SQLSaturday #960 – Chattanooga – Virtual 2020
Event Date: 06/27/2020 00:00:00
Event Location:
- Chattanooga State Community College
- 4501 Amnicola Highway
- Chattanooga, Tennessee
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: From Stutterer to Speaker: Overcoming Your Fears
Abstract: Are you terrified of public speaking? For 37 years of my life, I was too! That paralyzing fear of public communication held me back and kept me taking from taking advantage of career and community opportunities that came my way - and I’ve heard this story from many. Now, when I speak at community events, I’m often asked how I got into speaking and how I got over my fears of public speaking. In this free-wheeling session I’ll tell you the tips and tricks that I took to heart to go from a kid in speech therapy to somebody that volunteers to speak in front of people and actually enjoys it. Most importantly, I’ll talk about how improved personal and public communication can give your career a massive boost in this time of rapid growth in the data professional realm. I sincerely hope this session helps encourage people to overcome their fears of public and small group speaking - or that you at least enjoy making fun of pictures of 6-year-old me in speech therapy headphones!
Speaker(s):
- Matt Gordon
Track and Room: Professional Development - Room Two
Title: Why Learn Python? A Microsoft DB/ETL/BI Developer’s Answer
Abstract: You’re a Microsoft Developer. C#, MSSQL, SSIS/SSRS, SSMS, and Azure are your tools of choice. Why would you want to learn Python? In this session, I will show you several take-home utilities that use Python. The first hunts through a folder structure full of SSIS packages looking for the one(s) that load(s) a specified table. The second executes the data sources in an SSRS report to identify performance problems and document them in Excel. The third GeoCodes the City/Country names from a SQL table, getting the Lat/Lng so you can use the data in maps. Familiarity with Python is not necessary to use the utilities, but we’re not going to do Hello World either. This is real Python for Microsoft Database, ETL and BI Developers. This all-demo session shows you how to use Python with the .Net CLR, XML, ODBC, Excel, SQL Server, and Web API calls.
Speaker(s):
- Simon Kingaby
Track and Room: BI Platform Architecture, Development Administration - Room Three
Title: Infrastructure for the Data Professional: An Introduction
Abstract: It doesn’t matter if you are a Junior DBA, an accidental DBA or all the way up to a Senior DBA, the infrastructure your SQL Server environment runs on is important. Many among the DBA community came in as developers or perhaps directly into database administration roles it is equally possible that you have been out of the operations world long enough to have fallen out of the loop with what is happening. This session is intended to provide a full stack infrastructure overview so that you can talk shop with your cohorts in operations to resolve issues and maybe even be proactive. We will discuss, in an introductory fashion, hardware, network, storage, virtualization and operating system layers. Additionally, some suggestions as to where to find more information will be provided.
Speaker(s):
- Peter Shore
Track and Room: Enterprise Database Administration Deployment - Room One
Title: What You Need To Know About Processing Tabular Models and Power BI Datasets
Abstract: Ever wondered what’s happening under the covers when processing a tabular model or a Power BI dataset? Why is it taking so much memory? How can I make it run faster? Am I running into a resource bottleneck?
Processing a tabular model can be a very resource-intensive workload and depending on your specific goals (e.g. speed, availability, etc) it may not always be feasible to process the entire model.
In this session, you’ll learn what actually happens and in what order during model processing, the difference between the various processing types, performance considerations and most common resource bottlenecks. We’ll also cover the most common processing patterns and the associated trade-offs.
Keywords: Analysis Services, SSAS, Power BI
Speaker(s):
- Bill Anton
Track and Room: BI Platform Architecture, Development Administration - Room One
Title: Azure-d Availability: SQL Server HA In and To the Cloud
Abstract: Has your manager come to you and said “I expect the SQL Server machines to have zero downtime?” Have you been told to make your environment “Always On” without any guidance (or budget) as to how to do that or what that means? Are you facing pressure to have data in Azure as well? Help is here! This session will walk you through the high availability options in on-premises SQL Server, the high availability options in Azure SQL Database and Managed Instances, and how some or all of those can be combined to enable you to achieve the ambitious goals of your management. Beyond the academic knowledge, we’ll discuss frequently seen scenarios from the field covering exactly how your on-premises environments and Azure services can work together to keep your phone quiet at night.
Speaker(s):
- Matt Gordon
Track and Room: Enterprise Database Administration Deployment - Room Two
Title: Learn How to Master DATETIME Functions Like a Boss in 59.5 Minutes or Less
Abstract:
-
Do you know the dates of the 1st Monday, 2nd Tuesday, 3rd Wednesday, and 4th Thursday of any month between the 22 weeks and 47 weeks of any given year?
-
Do you know the date that Daylight Savings starts in Nashville 4 years from now?
Those two questions may have been a trivial but there is nothing trivial about working within the complexity of dates and times. Trains, Planes, and sometimes at automobile races depend on precise and accurate date-time recordings.
In this demo-heavy presentation, we will answer the following questions and more:
- When to use DATETIME and DATETIME2 and why.
- How do you filter date ranges that will make SQL Server run faster?
- How language and date formatting affect EVERYTHING.
- What’s the best way to work with functions relating to the current date and time.
- What’s the best way to properly use SWITCHOFFSET, TODATETIMEOFFSET and AT TIME ZONE Functions.
So stop wasting time and get on board because it’s about time for the plane to depart.
Speaker(s):
- Peter Doyle
Track and Room: Application Database Development - Room Two
Title: Real-World PowerShell for SQL Administration
Abstract: If you’re like me, you’ve attended PowerShell sessions before. However, much of the practical usage of PS comes with rolling back your sleeves and digging into the nuances of syntax and how to get things done. We are going to focus specifically on using PowerShell within the SQL Server Agent to build out everyday jobs.
In this session, I’m assuming that you know the basics of PowerShell. What we’re going to cover are some of the “gotchas” and nuances that I’ve run into when I’ve been working with the language, and particularly with the SQL Agent’s flavor of PowerShell.
And then we’ll spend the balance of our time looking at real-world, practical scripts that I use pretty much every day. PowerShell is an awesome way to automate so many processes and relieve some of the everyday monotony of SQL administration.
Speaker(s):
- Brian Hansen
Track and Room: Enterprise Database Administration Deployment - Room Three
Title: The Art of Data Classification and Protection
Abstract:
Government regulations are increasing! Data breaches are being reported almost daily. Do you know what type of data is in the database and what data should be classified?
In this session, we will learn why and how to classify the data in our databases. SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) has options to help us classify data. Let’s go into depth and see how to use the Data Discovery and Classification tool along with the Information Protection Policy tool found inside SSMS. Once the data is classified, let’s report on the data we classified. Lastly, let’s set up auditing and find out who is accessing the classified data.
You will leave the session with a clear understanding of how to properly classify, report and audit the newly classified data, allowing us to better adhere to compliance regulations.
Prerequisites: Having an understanding of data privacy regulation is recommended and a desire to learn how to protect data with which you have been entrusted.
Speaker(s):
- Thomas Norman
Track and Room: Enterprise Database Administration Deployment - Room One
Title: Enabling Real Time Analytics through Azure
Abstract: How do we deliver more business value to data hungry customers who constantly want more and faster? How do we enable automation to deliver complex solutions that provide consistent data to empower a self-service BI environment?
I will demonstrate how our analytics team is leveraging Azure and cloud-native technologies to ensure we can meet the demands of our customer base, and in turn, deliver faster and higher volume results.
My presentation will walk through an end-to-end solution – from data acquisition using Azure Logic Apps; data transformation via Azure Data Factory; and ending with reporting in PowerBI.
Speaker(s):
- Ed Pearson
Track and Room: BI Platform Architecture, Development Administration - Room One
Title: Basic Data Modeling for BI Reporting
Abstract: Come learn about the basics of data modeling for your business intelligence and reporting needs. This course will cover several introductory modeling subjects, including:
- Transactional vs. Analytical models
- Kimball / Inman approaches
- The process for designing your data model
- Hierarchies / Parent-child relationships
Speaker(s):
- Michael McKinley
Track and Room: BI Platform Architecture, Development Administration - Room Three
Title: 5 Surprising Lessons Every SQL Server Generalists Has to Learn
Abstract: Maybe you are an accidental DBA who has recently been assigned responsible for the SQL Server, on-premises or in the Azure cloud. Maybe you are a generalist who can keep the SQL Server up and running, but don’t know much about how it works. Or maybe you are just starting in your career and want to learn more. Whatever situation applies to you, there are handful of very important lessons you will have to learn if you administrate a SQL Server. Whether you learn them the easy way, by study or by attending this session, or the hard way, by experiencing these problems first hand, is your choice.
In the session, your speaker takes you through five surprising situations where what you don’t know WILL hurt you. Learn them in advance so you are not surprised by them and remain in control when the eventually occur. You also see demos and overviews of native features within SQL Server that explain these concepts, as well as free community tools that can make your job easy and your life better.
Speaker(s):
- Kevin Kline
Track and Room: Enterprise Database Administration Deployment - Room Four
Title: How to do a Complete SQL Server Assessment
Abstract: Completing a full assessment on a SQL Server is essential to learning about not only the current state of the server, but also any area that may be impacting performance or security. If you have more than one DBA, it is also important to have all the DBA team members review the same areas when completing an assessment. During this session we will discuss when assessments are useful, what should be included in the assessment as well as how to interpret the results. We will use a SQL script that will capture all the data needed. This script will more than 88 data points, including fragmentation of indexes, performance counter values, server and database security information, queries that consume the most CPU time including execution plans as well as many other data points. This session will also cover how to document your findings and recommendations.
Speaker(s):
- Dave Bland
Track and Room: Enterprise Database Administration Deployment - Room Two
Title: Looking “Normal” and Seeing “Stars”: Table Designs Working Together
Abstract: Most database professionals know there are two different database design patterns - normal forms for OLTP databases and star schemas for data warehouses. We tend to discuss these separately. But these two designs actually work together when we create our table schemas.
In this session, we will review the basics of both normal forms and star schemas. We’ll compare and contrast the two designs. We will then discuss how a normalized database design influences a star schema design and vice versa.
By the end of the session, you will better understand how using the two designs together gives you a greater insight to how you use your data throughout its lifecycle.
Speaker(s):
- Deborah Melkin
Track and Room: Application Database Development - Room Four
Title: Turbo-charging SSMS for Beginners
Abstract: This session is for SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) rookies who want to work like veterans. Nathan will share lots of “tips and tricks” he’s learned in his 15 years of SQL Server administration and development.
Speaker(s):
- Nathan Boster
Track and Room: Application Database Development - Room Two
Title: The Psychology of Better Power BI Reporting
Abstract: In this course we identify some common mistakes that we see in the business world using Power BI. We will identify the psychology behind the reporting techniques needed to create powerful and effective reports. The attendee will leave the class ready to write better reports using Power BI in the real world.
Speaker(s):
- Ed Watson
Track and Room: BI Information Delivery - Room Three
Title: A Beginner’s Guide to Becoming a Performance Tuner
Abstract: Are you a relative newcomer to SQL Server and want to get into performance tuning? Or maybe you just want to expand your knowledge of hidden performance killers?
Then join me for a survey of worst practices that kill performance in SQL Server. In this demo-filled session, we will cover a mix of administrative and T-SQL development practices, making this session suitable for DBAs and developers alike! Topics include server configuration mistakes, T-SQL parallelism, and TempDB headaches.
When you leave, you’ll be armed with knowledge and tools to get a jump start on your journey to specializing as a performance tuner.
Speaker(s):
- Andy Yun
Track and Room: Enterprise Database Administration Deployment - Room Four
Title: The function of Windowing Functions
Abstract: In the past, we have all had the need to return a result set and provide information on this with regard to a persons previous or future records. Or, alternatively, you have needed to get a single record for an individual - maybe the first, maybe the last. Doing this without windowing functions is possible but why punish yourself?! Come to learn about general windowing functions that we should all know, as well as some that you may not be aware of! Did you know you can use count(*) as a windowed function in addition to general aggregate?
Speaker(s):
- Kevin Wilkie
Track and Room: Application Database Development - Room Three
Title: Intelligent Insights with Power BI
Abstract: Learn how to use Power BI self-service data preparation capabilities to build upon your existing Power BI content with Artificial Intelligence (AI) capabilities. Learn what AI can do and how it integrates into Power BI using dataflows and Automated Machine Learning (AutoML). Also see some of the enhanced AI visualizations in Power BI like QA, Key Influencers and Decomposition Trees to gain further insights into your data.
Speaker(s):
- Dan Evans
Track and Room: BI Information Delivery - Room Four
Title: Give Power [BI] to the people - securely share your insights
Abstract: Every organization is a data organization and you must collaborate on data to stay on track. Sharing insights from within Power BI will give you an advantage and help steer your organization in the right direction. However there are some pitfalls with sharing - if you don’t know your options and set proper governance, you could be on your way to leaking data to outside your company.
In this session, you will get a short introduction to Power BI and understand where data resides, why and how you should share with your colleagues and outside partners, and a strategy for setting governance on sharing your data. You will walk away with the outline of a governance plan, an understanding of your sharing options, and the sharing settings you should immediately turn off.
Speaker(s):
- Daniel Glenn
Track and Room: BI Information Delivery - Room One
Title: Data Visualization Tools For Entrepreneurs
Abstract: Are you an aspiring entrepreneur who wants to do more with your data? Have you ever wondered what are some of the key differences between different data visualization tools? In this session I will provide a high level overview of different data visualization tools and discuss pros and cons of each. The goal of this session is to provide you with information that will help you determine which tool is best for you!
Speaker(s):
- Sekou Tyler
Track and Room: Analytics and Visualization - Room Four
Title: Achieve Enterprise Scale with Advanced SQL Server Features
Abstract: You have an OLTP database application which sustains a heavy mixed workload with lots of read and write transactions at the same time that it reports data base to a client application. Performance was fine for a long time, but it is not meeting your needs now that it must scale to much higher workloads. What should you do? In this real-world case study, you’ll learn about a series of technologies that provide unprecedented scalability, including data compression, In-Memory OLTP, and clustered-partitioned columnstore indexes. We will walk you through a chronology of the application and database architecture, its changes over time, and the degree of performance improvement achieved with each new SQL Server feature applied. This session will teach you all about planning and implementing advanced SQL Server performance features and how each one impacts your system performance for applications with 100’s or 1000’s of concurrent users.
Speaker(s):
- Kevin Kline
Track and Room: Enterprise Database Administration Deployment - Room Four
Title: SQL Notebooks In-Depth
Abstract: We’re taking a deep dive into SQL Notebooks in Azure Data Studio and their close relations, including PowerShell notebooks and Jupyter Notebooks. Going beyond the basics, we’ll see how to use notebooks for demonstrations, standardized data gathering, and data exploration. We’ll also use PowerShell notebooks to manage Azure resources in a predictable and well-documented manner. If time permits, we’ll take a look at Azure notebooks, a cloud-first variant for data exploration and management.
Speaker(s):
- Eric Flamm
Track and Room: Application Database Development - Room Three
Title: The Countless Benefits of Mentoring
Abstract: Mentoring offers countless benefits to the mentee, mentor and the organization as a whole. In this session, we will map out the benefits to each participant as well as talk about how to find a mentor or how to start a mentorship program in your organization.
Speaker(s):
- Mark Runyon
Track and Room: Professional Development - Room Two
Title: Applying Forensic Accounting Techniques Using SQL and R
Abstract: Forensic accountants and fraud examiners use a range of techniques to uncover fraudulent journal entries and illegal activities. As data professionals, most of us will never unravel a Bernie Madoff scheme, but we can apply these same techniques in our own environments to uncover dirty data. This session will use a combination of SQL Server and R to apply these fraud detection techniques, which include Benford’s Law, outlier analysis, time series analysis, and cohort analysis.
Speaker(s):
- Kevin Feasel
Track and Room: Advanced Analysis Techniques - Room One
Speakers
This is a list of speakers from the XML Guidebook records. The details and URLs were valid at the time of the event.
Peter Shore
Twitter: - pshore73
LinkedIn: Peter Shore
Peter Shore is a seasoned IT professional with over 25 years of experience. He took the accidentally intentional DBA plunge in 2013 and has discovered that he loves to find the stories the data has to tell. Peter is comfortable working with both physical and virtual servers, where he tries to apply best practices to attain performance improvements. He is also adept at bridging the gap between technical and business language in order to bring technology solutions to business needs.
Daniel Glenn
Twitter: - DanielGlenn
LinkedIn: Daniel Glenn
Contact: https://DanielGlenn.com
Daniel is a Microsoft MVP with 15 years’ experience building technology solutions, intranets and extranets. As Practice Leader for the Nashville-based InfoWorks Inc., Daniel helps organizations of all sizes solve complex data challenges by implementing Office 365 and SharePoint without the need of customization and costly investments.
Daniel is passionate about giving back and building the Microsoft technical community. Daniel holds leadership roles in various local user groups, serves as an organizer for Microsoft 365 Nashville, and is a co-host for the popular podcast 365 Message Center Show on https://MessageCenter.Show. You can follow Daniel online at https://DanielGlenn.com and @DanielGlenn on Twitter.
Andy Yun
Twitter: - SQLBek
LinkedIn: Andy Yun
Contact: http://sqlbek.wordpress.com
Andy Yun is a SentryOne Principal Solutions Engineer and a former Microsoft MVP. He has been working with SQL Server for nearly 20 years as both a Database Developer and Administrator. Leveraging knowledge of SQL Server Internals and extensive experience in highly transactional environments, he strives to make T-SQL leaner and meaner. Andy is extremely passionate about passing knowledge onto others, regularly speaking at User Groups, SQLSaturdays, and PASS Summit. Andy is a co-founder of the Chicago SQL Association, co-Chapter Leader of the Chicago Suburban User Group, and part of the Chicago SQLSaturday Organizing Committee.
Peter Doyle
Twitter: - https://twitter.com/thepeterdoyle
LinkedIn: Peter Doyle
On Jan 12, 2019, Peter attended his first SQLSaturday and experienced an engaging and uplifting community that encouraged everyone regularly to give back. That experience resulted in teaching eleven sessions and delivering a SQL Fundamentals pre-conference the last six months of the year. He is passionate about sharing knowledge on building a solid T-SQL foundation without wasting time.
Peter’s journey from minimal Excel knowledge to writing Dynamic SQL all started from watching Youtube videos for three hours every morning before work. Managers took notice of the results and transferred him to the reporting department. A few months later, a co-worker suggested he should learn SQL Server and his world of data has never been the same.
Kevin Kline
Twitter: - kekline
LinkedIn: Kevin Kline
Contact: http://blogs.sentryone.com/author/kevinkline
Kevin Kline is a database and industry expert serving as Principal Program Manager at SentryOne, the industry leading SQL Server database tools vendor. A Microsoft SQL Server MVP since 2003, he is a founder and former president of PASS. Kevin is an author of many books, blogger, columnist, and popular international speaker. Kevin’s best known book is the best-selling SQL in a Nutshell and contributes monthly to Database Trends Applications magazine. He tweets at @kekline and blogs at http://Blogs.SQLSentry.com/Author/KevinKline.
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.
Dan Evans
Twitter: - @danthebiman
LinkedIn: Dan Evans
Dan Evans is a Data and Analytics evangelist with over 25 years’ experience deploying strategic and innovative analytic solutions. He’s focused on Microsoft technologies including Data Platform, Advanced Analytics and Business Applications. Current focuses include SQL Server, Power Suite, Cognitive Services, Artifical Inteligence and other Data Platform related topics in Azure. Dan presents at many local, regional and national events including SQL PASS, DAMA, TDWI, TechEd and Ignite and supports best practices in Microsoft data and analytics across North America.
Michael McKinley
Twitter: - https://twitter.com/Mike_L_McKinley
LinkedIn: Michael McKinley
Contact: https://www.mckinley.consulting/blog
Michael McKinley is the founder of McKinley Consulting. Michael has managed projects and workstreams in consulting for the last five years, in areas including data analytics, change management, operations excellence, and supply chain transformation.
Most recently, Mr. McKinley helped HCA build an enterprise-wide analytics model for their Human Resources Group, providing insights into how to retain and promote top talent. He is currently engaged on his fourth project with HCA.
Eric Flamm
Twitter: - eflamm
LinkedIn: Eric Flamm
Contact: http://blog.flammconsulting.com
Eric Flamm is the principal consultant with Flamm Consulting, which provides Business Intelligence and Data Engineering consulting services to a range of small and medium-sized businesses. His clients have included Pactiv Corp (formerly Tenneco Packaging), Colography Group, Principia Partners, and Tillster, Inc (formerly Snapfinger.com), along with a range of smaller clients and projects.
Eric graduated from Stanford and the Booth School at U of Chicago.
Eric has volunteered with SQLSaturday Atlanta since the first event (SQLSaturday #13 in 2009). He has presented to SQLSaturdays in Atlanta, Chicago, and Columbus (GA), Azure Data Fest (Atlanta), the Atlanta Power BI chapter, and the Kennesaw (GA) Amazon Web Services Meetup group.
Deborah Melkin
Twitter: - dgmelkin
LinkedIn: Deborah Melkin
Contact: http://debthedba.wordpress.com
Deborah Melkin has been working as a database professional with SQL Server for almost 20 years. She spends her days helping programmers with all aspects of database design, queries, performance, and deployment. In 2016, she began her blog, Deb the DBA. Soon after that, she began speaking at SQLSaturdays and user groups. Deborah is a board member of the New England SQL Server User group (NESQL) and was recently named as an IDERA ACE Class of 2020. She also won Speaker Idol at PASS Summit 2019. In her spare time, Deborah can usually be found doing something musical.
Dave Bland
Twitter: - @SQLDave29
LinkedIn: Dave Bland
Contact: https://www.davebland.com
Over 20 years of SQL Server experience that includes being a DBA, BI development and Application development using VB.NET. Dave currently is the Manager of the DBA team at Stericycle. Dave is a Friend of Red-Gate for 2019. He is a frequent presenter at SQLSaturday events and user groups around the country. Has been teaching SQL Server since version 2000 and is the SQL Server instructor at Harper College in Palatine, IL. Current certifications include: • Microsoft Certified Trainer • MCTS: SQL Server 2008, Implementation and Maintenance • MCTS: SQL Server 2008, BI Development and Maintenance • MCSA: SQL Server 2008 • MCSA: SQL Server 2016 • MCSE: SQL Server 2016 - BI • MCDBA: SQL Server 2000 • MCSD • MCSE: Data Management and Analytics
Sekou Tyler
Twitter: - sqlsekou
LinkedIn: Sekou Tyler
Contact: https://sqlsekou.com
I am a data geek who is fascinated with business intelligence and data visualization best practices. I started my IT journey on the helpdesk, transitioned into a SQL Developer and now my focus is storytelling with data. I have experience with several data visualization tools (Microsoft Power BI, Tableau, Amazon Quicksight, Qlik, Yellowfin, and Looker) and have worked with data in different industries, but my primary industry has been healthcare.
My other interests include speaking, mentoring, reading, spending time with my wife and hanging out with friends and family.
Simon Kingaby
Twitter: - SimonKingaby
LinkedIn: Simon Kingaby
Contact: http://omwtm.blog
Simon Kingaby has been moving data for 20 plus years. In the last few years, he’s been moving data from DB2, Oracle, Netezza and SQL Server to Azure SQL and Azure Data Warehouse, using Azure Data Factory, SSIS and SQL. At BMI, he developed a Rules Engine Sync application that uses DB2 QRep messaging and Azure ESB to move DB2 transactions to the cloud in near-real-time. Now at Deloitte on the Big Data team, he is developing ETL processes to move API, SaaS and SQL data into reporting databases on-premise and in the cloud. He is also creating SSRS and Power BI dashboards for the CIO and related Services.
Kevin Kline
Twitter: - kekline
LinkedIn: Kevin Kline
Contact: http://blogs.sentryone.com/author/kevinkline
Kevin Kline is a database and industry expert serving as Principal Program Manager at SentryOne, the industry leading SQL Server database tools vendor. A Microsoft SQL Server MVP since 2003, he is a founder and former president of PASS. Kevin is an author of many books, blogger, columnist, and popular international speaker. Kevin’s best known book is the best-selling SQL in a Nutshell and contributes monthly to Database Trends Applications magazine. He tweets at @kekline and blogs at http://Blogs.SQLSentry.com/Author/KevinKline.
Nathan Boster
Twitter: - twitter.com/nboster
Nathan Boster is a data services developer for Improving - Atlanta.
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.
Ed Watson
Twitter: - http://twitter.com/SQLGator
LinkedIn: Ed Watson
Contact: http://sqlgator.com
Ed Watson is a Principal Data Platform Consultant for Improving Enterprises, a full-stack Microsoft consulting firm in Atlanta. Ed is a Microsoft Data Platform MVP since 2014 and like most children, Ed was born at an early age. Today, Ed specializes in the Business Intelligence stack and enjoys specializing in Power BI immensely. He currently lives in Atlanta and is active with the Atlanta MDF and Atlanta BI user groups and is an organizer for SQLSaturday Atlanta, Atlanta BI, and Pensacola.
Ed Pearson
Twitter: - ecpdata
LinkedIn: Ed Pearson
Expert in data driven analytics to effect operational change in enterprises of all sizes utilizing a variety of data architectures and working with companies of all size to achieve data driven culture.
Long career in IT and data with last 12+ years focused on analytics and reporting on data warehouses and big data stores.
Worked with multi-terrabyte architectures engineering highly performant, real time ETL/ELT workflows. Built largely in cloud enviroments, primarily Azure, and using SQL Server. Experienced with BI for reporting, including PowerBI and Tableau.
Matt Gordon
Twitter: - sqlatspeed
LinkedIn: Matt Gordon
Contact: http://www.sqlatspeed.com
Matt is a Microsoft Data Platform MVP and has worked with SQL Server since 2000. He is the leader of the Lexington, KY PASS local group and a frequent domestic and international community speaker. He’s an IDERA ACE alumnus and 2020 Friend of Redgate. His original data professional role was as a database developer, which quickly evolved into query tuning work that further evolved into being a full-fledged DBA in the healthcare realm. He has supported several critical systems utilizing SQL Server and managed dozens of 24/7/365 SQL Server implementations. He currently utilizes that real world experience as a data platform consultant helping clients design solutions that meet their ever-changing business needs.
Matt Gordon
Twitter: - sqlatspeed
LinkedIn: Matt Gordon
Contact: http://www.sqlatspeed.com
Matt is a Microsoft Data Platform MVP and has worked with SQL Server since 2000. He is the leader of the Lexington, KY PASS local group and a frequent domestic and international community speaker. He’s an IDERA ACE alumnus and 2020 Friend of Redgate. His original data professional role was as a database developer, which quickly evolved into query tuning work that further evolved into being a full-fledged DBA in the healthcare realm. He has supported several critical systems utilizing SQL Server and managed dozens of 24/7/365 SQL Server implementations. He currently utilizes that real world experience as a data platform consultant helping clients design solutions that meet their ever-changing business needs.
Thomas Norman
Twitter: - ArmorDba
LinkedIn: Thomas Norman
Contact: https://armordba.com/
Tom Norman is a Database Architect at KPA with a strong fervor to protect data. He works daily to review and improve data protection methodologies while reviewing governing laws affecting finance, healthcare, and personal data. His areas of expertise include encryption, auditing, data identification, and database object deployment. He is the current leader of the PASS Virtualization Group and Vice President of the TRIPASS user group. You can read his blog at https://armordba.com/ and reach him on twitter at @armordba. Tom speaks at a number of SQLSaturday events and SQL Server user groups.
Bill Anton
Twitter: - https://twitter.com/SQLbyoBI
LinkedIn: Bill Anton
Contact: http://byobi.com/blog/
Bill Anton is an expert in Analysis Services and an experienced data warehouse practitioner. In 2013, he founded Opifex Solutions, a consulting firm with deep expertise in enterprise-scale architecture, design, and performance optimization of Analysis Services and Power BI solutions. He loves eating and spends most of his free time convincing his beloved wife to adopt more golden retrievers.
Mark Runyon
Twitter: - https://twitter.com/aspprogrammer
LinkedIn: Mark Runyon
Contact: http://markrunyon.com
Mark Runyon works as a principal consultant for Improving Atlanta. He focuses on systems architecture and development of enterprise web and mobile applications. As a full stack programmer, he primarily works with Microsoft technologies, leveraging the cloud through Azure and AWS. He is a contributing writer at InformationWeek, The Enterprisers Project and Business2Community.
Kevin Wilkie
Twitter: - Oskaruth
LinkedIn: Kevin Wilkie
Contact: http://sherpaofdata.com
Kevin has 15+ years experience with SQL Server and has worked with the product since version 6.5, although he remembers with distaste the early versions of the product. He started working with SQL Server as an “Accidental” DBA, and has moved up through the ranks as a SQL Developer, a BI Associate, and Production DBA at various parts of his career. Currently, he works as a Lead Data Analyst spreading the gospel of how great data can be to anyone and everyone who will listen.
Sponsors
The following is a list of sponsors that helped fund the event: