkedIn: Bill Fellows
Contact: http://blog.billfellows.net
Bill Fellows is a SQL Server MVP and has been a database developer for most of his career, with the past 15 years focused on ETL. He is the organizer of Kansas City’s eight SQLSaturdays and a speaker at many other SQLSaturdays, User Groups and the PASS Summit. Bill is the owner of Sterling Data Consulting where he gets to solve interesting data problems.
Scott Currie
Twitter: - @scottcurrie
LinkedIn: Scott Currie
Scott Currie is the founder and CEO of Varigence, Inc. Scott has led the development at Varigence of the Business Intelligence Markup Language (Biml) and Mist IDE. Before founding Varigence, Scott worked at Microsoft for seven years on the .NET Framework, Visual Studio, the C++ compiler, various customer connection initiatives, and internal BI/DW projects.
Kathi Kellenberger
Twitter: - auntkathi
LinkedIn: Kathi Kellenberger
Contact: http://auntkathisql.com
Kathi Kellenberger is the editor of Simple Talk at Redgate and a Data Platform MVP. She has worked with SQL Server for over 20 years and has authored, co-authored, or tech edited over a dozen technical books. Kathi is the co-leader of the PASS Women in Technology Virtual Group and a volunteer at LaunchCode. When Kathi isn’t working, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, cycling, singing, and climbing the stairs of tall buildings. Be sure to check out her courses on Pluralsight.
John Morehouse
Twitter: - SQLrUs
LinkedIn: John Morehouse
Contact: http://www.sqlrus.com
John Morehouse is currently a Consultant with Denny Cherry Associates living in Louisville, Kentucky. With over 2 decades of technical experience in various industries, John now focuses on the Microsoft Data platform and specializes in Microsoft SQL Server. He is honored to be a Microsoft Data Platform MVP, VMWare vExpert, Friend of Red Gate, Sentry One PAC member Community Ambassador, and 2016 Idera Ace. John has a passion around speaking, teaching technical topics, and giving back to the technical community as much as possible. He is a user group leader, SQLSaturday organizer, and former PASS regional mentor. He is also a blogger, avid tweeter, and a frequent speaker at SQLSaturday’s as well as other conferences.
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
Brian Beswick
LinkedIn: Brian Beswick
Contact: http://brianbeswick.com/
Brian is a Managing Consultant at Allegient. He has many years of experience in database architecture and development across multiple versions of SQL Server. He’s an accomplished Database Architect with a specialty in Business Intelligence. He’s particularly strong at understanding and designing solutions for complex requirements.
Frank Kearney
Twitter: - fkearney
LinkedIn: Frank Kearney
Contact: http://frankkearney.wordpress.com/
SQL Server professional with over 15 years experience specializing in Business Intelligence. By day I am the Business Intelligence Service Line Lead for Oakwood Systems. By night I coach girls competitive fastpitch softball.
Ameena Lalani
Twitter: - SQLHands
LinkedIn: Ameena Lalani
Ameena Lalani is a SQL Server veteran and started her journey with SQL Server 2000. She is a Microsoft Certified Solution Associate on SQL Server 2016 and also hold Azure Administrator Associate certification. Ameena works at Microsoft as a Premier Field engineer. She has implemented numerous High Availability and Disaster Recovery solutions at various companies. Ameena loves to share her technical knowledge and speaks at local user groups and SQLSaturday events throughout the United States.
Carlos L Chacon
Twitter: - @CarlosLChacon
LinkedIn: Carlos L Chacon
Contact: http://sqldatapartners.com/blog
Carlos Chacon is the managing partner of SQL Data Partners LLC and co-host of the popular SQL Data Partners Podcast. While getting his start as a typical accidental DBA, Carlos has sat on Microsoft exam review panels, served as regional mentor and chapter leader. He enjoys traveling and has been to four continents, speaks Spanish and can eat his weight in raspberries (not yet proven). He and his family live in Richmond, Virginia.
Andre DuBois
Twitter: - @MtnDBA
Contact: http://MtnDBA.wordpress.com
Andre has been in the IT industry for over 25 years in various positions with the majority working as database administrator, designer and programmer. His experience has been in the financial, travel and education industries.
Adam Koehler
Twitter: - sql_geek
LinkedIn: Adam Koehler
Adam Koehler is the Senior Database Administrator for ScriptPro, LLC. He has worked with SQL Server from 7.0 to 2017 in various roles throughout his career with the last 14 years in a DBA role.
Michael Fal
Twitter: - @Mike_Fal
LinkedIn: Michael Fal
Contact: http://mikefal.net
Mike is a specialist in data management technologies. As a community advocate, public speaker, and blogger, Mike is a practicing thought leader for data and automation. He is passionate about DevOps and data, building platforms to optimize, protect, and use data efficiently.
Since 1999, Mike has been working in the database field, focusing primarily on SQL Server and specializes in automating data solutions to improve the reliability and efficiency of his environments. He has been caught playing trombone in public on more than one occasion.
Jason Horner
Twitter: - jasonhorner
LinkedIn: Jason Horner
Contact: http://blog.jasonhorner.com
Hi, my name is Jason I’m a practice lead at Redapt. I spend most of my day helping clients solve business problems mostly in the Data and Advanced Analytics spaces. Sometimes this involves various and sundry cloud technologies including Azure Data Factory, Azure SQL Data Warehouse, Azure Data Lake Store, Azure Databricks, HDInsight and Azure SQL Database. I’m fluent in several languages including: SQL, C#, Python, and PowerShell.
