Conferences are on the uptick as COVID restrictions lift and we are excited for the upcoming year. After Eugene's return from SQLBits my thoughts revolved around what I wanted to learn this year at conferences and how you and I can go about picking the content we want to know more this year. Join us for a quick discussion on deciding what to learn as conference season picks up. The show notes and video for today's episode can be found at https://sqldatapartners.com/2022/03/16/episode-243-choosing-what-content-to-focus-on. Have fun on the SQL Trail!

SQL Server 2012 is end of life later this year.  I feel too young for this to be happening—it seems like only last year SQL Server 2005 came out.  In this episode of the podcast, we talk about upgrading your SQL Server.  We share some concepts, gotchas, war stories, situations we want to avoid, how to access license keys in Azure, and a few other migration nuggets we’ve learned along the way. The show notes and video for today's episode can be found at https://sqldatapartners.com/2022/02/02/episode-242-upgrading-your-sql-server. Have fun on the SQL Trail!

Do you find you need to keep SQL Server tables in sync across multiple systems?  After several projects involving syncing data, we return to the topic of Azure SQL Data Sync with some real world examples of why we choose this option and how it worked for us.  While there are some limitations, the feature is very stable, and we have had minimal, minor issues with it.  Ideal for environments where latency is flexible, Azure SQL Data Sync could be a very helpful feature to get your data moved. The show notes and video can be found at https://sqldatapartners.com/2022/01/20/episode-241-replicating-data-with-azure-sql-data-sync. Have fun on the SQL Trail!

Azure Synapse Link is a feature coming to SQL Server in the next release. While there are few details on what the new feature will look like, we discuss how this same service is implemented in other Azure services. The show notes and video for this episode can found at https://sqldatapartners.com/2022/01/05/episode-240-azure-synapse-link. Have fun on the SQL Trail!

SQL Server 2022 has been announced and we are excited to start unpacking the new features. For this episode, we start with a very interesting feature--Bi-directional HA/DR to Azure SQL. We have the ability to failover to the cloud now—the trick is, getting back is not as simple. Now, the on-premises version will be compatible with Azure SQL Managed Instance, and this will give move options for DR—and make setting it up even easier. The show notes and video for this episode can be found at https://sqldatapartners.com/2021/12/15/episode-239-bi-directional-ha-dr-to-azure-sql. Have fun on the SQL Trail!

Part 2 Power BI has been described as a “self-service” BI platform. While that may bring to mind an image of easy-peasy, plug-and-play, there are a few things most organizations will want to address before turning users loose with Power BI. In this conversation, Brandon Michals helps us take a look at three areas of consideration: your company, your people, and your data. Spending the time to think through and take the appropriate action in each of these areas will go a long way towards helping your organization achieve a successful Power BI implementation. The show notes and video for this episode can be found at https://sqldatapartners.com/2021/12/01/episodes-237-and-238-getting-started-with-power-bi. Have fun on the SQL Trail!

Part 1 Power BI has been described as a “self-service” BI platform. While that may bring to mind an image of easy-peasy, plug-and-play, there are a few things most organizations will want to address before turning users loose with Power BI. In this conversation, Brandon Michals helps us take a look at three areas of consideration: your company, your people, and your data. Spending the time to think through and take the appropriate action in each of these areas will go a long way towards helping your organization achieve a successful Power BI implementation. The show notes and video for this episode can be found at https://sqldatapartners.com/2021/12/01/episodes-237-and-238-getting-started-with-power-bi. Have fun on the SQL Trail!

Building your own scripts to monitor SQL Server seems like a very reasonable thing to do. We’re smart folks and SQL Server is what we do for a living—we should be able to figure this out. Upon further inspection, we found it was easier for us to focus on what we do—database administration, and let the developers focus on what they do—build software. This episode explores our choice of SolarWinds SQL Sentry as the monitoring standard for SQL Data Partners. The show notes for today's episode can be found at https://sqldatapartners.com/2021/11/17/episode-236-database-monitoring-with-sql-sentry. Have fun on the SQL Trail!

Live Podcast! We decided it was time to try and get together in person and reconnect. As we did, we pulled out the microphone and started recording. As a result, we break the single topic mode this week and opened it up for a Q&A session. We touch on database monitoring, memory grants, what we miss about being in an office, and even SharePoint (Gasp!). The show notes for this episode can be found at https://sqldatapartners.com/2021/11/03/episode-235-sql-trail-2021-in-person-qa. Have fun on the SQL Trail!

As a data pro, you are negotiating and problem-solving all the time, often without knowing it. Your success as a professional as your company evolves its Data Platform depends on how well you can communicate and influence. It’s a scary thought, but your ability to negotiate with the business directly often determines if your projects get funded. Those skills are arguably as important as your T-SQL. In this episode, we chat with Blythe Morrow about strategies you can incorporate to better communicate with those around you. The show notes for this episode can be found at https://sqldatapartners.com/2021/10/06/episode-234-communication-tips-for-the-it-pro/. Have fun on the SQL Trail!