20 years ago, the objection to implementing security on the basis of performance had validity—especially for smaller organizations. Security was a pain in the neck; however, how many of us are still hanging on to some of those old biases. Even worse, some of us IT pros seem to put up objections to doing the most basic security procedures—sending usernames and passwords in unencrypted emails for example. In this episode we hear from Karen Lopez, a long time speaker on data architecture and security about 10 things she thinks those of us with data stewardship responsibilities should consider. The show notes for today's episode can be found at https://sqldatapartners.com/2020/12/31/episode-212-10-things-you-need-to-know-about-data-security/. Have fun on the SQL Trail!

Microsoft released a lengthy white paper on the SolarWinds hack affecting thousands of computers. This is scary stuff, and the details continue to come out slowly and you wonder how it all will play out. Many IT pros rely on SolarWinds for monitoring and in this episode, we discuss the exploit, how mere mortals like us might feel a bit overwhelmed at the prospect, and what our due diligence is in a scenario like this. The show notes for today's episode can be found at https://sqldatapartners.com/2020/12/23/episode-211-solorigate/. Have fun on the SQL Trail!

It was sad news to hear PASS plans to dissolve in January of 2021. So much good has come of the community and it is sad to see it go. In this episode, we explore the why behind the collapse and what we think may emerge in the aftermath. The show notes for today's episode can be found at https://sqldatapartners.com/2020/12/18/episode-210-the-elephant-in-the-room/. Have fun on the SQL Trail!

Finding your first full time job is incredibly difficult—and that was before we were in a worldwide pandemic. In this episode, we discuss some strategies and share some experiences about how we got our first jobs and hopefully give you some inspiration as you try to find your first experience. The show notes for today's episode can be found at https://sqldatapartners.com/2020/12/14/episode-209-career-ready-advice-to-new-graduates/. Have fun on the SQL Trail!

There is a growing list of formats to store data and Graph is one of the newer trends. It is becoming so popular SQL Server has created ways to implement graph structures. Mala Mahadevan joins us in this episode, and we revisit some of the origins of Graph, what it is good at, and why you may not want to rush to move all your data to Graph storage. The show notes for today's episode can be found at https://sqldatapartners.com/2020/10/28/episode-208-sql-server-and-graph-data/. Have fun on the SQL Trail!

SQL Trail 2020 was a success! There was a time I was unconvinced this would be the case. This is not to say we didn't have issues; however, talking with others helped us avoid some common pitfalls and make our event unique. Although we were virtual, I sent all the attendees a conference t-shirt, some swag, and cookies! I wanted everyone to feel some excitement and a connection that I was not sure would be possible in a virtual setting. The show notes for today's episode can be found at https://sqldatapartners.com/2020/10/15/episode-207-sql-trail-2020-retrospective/. Have fun on the SQL Trail!

There are many programming languages available to the modern developer and there are even more options for connecting to the database. In this episode, we talk with Taurius Litvinavicius about his Manning course on connecting .NET Core to SQL Server. The show notes for today's episode can be found at https://sqldatapartners.com/2020/09/16/episode-206-net-core-interactions-with-sql-server. Have fun on the SQL Trail!

Power BI is founded on the idea of self-service BI and Excel is the most common data source in the world. While Power BI can import that information with ease, the data may not be in the best format. In this episode, we discuss areas report creators should consider when building Power BI reports so their reports can perform to their satisfaction and maintenance of the reports will be easier over the long run. The show notes for today's episode can be found at https://sqldatapartners.com/2020/09/03/episode-205-data-modeling-for-power-bi. Have fun on the SQL Trail!

A variety of devices now have the ability to report metrics about status, performance, or other sensor information. Collecting this information and making it useful in business operations can be difficult and the Internet of Things (IoT) provides options for consuming, processing, and reporting. Microsoft has introduced a number of different offerings, and in this episode, we touch on a couple of them and discuss scenarios where one may serve you better than another. The show notes for today's episode can be found at https://sqldatapartners.com/2020/08/19/episode-204-iot-in-azure. Have fun on the SQL Trail!

As we stretch the technology stack in this episode, I rely on my trusty co-hosts to get us through. Kevin and Jean-Georges Perrin do a great job giving us their thoughts on Spark. I hope you will enjoy the episode. The show notes for today's episode can be found at https://sqldatapartners.com/2020/08/06/episode-203-spark-in-action. Have fun on the SQL Trail!