I’m a Microsoft Certified Master of SQL Server (MCM) and have been recognized for my technical excellence and evangelism efforts by Microsoft by being awarded the Most Valuable Professional (MVP) for the last 5+ years.
In my off hours I like to snowboard, karaoke, ride roller coasters, and play arcade games
Dave Walden
With over 20 years of experience in large, high performance, mission critical environments, Dave brings a wealth of knowledge and experience. While his primary focus is the data platform, Dave has deep expertise in other fields, including Cloud (Private/Public/Hybrid), Storage, Virtualization, Compute and Networking. Dave also has deep experience in the Big Data space, having worked in technologies such as Hadoop, Data Lake, Cosmos DB and MongoDB. Dave is a international speaker on SQL Server related topics, most recently on SQL Server on Linux.
Steve Wake
Twitter: - stevewake
LinkedIn: Steve Wake
Contact: http://blog.wakebi.com
Steve Wake is currently the Principal BI Developer at Brown and Caldwell and has experience in consulting, advertising, media, manufacturing, retail, charities, telecommunications and financial services organizations using the full on-premises Microsoft BI stack. Recent experience with the Azure services: Analysis Services, Logic Apps, Data Factory, Databricks, Snowflake and Power BI. Steve is also very involved in the SQL community, speaking at events around the world.
Chris Hyde
Twitter: - ChrisHyde325
LinkedIn: Chris Hyde
Chris Hyde is a Microsoft Data Platform MVP and Microsoft Certified Trainer based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He works as an independent SQL Server BI and DBA consultant, and is the leader of the Albuquerque PASS local user group. He is also part of the Friends of Redgate program and was a member of the Idera ACE class of 2018. He loves loud music and cricket, but usually not at the same time.
Chuck Hieber
Twitter: - @sqlChuckles
LinkedIn: Chuck Hieber
I am an accidental database administrator with 18 years in IT, the last 5 years as a Developer DBA, including 1 year when I was doing double time as a production DBA and developer DBA. My years of experience include everything from Microsoft Access and ColdFusion to SQL Server and .NET. I am a frequent attendee of SQLSaturdays across the Midwest, and hope to become a frequent speaker.
Reeves Smith
Twitter: - SQLReeves
LinkedIn: Reeves Smith
Contact: http://reevessmith.wordpress.com
Reeves Smith, owner and principal architect of Macer Consulting, is passionate about applying data technologies that empower organizations. Reeves wields his knowledge and experience to lead, design, architect, and teach, working with both data center and business project teams. He approaches every project by first understanding the organization’s business challenges, and then developing a unique approach that targets those business needs accurately and effectively.
Reeves Smith has more than 20 years of experience working on the SQL Server stack. He is a Microsoft Data Platform MVP and Microsoft Certified Master, and regularly delivers technical presentations at international, regional, and local conferences and user groups.
Daniel Maenle
Twitter: - DanTheSQLMan
LinkedIn: Daniel Maenle
I began working with SQL about 8 years ago and really enjoyed the ease of use. One of my favorite aspects is finding bugs in code and reworking to become more efficient.
I have spoken at KC SQLSaturday, KC Sql server users group and Colorado Springs SQLSaturday. I am president for the KC SQL Server Users Group. I love Extended Events and believe in #teamXE
Pierre LaFromboise
Twitter: - https://twitter.com/MrVitaminP
LinkedIn: Pierre LaFromboise
Pierre has worn multiple hats on his journey through technology: everything from a systems administrator for Internet service providers to a web designer to even a .Net developer. Starting with a chance encounter with Ralph Kimball’s Data Warehouse Lifecycle Toolkit, the last decade has been focused on business intelligence and data warehouse design primarily on Microsoft’s SQL Server platform. Currently, he leads one of the largest Microsoft focused BI consulting teams in the St. Louis region.
Chase Aucoin
Contact: http://vinsolutions.com
Chase Aucoin has nearly a decade working several large scale data driven application including FedEx Freight, with over half a billion transactions per day.
Melody Zacharias
Twitter: - SQLMelody
LinkedIn: Melody Zacharias
Contact: http://sqlmelody.com
Melody is the Sr. Microsoft Solutions Manager at Pure and has been in love with data since 1991. She has been sharing her passion with the community in technical sessions and blogs since 2014. She has been a Microsoft MVP since 2016, including winning Rookie of the year for Canada that year. This last year, she was elected to the board of directors for PASS.org, the professional association for SQL Server and was awarded Regional Director by Microsoft. She has co-authored 3 books, including, SQL Server 2019 Administration inside out by Microsoft Press.
Wendy Pastrick
Twitter: - @wendy_dance
Contact: http://wendyverse.blogspot.com
Wendy Pastrick is from Chicago, IL, and for the past 15 years has served as a Database Administrator supporting both development and production environments. Her many years of involvement with PASS include WIT Virtual Chapter and the Chicago Suburban User Group, serving as Regional Mentor, and as a PASS Board member since 2013. Wendy has organized several highly successful SQLSaturday events in Chicago.
Bill Graziano
Twitter: - billgraziano
Bio
Brian Hansen
Twitter: - tf3604
Contact: http://www.tf3604.com
Brian is a database administrator at Children International in Kansas City. He has been working with SQL Server technologies since 1998, including roles in report development, application development and database administration.
Sponsors
The following is a list of sponsors that helped fund the event: