SQLSaturday #757 - Sacramento 2018
Event Date: 07/28/2018 00:00:00
Event Location:
- Patrick Hays Learning Center
- 2700 Gateway Oaks Drive, Suite 2600
- Sacramento, California
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Sessions
This is a list of sessions from the event, based on the schedule in the XML files.
Title: Data Wrangling for Reporting Analytics using Power BI
Abstract: In today’s world reporting and analytics are no longer focused exclusively on internal data from transactional systems and the data warehouse. Mashups using data from partners, commercial and public sources are fast becoming the new normal. Do you have a csv file too big to open, is a non-windows format or generates errors on import or opening? Need to determine the quality of a file downloaded from the internet or supplied by another party? In this presentation we will review tools to examine/repair schema issues and explore Power BI Desktop features that provide insights into your datasets along with the M language for building mashups and data models.
Speaker(s):
- Phil Robinson
Track and Room: BI Platform Architecture, Development Administration - CozyRoc (Placer)
Title: Microsoft Azure for SQL Server Professionals - Get your head in the cloud
Abstract: Lift and shift is an utopia many IT professionals have about moving on-prem resources to the cloud. The truth is we must understand how the cloud works so we adjust, design accordingly and deliver to expectations. As SQL DBAs we have options. We can choose between IaaS or PaaS, between SQL in a VM or SQL DB, NoSQL options, Azure Data Warehouse some more. In this session we will dive into these options and understand some key points on the platform through some demos.
You will learn: • Basic elements of Azure cloud ecosystem • VM disks specifics for SQL 2016/2017 • Azure SQL Database and Elastic pools • Azure Data Warehouse and Cosmos DB
Speaker(s):
- Armando Lacerda
Track and Room: Enterprise Database Administration Deployment - Sacramento
Title: The Business Intelligence Side of SQL Server
Abstract: This session focuses on Microsoft’s BI capabilities within SQL Server and its abilities to make advanced easy to use, accessible, insightful, and actionable decisions, all while helping clients increase organizational performance. Through several releases, Microsoft dramatically enhanced the Microsoft BI platform. During this session Plus Consulting, one of Microsoft’s top global BI partners, value from your BI platform. We’ll show you why the combination of Microsoft Office, PowerBI and SQL Server are an excellent solution for creating self-service dashboards, scorecards, KPIs, pivots, data exploration and discovery.will explore the improvements to SQL Server self-service reporting and talk about creating blended
Speaker(s):
- Sayed Saeed
Track and Room: BI Platform Architecture, Development Administration - Attunix (San Francisco)
Title: Disaster Recovery and High Availability in Azure SQL Database
Abstract: While Azure SQL Database does have built-in safety mechanisms, these are not always well understood. Further, a good architect will ensure redundancy even with an already protected system. This session will show how Azure SQL Database is built and maintained by Microsoft to provide protection for your production information. We’ll also go over methods you can employ to add additional protection to your systems. Moving to the cloud and taking advantage of all that it offers doesn’t mean your data is automatically, fully protected. The knowledge from this session will help to ensure a higher degree of safety, faster recovery, and more up-time for your Azure SQL Databases.
Speaker(s):
- Grant Fritchey
Track and Room: Cloud Application Development Deployment - San Joaquin
Title: Data Protection Privacy in the World of Database DevOps
Abstract: Ensuring the ongoing protection of personally identifiable information is mandatory in today’s business, helping you to guard against data breaches, and comply with the GDPR. In a climate where cyber attacks are all too frequent, and data is spread across a growing number of different environments, the challenge of protecting your data can seem daunting. This session will address the implications of the GDPR on database management, and demonstrate a privacy-first approach to controlling and protecting data as it changes and moves through your SQL Server estate. As well as offering guidance for assessing your data estate for GDPR readiness, this session will include some great tools and tips for building data protection and privacy into your development processes, and dispel the myth that database DevOps and compliance can’t go hand in hand. With the right preparation, you can build compliance into your processes, keep sensitive data safe, and deliver value quickly to your end users.
Speaker(s):
- Grant Fritchey
Track and Room: Enterprise Database Administration Deployment - CozyRoc (Placer)
Title: Monitoring Linux Performance for the SQL Server Admin
Abstract: So you’re a SQL Server administrator and you just installed SQL Server on Linux. It’s a whole new world. Don’t fear, it’s just an operating system. It has all the same components Windows has and in this session we’ll show you that. We will look at the Linux operating system architecture and show you where to look for the performance data you’re used to! Further we’ll dive into SQLPAL and how it architecture and internals enables high performance for your SQL Server. By the end of this session you’ll be ready to go back to the office and have a solid understanding of performance monitoring Linux systems and SQL on Linux. We’ll look at the core system components of CPU, Disk, Memory and Networking monitoring techniques for each and look some of the new tools available including new DMVs and DBFS.
Speaker(s):
- Anthony Nocentino
Track and Room: Enterprise Database Administration Deployment - Alameda
Title: Dynamic SQL: Tables, Pivots, Parameters More
Abstract: Dynamic SQL is a scripting language that helps you design flexibility into your code. It allows you to design solutions, pass parameters and allows you build a single query on values passed. Dynamic SQL has both pros and cons to it’s design, but can also be a helpful tool. This presentation will walk through the steps of building dynamic tables, aggregating data in a pivot format and give you the first steps of writing a Dynamic Query. We will also see how to use Dynamic SQL to build multiple databases across servers, alter a single table in multiple servers and add columns to a table, all through the magic of Dynamic SQL.
Speaker(s):
- Steven Tidwell
Track and Room: Application Database Development - CozyRoc (Placer)
Title: Get TurnedOn with AlwaysOn
Abstract: Once upon a time, there were 2 SQL Solutions named High Availability and Disaster Recovery. They had a love hate relationship and could never find a common ground. That is, until SQL Server 2012 brought them together in a love story built for the ages. When the dust settled, a beautiful new feature was born. It was called AlwaysON and brought with it new technologies like availability groups, read-only mirrors and listeners. It was a perfect blend of both HA and DR all wrapped up in one bundle of joy. SQL Server AlwaysOn provides a high-availability and Disaster-recovery solution for SQL Server 2012. Come see and learn some of the new features associated with it, how they work and why this new feature of SQL Server 2012 is so wonderful.
Speaker(s):
- Mitchell Bottel
Track and Room: Enterprise Database Administration Deployment - Alameda
Title: Always Encrypted for Beginners
Abstract: One of the biggest challenges to successful implementation of data encryption has been the back and forth between the application and the database. You have to overcome the obstacle of the application decrypting the data it needs. Microsoft tried to simplify this process when it introduced Always Encrypted (AE) into SQL Server 2016 and Azure SQL Database. In this demo intense session, you will learn about what Always Encrypted is, how it works, and the implications for your environment. By the end you will know how to now easily encrypt columns of data and just as importantly how to unencrypt. You will also learn about the current limitations of the feature and what your options are to work around them.
Speaker(s):
- Monica Rathbun
Track and Room: Application Database Development - Attunix (San Francisco)
Title: CozyRoc: Dynamic Data Flows in SSIS Without Programming
Abstract: This session is an introduction to the unique functionality offered by COZYROC to create integration packages that dynamically map columns at runtime. The standard SSIS Data Flow Task can only use static metadata which is defined when the package is initially designed. The mapping of columns is configured and remains unchanged until the package is re-opened and design changes are made, thus costing maintenance time and effort. Data Flow Task Plus extends the capabilities of the standard Microsoft Data Flow task in that it allows you to set up dynamic data flows, thus eliminating maintenance time and effort. Changes to tables and columns are automatically incorporated at run time without the need to change and redeploy the package. Columns and fields are mapped automatically at run time. Furthermore, the initial design time and effort may be greatly reduced when dealing with huge amounts of data in a large number of files and/or databases.
Speaker(s):
- Diane Schuster
Track and Room: BI Platform Architecture, Development Administration - CozyRoc (Placer)
Title: Delivering Business Value Faster
Abstract: Every team’s goal is to deliver business value faster, the question is how do you do that? If you’re a small shop with 1 or 2 developers then writing script in test and then running them production may be okay, but for a larger team that leads to problems. Using continuous integration (CI) and deployment techniques you can make small incremental changes which then set off a chain of automation steps that validates the new code. After automated validation, the code changes are ready for any additional User Acceptance Testing (UAT) and staging environments. During this session, you will learn how to manage database schema changes in a dynamic environment and deliver code to production by utilizing continuous integration and certain development techniques in minutes with minimal risk.
Speaker(s):
- Adam Anderson
Track and Room: BI Platform Architecture, Development Administration - Sacramento
Title: Big Data - The Biggest Fad of the Decade
Abstract: In this session we will investigate what Big Data really means, and more importantly - what it doesn’t mean. What makes Big Data different than any other data? What makes Big Data challenges different than the same old challenges we had 30 years ago? Together, we will perform an honest, inquisitive, and enlightening investigation of what Big Data really is, it’s origins, and how it evolved over the last decade. We will use history, analytics and logic to dissect the beast, and expose it for what it really is. Why should you care? The Big Data hype is holding you back from doing what is really important with data - getting value out of it. Making sense of it. Vendors, organizations, and architects have become so obsessed with the ‘Big Data’ fad, and too many either lost sight, or no longer have the resources to pursue their real goals. In this session I will plea to your reasoning, critical thinking, and plain common sense, to wake up and shout with me “The Emperor has no cloths!!!”
Speaker(s):
- Ami Levin
Track and Room: Strategy and Architecture - Attunix (San Francisco)
Title: What’s new in SQL Server 2017
Abstract: SQL Server 2017 was the surprise software hit of the year. Here is a list of the features I am going to focus on in this session: Linux Version: I will cover the things you need to know before you decide to move SQL Server into Linux. Graph Tables: I will cover why you may need to add Graph Tables into your database. You will learn the differences between Relational Database Tables and Graph Database Tables. Query Optimization: We will look at the new Intelligent Query Processing options in Query Plans with demos. Resumable Online Index Rebuild: I will show you how to pause/resume ongoing index rebuild with demos. Machine Learning Services: I will demo how to run R Script in SQL Server 2017. We will look at the ways to monitor Machine Learning Services. In-Memory Tables: SQL Server 2017 became a great resource for caching with the new In-Memory features. We will create a NoSql Environment in SQL Server 2017 by using In-Memory tables and JSON functions
Speaker(s):
- Hasan Savran
Track and Room: Professional Development - Sacramento
Title: Why Should I Care About … Partitioned Views?
Abstract: Partitioned tables are awesome and partitioned views are dead, right? Well, sure partitioned views are not sexy but there are still plenty of applications where they are critical. And not necessarily just for standard edition users who aren’t on the new service pack yet. If your data is time stamped, do you see different queries run against older data than new data? Do you with you could segment your data across multiple columns? Do you have data you need to partition horizontally? It’s possible partitioned views may still be for you. Come hear why this is still an important topic long after cargo pants and trucker hats went away … and even after 2016 SP1.
Speaker(s):
- Rick Lowe
Track and Room: Strategy and Architecture - Sacramento
Title: PowerBI your way to understand your SQL Server Estate
Abstract: Would having a good understanding of all the different versions, editions, OS Builds, CPU Memory and database details in a single reporting place be useful? Many of my previous clients have found that just to be the case…. Well now you can too and it’s totally FREE
Come Discover what really exists in your environments Visualise valuable details about your SQL Servers [Do you even know about all of them] Claim your FREE PowerBI SQL Server Estate Report Every Attendee can sign-up for their free report Useful for Capacity Planning, Migrations, Consolidations and Licensing and more. Extend the report to add additional reports and information In this session, we showcase a sample PowerBI report, giving you a flavour of what we can report on using PowerBI. This is just the beginning of the journey, if you want to know more then ask Neil about his SQL Server Health-Checks that expand on these reports.
Speaker(s):
- Neil Hambly
Track and Room: BI Information Delivery - Alameda
Title: Insights with massive data ingestion and Power BI
Abstract: We all love Power BI and its abilities to show data insights through its interface. But Power BI has its limits when it comes to massive data ingestion and near real time dashboards. In this presentation we will evaluate some out of the box solutions to render metrics and KPIs from massive loads that extrapolates Power BI limits.
You will learn:
• Power BI limits for accommodate data refresh and streaming datasets • Develop strategies for continuous and discrete data capturing for Power BI • Azure services options for near real time dashboards Power BI • SQL Server features to source discrete dataset for Power BI
Speaker(s):
- Armando Lacerda
Track and Room: BI Platform Architecture, Development Administration - Sacramento
Title: Lightning Talks!
Abstract: Join Glenn Burnett, Dan Hess, Saru Radhakrishnan and Alex Purice for four 15-minute presentations!
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Glenn Burnett: SQL Server Audit Quick-Start!
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Dan Hess: A good look at SQL Operations Studio: How to manage SQL Server across multiple platforms (Windows, macOS and Linux).
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Saru Radhakrishnan: A quick overview of migrating on-prem SQL Server environments to the Microsoft Azure cloud platform. An easy-to-understand presentation of various approaches to guide the migration!
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Alex Purice: Temporal Tables Overview!
Speaker(s):
- Glenn Burnett
Track and Room: Enterprise Database Administration Deployment - Alameda
Title: Reporting Services 2016: New Features Smart Migration Strategy
Abstract: With the release of SQL Server 2016, Reporting Services finally got some love! In this session, you will get an overview of some of the new features and functionality: A look at the new Report Manager interface, Mobile reports, KPIs and the new control we have over the placement of parameters. We will also look at the new Mobile Report Publisher app and see how easy it is to create mobile reports. The session will cover tips for a smart migration to 2016.
The session will then dive into how to use the data in the ReportServer database tables to see which reports in your environment are being used and how well they are performing. With this understanding you can determine which reports, data sets and data sources to migrate to a new 2016 installation. Come see how to leverage PowerShell to extract the reports from the database, instead of having to download them from Report Manager, to facilitate an easy migration to a new SQL Server 2016 Reporting Services implementation.
Speaker(s):
- Ted Stathakis
Track and Room: BI Platform Architecture, Development Administration - Attunix (San Francisco)
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: Enterprise Database Administration Deployment - Attunix (San Francisco)
Title: Attunix: Azure Intelligent Services
Abstract: Discover the ways Azure transforms AI and Predictive Analytics making it easier and more accessible through services like Azure Machine Learning and pre-built Cognitive Services, while also supporting custom development and deep-learning.
Speaker(s):
- Amie Mason
Track and Room: Cloud Application Development Deployment - Attunix (San Francisco)
Title: A Look Inside SQL Server Distribution Statistics
Abstract: Where do the estimated rowcount values come from? We’ll look inside SQL Server’s distribution statistics to see how they are used to come up with the estimates. We’ll explore some of the new metadata that let you see more details about the statistics and the data changes. We’ll see how and when SQL Server’s distribution statistics are updated and what control you have over the updating of statistics.
Speaker(s):
- Kalen Delaney
Track and Room: Advanced Analysis Techniques - Alameda
Title: How To Talk To Your Storage Admin
Abstract: A general discussion about storage and how it affects DBA’s. We will discuss how to monitor for performance as well. We will also discuss what DBA’s need to consider when talking to their storage administrators.
Speaker(s):
- Marsha Pierce
Track and Room: Enterprise Database Administration Deployment - CozyRoc (Placer)
Title: SQL Query 101
Abstract: A beginner level session to cover table creation and various usage of data types. Query techniques to cover single and multiple tables covering inner, left, right, and outer joins. Usage of functions like Max, Min, Sum, and Having in queries. We will wrap up the session with some items to beware of.
Speaker(s):
- Robert Muir
Track and Room: Application Database Development - Sacramento
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 - San Joaquin
Title: Soft skills for Geeks: Don’t be a flat boxer
Abstract: If you like being the surly IT geek who lives in a dark office and gets fed pizza under the door (i.e. a flat boxer) this session is NOT for you. However, if promotion, appreciation for what you do, and the adoration of your peers and management are appealing to you, you might want to participate in this one.
Speaker(s):
- Randy Knight
Track and Room: Professional Development - San Joaquin
Title: Introduction to SQL Server Integration Services, what’s new in SSIS
Abstract: We will have an introduction to ETL, ETL software landscape and Microsoft SQL Server Integration Services a.k.a. SSIS in greater details. We will also discuss what’s new in SSIS 2016. For the hands-on section, we will create a simple SSIS package and test-drive some selected features, like Balance Data Distributor, Control parts, and Expression Task.
Speaker(s):
- Steve Rezhener
Track and Room: Information Delivery - Alameda
Title: CSV files and ETL- The Good, Bad, and Ugly
Abstract: CSV files come in a variety of shapes and sizes. If you’ve been working with them for a while, you will know that not all CSV’s are the same. We will cover methods to perform ETL on CSV’s file utilizing T-SQL and PowerShell. The Good- The simple, easy to load structure. The Bad- It looks good in excel, but I’m having difficulty loading it. The Ugly- You want me to load what monthly? That file it too big and it’s structure changes too often.
Speaker(s):
- Eric Freeman
Track and Room: Application Database Development - CozyRoc (Placer)
Title: Power BI Dashboard - Creating End to End Solutions
Abstract: We will be discussing the lifecycle of a Power BI Dashboard beginning from Accessing data, Data preparation, and cleansing, consuming the data for reports and deploying the reports to Power BI services, configuring security and making the Dashboards available to end users.
Speaker(s):
- Suresh Datla
Track and Room: BI Platform Architecture, Development Administration - San Joaquin
Title: Real-World Data Movement and Orchestration Patterns with Azure Data Factory
Abstract: In this session, we will start with an overview of Azure Data Factory V2 concepts, then show you how you can use metadata to quickly build scalable serverless pipelines to move data from disparate data sources including On-Premises and Platform As A Service. Next, we will look at how to integrate the solution using continuous integration and deployment techniques. Finally, we will look at how to schedule, monitor and log our solution. Whether you are just getting started with Azure Data Factory or looking to make your current data factory robust and enterprise-ready this session will take you to the next level.
Speaker(s):
- Jason Horner
Track and Room: Cloud Application Development Deployment - Attunix (San Francisco)
Title: Containers - You Better Get on Board
Abstract: Containers are taking over, changing the way systems are developed and deployed…and that’s NOT hyperbole. Just imagine if you could deploy SQL Server or even your whole application stack in just minutes. You can do that, leveraging containers! In this session, we’ll get your started on your container journey learning container fundamentals in Docker, then look at some common container scenarios and introduce deployment automation with Kubernetes.
In this session we’ll look at Container Fundamentals with Docker Common Container Scenarios Automation with Kubernetes
Speaker(s):
- Anthony Nocentino
Track and Room: Enterprise Database Administration Deployment - San Joaquin
Title: Azure Basics for the DBA
Abstract: It’s not a question on whether or not the landscape for the common DBA is changing. Without a doubt, it is. Azure offers up a new world of possibilities for DBA’s and we should all strive to learn it. In this session we’ll cover some basic knowledge and terminology of Azure as well as how easy it is to incorporate Azure into your environment. We will stand up a new Azure virtual machine as well as a setup SQL DB. You will see how easy it is to accomplish this. This new found knowledge will help propel your career into the new landscape.
Speaker(s):
- John Morehouse
Track and Room: Cloud Application Development Deployment - San Joaquin
Title: Mom Rules for Managing Enterprise Database Environments
Abstract: Have you ever looked at an environment and wondered how the heck they ever got anything done because it is so disorganized? The first thing I do for newly inherited environments is implement some organization and do some database clean up. Not only does organization make the environment easier to maintain, it can help speed up trouble shooting. Good organization can even help with some performance issues.
Speaker(s):
- Marsha Pierce
Track and Room: Enterprise Database Administration Deployment - CozyRoc (Placer)
Speakers
This is a list of speakers from the XML Guidebook records. The details and URLs were valid at the time of the event.
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
Ted Stathakis
Twitter: - fishheadted
LinkedIn: Ted Stathakis
Contact: http://fishheadted.com
Ted Stathakis is a data professional passionate about the presentation layer. He has worked with SQL Server since the turn of the century, has mastered Reporting Services since he began working with it when it was released in 2004, and is super excited about Mobile Reports and Power BI. Ted hosts the local PASS user group, is the organizer of SQLSaturday Orange County and presented on SSRS at Summit in 2019. As a 40+ year veteran of the restaurant industry, he is been an advisor, speaker and panelist at national trade shows. When he isn’t consulting on Business Intelligence projects he can be found presenting at a conference, enjoying some live music or teaching kids, both young and old, fishing and archery at a nearby Scout camp.
Steve Rezhener
Twitter: - SteveRezhener
LinkedIn: Steve Rezhener
Contact: https://www.datasteve.com
Steve Rezhener is a database professional most enthusiastic about Microsoft BI stack. He started his IT career trying to outsmart Excel using VBA, moved to VB 6.0, VB.NET, C# and suddenly got addicted to SQL Server 2005 and related tools. His lunch menu for 10+ years consisted of SSIS SSRS with some occasional SSAS for breakfast. Steve is super excited about the innovation baked into AWS, Azure, PowerBI, and SQL Server 2017. Steve is a holder of relics such as DBA Microsoft certifications on SQL Server 2005 and SQL Server 2008. He is an organizer of SQLSaturday in Los Angeles (#SQLSatLA), LA Data Platform (aka SQLMalibu) and is an SQLSaturday speaker. When he isn’t dealing with data, he fixes a kitchen, plays an XBOX and enjoys his kids.
Anthony Nocentino
Twitter: - nocentino
LinkedIn: Anthony Nocentino
Contact: http://www.centinosystems.com/blog/
Anthony Nocentino is the founder and President of Centino Systems as well as a Pluralsight author, Microsoft Data Platform MVP, Linux expert, and corporate problem solver. Anthony designs solutions, deploys the technology, and provides expertise on business system performance, architecture, and security. Anthony has a Bachelors and Masters in Computer Science with research publications in high performance/low latency data access algorithms and spatial database systems.
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
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
Glenn Burnett
Twitter: - SQLGB
Glenn Burnett is a Sacramento, California-based SQL Server professional working as a database administrator. A technical professional for over 25 years, he’s worked with SQL Server for over 20 years. Active in the Professional Association for SQL Server (PASS) and a board member of the Sacramento SQL Server User Group, he was recognized by PASS as an Outstanding Volunteer in December, 2013. He has spoken at Sacramento SQL Server User Group meetings and SQLSaturday events in Sacramento and Silicon Valley, and was the primary organizer for SQLSaturday 312 in Sacramento and assistant organizer for SQLSaturday 222, 399, 540, 650, 757 and 885, also in Sacramento. You can find him on Twitter as @SQLGB.
Sayed Saeed
LinkedIn: Sayed Saeed
Contact: http://www.plusconsulting.com/blog/
Sayed Saeed is the Business Intelligence Practice Director at Plus Consulting. He is highly proficient in developing targeted BI solutions for clients and offers solid knowledge and experience in BI products that help organizations better leverage information to effectively manage business. He is a Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert in Business Intelligence as well as Oracle Certified Professional.
Armando Lacerda
Twitter: - arlacerda
LinkedIn: Armando Lacerda
Over 30 years in the computing field as a developer and system integrator; over 20 years working with SQL Server since version 6; cross platform experience with Oracle and IBM SQL/DS and DB2; Microsoft Certified Trainer for over 20 years.
Marsha Pierce
Twitter: - MarshaPierceDBA
LinkedIn: Marsha Pierce
Marsha Pierce lives in Nashville, TN. She studied Computer Science, Mathematics, and French at Belmont University. She has 23 years of experience as a DBA, which means she has broken and fixed a lot of stuff. Before joining Pure Storage, she was an architect at HCA and Asurion. She is passionate about DevOps, Storage, Performance Tuning, and Standardization.
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.
Kalen Delaney
Twitter: - sqlqueen
Kalen Delaney is a Data Platform MVP who has worked with SQL Server for more than 32 years. She has provided performance consulting services and taught advanced courses on SQL Server to thousands of people and organizations. In addition to her courseware development, Kalen has been writing about SQL Server for decades. She is the primary author of SQL Server Internals and the Inside SQL Server series. Kalen is also one of the primary editors for the Red Gate SQL Server Stairways tutorials.
Amie Mason
LinkedIn: Amie Mason
Consultant with a demonstrated history of working with clients across multiple verticals to leverage their data to improve reporting and decision making in their business. Able to quickly assess business requirements and skilled in report design and predictive analytics enabling a direct translation from those requirements to business impact. Broad background includes experience in the public sector, survey design, and grassroots campaign management.
