SQLBits 2020 Keynote from Edge to Cloud

The keynote for the 2020 SQLBits was delivered by Rohan Kumar on 'Digital Transformation from Edge to Cloud with Azure Data' . This celebrated the tools used to achieve digital transformation at breakneck speed within months and shared the innovations just launching. The Azure Data Strategy includes various tools such as cloud databases, Azure Synapse Analytics and Power BI. These tools enable innovation anywhere, on premises, at the edge and in the cloud. 

The Azure Data Strategy includes many tools, incorporating SQL Server.

Azure SQL Edge delivers intelligence to the edge. Azure SQL Edge is generally available.

Azure Synapse offers a new class of analytics. There were two announcements Public Preview of Azure Synapse Link for Azure Cosmos DB (Synapse SQL Serverless) and Private preview of Power BI performance accelerator for Azure Synapse Analytics.

Also announced was the Public preview of Power BI app for Teams.

A keynote full of ideas for innovation, how to drive a data strategy forward and help the environment in which we live in today

Microsoft Ignite 2020 - digital event

 It is exciting to see  Microsoft Ignite be a digital event experience on September 22-24, 2020. Despite this being a strange year the 

The sessions catalog is here.The catalog contains some amazinf learning experiences. The session Building Digital Resilience with Satya Nadella will be an interesting session to watch. I find Satya Nadella such an inspirational speaker.

Have you completed your event list?

🗹 Register 🗹 Download Digital Swag 🗹 Schedule sessions 🗹 Schedule Fun & Wellness breaks 🗹 Get favorite comfy outfit

SQLBits 2020 goes Virtual

Very excited to here about the change of event from a face to face event to a virtual event. I don't think a year would be complete without SQLBits. With so many virtual tech conferences this year there is so much choice. My number 1 choice is always SQLBits. I have attended and helped at every event since inception. Further information and how to book your tickets: http://sqlbits.com . The event is running 29th September - 3rd October 2020

Microsoft MVP for a third year

During such a life changing time, I am over the moon with joy to be honoured with my third Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) award in recognition of exceptional technical community leadership for Data Platform for 2020-2021. How amazing to receive this. Thank you @MVPAward #MVPBuzz . There are so many amazing MVP's who help the community improve and grow their data platform knowledge. I am passionate about helping share the knowledge and experience I have gained.

This has been a strange period with many events cancelled and turned into virtual events. As an organizer of  Data Relay this year we cancelled our event to make way for SQLBits to move into the only viable slot this year. As things are still ongoing I think it is unlikely any in person conferences will continue this year.  However there are some amazing free online events to attend. My thoughts have been on helping and supporting the local community as well as the data community. 

Introduction of Power BI

More and more people are using Power BI in their everyday roles. Understanding the different deployment types and basics of the product helps with the adoption of self service data and digital migration. Not every organization has the appetite or capability to use Power BI in the cloud.  The cloud and on premises capabilities do have some differences but it is a great place to engage with dashboards and paginated reports.  The presentations I have given covered these areas.  

STEM Role Models - 1 Million Women In STEM

This is women in STEM. They are celebrating 1000 real role models that are kicking ass,smashing stereotypes & breaking barriers. This is an amazing chance to help share women STEM role models for the future generations. Read more and join us http://1mwis.com

#womenintech #womeninmaths #WomenInScience #womeninengineering #AcademicTwitter #WomenWhoCode

Planning a PowerBI Enterprise Deployment

There is an updated version of the Planning a Power BI Enterprise Deployment whitepaper. Deploying Power BI in a large enterprise is a complex task that requires a lot of thought and planning.

The paper includes these areas for consideration.

Section 1: Introduction Section 2: Power BI Usage Scenarios Section 3: Power BI Architectural Choices Section 4: Power BI Licensing and User Management Section 5: Power BI Source Data Considerations Section 6: Power BI Dataset Storage Options Section 7: Power BI Data Refresh and Data Gateway Section 8: Power BI Dataset and Report Development Considerations Section 9: Power BI Collaboration, Sharing and Distribution Section 10: Power BI Administration Section 11: Power BI Security and Data Protection Section 12: Power BI Deprecated Items Section 13: Support, Learning, and Third-Party Tools

There is a summary of some of the changes at https://coatesdatastrategies.com/blog/updated-whitepaper-planning-a-power-bi-enterprise-deployment