Hasan Savran
Twitter: - Savranweb
LinkedIn: Hasan Savran
Contact: http://h-savran.blogspot.com/
Hasan Savran is a BI Architect at Progressive Insurance Company. He spends his days architecting cutting edge business solutions by using the latest Web and Database technologies. He is a Microsoft Data Platform MVP, Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer. Hasan has spoken at many SQLSaturdays, Code Camps and User groups. He is an active member of the HTML5 and WebAssembly W3C groups. He likes to write about SQL, CosmosDB, C#, and Front End development on his blog.
Ami Levin
Twitter: - ami_levin
LinkedIn: Ami Levin
Contact: http://www.amilevin.com
Ami is a data nerd that has been designing, consulting, training, writing, and speaking about SQL, relational modeling, and data platform architecture for more than 20 years. Currently works as a freelance consultant, senior SQL instructor at O’Reilly Media, as an author for PluralSight and LinkedIn Learning.
Neil Hambly
Twitter: - Neil_Hambly
LinkedIn: Neil Hambly
Contact: http://dataidol.com/NeilHambly
Neil Hambly is a SQL Server consultant, founder and consultant at Datamovements, a Gold Microsoft Data Analytics Consulting company. Neil has 20+ years in a variety of SQL Server roles and is an MCT. He is a regular presenter (200+ events) at user groups, and PASS events, including PASS Summit and SQLSaturday, and many UK events (SQLBits, SQLRelay). Neil is the leader of PASS London (UK), a Professional Development VC, a Melissa Data MVP, and a SQL Cruise Technical Lead, who loves Guinness, whisky, and dancing.
Steven Tidwell
Twitter: - @SQLCodeMonkey
LinkedIn: Steven Tidwell
Contact: https://www.sqlcodemonkey.com
I am currently the Technical Lead for Client custom projects. I have been writing SQL Code starting in SQL 7. Over the years I have put on many hats, DBA, Developer, Web Developer, C#, VB.NET, Cold Fusion and Java. But at the end of the day, I prefer to write SQL. Local Chapter Leader for the South Montgomery County SQL Server User Group in Montgomery County, Texas.
Phil Robinson
Phil Robinson is an independent consultant focused on developing Business Intelligence solutions using Microsoft Reporting Services and Power BI. He is founder of the San Diego SQL Business Intelligence Group and co-founder of SQLSaturday – San Diego.
Mitchell Bottel
Twitter: - @SacSQLDude
Contact: http://www.mitchespitch.com
Mitchell Bottel is a senior database administrator with Sutter Physician Services, owner of Innovative IT Consulting and President of the Sacramento SQL Sevrer User Group. He has 14 years of IT experience, focusing on SQL Server for the last ten years with an emphasis on database administration and high availability solutions. He has authored blog posts on the SQLServerPerformance website and written White Papers on using Dynamic Management Views.
Rick Lowe
Twitter: - DataFLowe
LinkedIn: Rick Lowe
Contact: http://dataflowe.wordpress.com/
Rick is a Microsoft Certified Master with more than 20 years of SQL Server experience in a variety of roles. He currently lives in Washington state and works as an independent consultant providing remote performance DBA and performance tuning services for clients in the USA and Canada. His first exposure to SQL Server was as a database developer, but over time he became more and more interested in how the database engine operated… eventually specializing more on performance issues than code.
Rick will work with all things relational, but most enjoys helping smaller companies get better performance from MSSQL, as well as smoothing over relationships between DBA and development teams.
Diane Schuster
LinkedIn: Diane Schuster
Diane has worked with COZYROC since 2012. She has attended numerous SQLSaturdays to shine the light on the time-saving and capability-extending components and tasks that COZYROC offers in it’s SSIS+ library. Without even having a background in databases or SQL Server, Diane successfully configures packages in live demonstrations that use COZYROC components and tasks. She believes that, if the toolkit is this easy to use for a novice, then just imagine what a SQL Server expert can do with it!
In Diane’s data networking days, Diane performed a variety of development-related and customer-facing roles for IBM, Lucent Technologies, North Carolina State University and Connectware.
Eric Freeman
Twitter: - sqlelf
LinkedIn: Eric Freeman
Contact: http://sqlelf.blogspot.com/
Eric Freeman works as a Lead Business Intelligence Architect at John Burns Real Estate Consulting. He has 15+ years of experience working with Microsoft SQL Server and holds an MCTS in Business Intelligence with a strong emphasis on Performance Tuning, ETL and Data Warehousing. Former President of the Sacramento SQL Server User Group, and actively speaks at SQL Server events.
Robert Muir
Robert works as a Database Developer with the San Joaquin County Office of Education. Optimizing queries and procedures is his focus now. He has been developing software applications with .NET and other languages for over 20 years.
Anthony Nocentino
Twitter: - nocentino
LinkedIn: Anthony Nocentino
Contact: http://www.centinosystems.com/blog/
Anthony Nocentino is the founder and President of Centino Systems as well as a Pluralsight author, Microsoft Data Platform MVP, Linux expert, and corporate problem solver. Anthony designs solutions, deploys the technology, and provides expertise on business system performance, architecture, and security. Anthony has a Bachelors and Masters in Computer Science with research publications in high performance/low latency data access algorithms and spatial database systems.
Adam Anderson
Twitter: - sqlpioneer
LinkedIn: Adam Anderson
Contact: https://sqlpioneer.wordpress.com/
Adam Anderson is a Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate in Database Development, and an ICAgile Certified Agile and DevOps professional with over 2 decades of experience in IT processes. Currently, he works at American AgCredit in Santa Rosa California on their software integrations team.
Grant Fritchey
Twitter: - @gfritchey
LinkedIn: Grant Fritchey
Contact: http://scarydba.com
Grant Fritchey is a Data Platform MVP with over 20 years’ experience in IT, including time spent in support and development. He has worked with SQL Server since 6.0 back in 1995. He has also developed in VB, VB.NET, C#, and Java. Grant has written books for Apress and Simple-Talk. Grant presents at conferences and user groups, large and small, all over the world. He joined Redgate Software as a product evangelist in January 2011.
Marsha Pierce
Twitter: - MarshaPierceDBA
LinkedIn: Marsha Pierce
Marsha Pierce lives in Nashville, TN. She studied Computer Science, Mathematics, and French at Belmont University. She has 23 years of experience as a DBA, which means she has broken and fixed a lot of stuff. Before joining Pure Storage, she was an architect at HCA and Asurion. She is passionate about DevOps, Storage, Performance Tuning, and Standardization.
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.
Armando Lacerda
Twitter: - arlacerda
LinkedIn: Armando Lacerda
Over 30 years in the computing field as a developer and system integrator; over 20 years working with SQL Server since version 6; cross platform experience with Oracle and IBM SQL/DS and DB2; Microsoft Certified Trainer for over 20 years.
Suresh Datla
LinkedIn: Suresh Datla
Worked on the Microsoft stack for 19 years now. Built successful Data Analytics Practices before. Currently focused on Data Platform, Data Analytics, Power BI and ML. I do Dashboard in a day sessions at Irvine MTC once every month. I also, conduct OC power BI user group to build a strong Power BI Community. Worked with SQL Server product since it was version 7 and Power BI since its inception.
Randy Knight
Twitter: - randy_knight
LinkedIn: Randy Knight
Contact: http://www.sqlsolutionsgroup.com/blog
Randy Knight is a data professional who has worked with Microsoft technology for over 25 years, focusing on SQL Server since 1997. He has worked in a variety of settings, including 6 years as a database architect for match.com. In 2010, he founded SQL Server Solutions Group LLC, a boutique SQL Server consultancy. A Microsoft Certified Master (MCM) in SQL Server, he speaks often at events all over the country including the PASS Summit, SQLIntersections, and numerous SQLSaturday and User Groups.
Grant Fritchey
Twitter: - @gfritchey
LinkedIn: Grant Fritchey
Contact: http://scarydba.com
Grant Fritchey is a Data Platform MVP with over 20 years’ experience in IT, including time spent in support and development. He has worked with SQL Server since 6.0 back in 1995. He has also developed in VB, VB.NET, C#, and Java. Grant has written books for Apress and Simple-Talk. Grant presents at conferences and user groups, large and small, all over the world. He joined Redgate Software as a product evangelist in January 2011.
Sponsors
The following is a list of sponsors that helped fund the event: