Welcome

Passionately curious about Data, Databases and Systems Complexity. Data is ubiquitous, the database universe is dichotomous (structured and unstructured), expanding and complex. Find my Database Research at SQLToolkit.co.uk . Microsoft Data Platform MVP

"The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing" Einstein



Friday, 29 November 2024

The year ahead for SQL Server 2025

In the session SQL Server 2025 An enterprise AI-ready database platform the  core features for the next version of SQL Server were shared being based on

  • AI built-in
  • Best in class security and performance
  • Fabric and Azure Arc connected. 

SQL Server 2025 is built from the ground to cloud with AI  ready applications. SQL Server 2025 is to have 

  • Vector store - native vector data type and DiskANN index
  • Model Management - model interfaces ground to cloud using REST
  • Embeddings built-in - text chunking and built-in embedding generation
  • Simple semantic searching - vector distance and vector search
  • Framework integration - LangChain, Semantic Kernel, Entity Framework Core









All changes made for SQL will be deployed across all deployment options and all versions. 




It is integrated with Microsoft Fabric



The year ahead for SQL Server: Ground to cloud to fabric

Responsible AI is embedded and available on premises or in the cloud.

There is now SQL database in Fabric



Azure Arc extends to Azure services to SQL Server anywhere to streamline migrations to Azure. 



Watch more about the latest release from Joe Sack, Erin Stellato and Bob Ward. So many innovations in this version of SQL Serer it changes what options are available for use.

Thursday, 28 November 2024

Microsoft Ignite 2024 keynote

The Microsoft Ignite keynote in Chicago November 2004 looked at adoption, extensibility and ROI. Copilot is the UI for AI. There were many announcements as expected for Microsoft Ignite

Copilot Action - regain focus time and simplify you workday Read More: aka.ms/CopilotActions

Agents in Microsoft 365 Read more:  aka.ms/AgentsinM365

Copilot studio - Autonomous agents and thirty Party Agents. Importantly Copilot Analytics including 

  • Copilot Dashboard
  • Business Impact Report
  • Advanced Insights

to measure AI impact on your business. This impact report will help drive valuable insight to gain business value. It shows how AI is driving revolutionary productivity and changing business.

Read More: aka.ms/CopilotAnalytics



It was exciting to see the announcement of SQL Server 2025


Apply for the preview for the enterprise AI-ready database

Fabric Databases Accelerate app innovation with an AI-powered data platform with Fabric Databases .

It is a new class of cloud databases


















New centralized management and governance controls and risk and safety evaluation for images with Azure AI Foundry announced




hashtag

These governance controls are in private preview
  • create AI reports to govern AI apps and models
  • view and manage key subscription details
  • simplified setup of hubs, projects and resources

The breadth of Azure AI model was shown with their being offerings from a wide collection of frontier and open models.  Being around 1800 models currently.

Risk and safety evaluations for images to assess AI models and apps for harmful outputs. Looking to 
  • Understand frequency and severity of risks
  • Streamline risk assessment processes
  • Measure impact of targets mitigations
Data Governance also took a central conference place because in the age of AI, Data Governance takes on an even more critical, central & important role. Watch the session 'Secure and govern your data estate with Microsoft Purview' BRK317 that covers the new security and governance capabilities. 

Successful AI transformation starts with a security-first approach. The new capabilities announced 

Prevent data oversharing and detect insider risks in Microsoft 365 Copilot
  • Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) for AI, formerly known as Microsoft Purview AI Hub, is now generally available
  • Microsoft Purview DLP for Microsoft 365 Copilot, now in public preview. It enables processing files based on their sensitivity label to restrict Microsoft 365
  • Detect and investigate risky AI usage for Microsoft Purview Insider Risk Management and Communication Compliance in public preview
Secure and govern custom AI with new capabilities in Purview, Defender, and Azure AI
  • Public preview of Microsoft Purview DSPM for AI, Insider Risk Management, and data compliance controls for agents  in Copilot Studio
  • AI-Security Posture Management (AI-SPM) in Defender for Cloud is now generally available
  • New centralized management and governance controls and risk and safety evaluation for Azure AI Foundry 
And last but not least  AI regulations preparation, such as the EU AI Act with new capabilities in Purview Compliance Manager and Azure AI.
  • There are 4 new generally available AI compliance assessment  including the EU AI Act, NIST AI RMF, ISO 42001, and ISO 23894. 
  • AI reports in Azure AI in private preview


Wednesday, 20 November 2024

Microsoft MVPs and Regional RDs wall 2024

I am really excited to be on the Microsoft MVPs and Regional RDs wall at Microsoft Ignite.

There are lots of amazing announcements this year for Microsoft Fabric, SQL Server, AI Copilot and Microsoft Purview to name but a few. The Microsoft Ignite 2024 Book of News is full of innovations to enable businesses to be AI Ready





Microsoft Ignite 2024 Book of News

Microsoft Ignite is the annual event that showcases technological updates and changes the way people and organizations approach work.

There were an array of  new products and key updates and the ones tha interest me the most are the  growth of Microsoft Copilot,  SQL Server 2025, Fabric databases and governance and responsible AI features.

The book of news is here.





Monday, 18 November 2024

Data Toboggan Winter Edition 2025

We are excited to announce that the winter edition, our main Data Toboggan conference,  has Call for Speakers open. This will be our 5th year so will be really exciting for us to reach that milestone.
This is our multi-track 12 hours conference to cover a many time zones.  Help us make this a really special event. 

Event Date: Saturday 25 January 2025  

If you  want to watch recordings from our summer conference or others,  Data Toboggan Cool Runnings 2024 now has 68 videos on You Tube




 

Thursday, 7 November 2024

PASS 24 Data Community Summit

This week it is PASS 24 Data Community Summit







The Microsoft Keynote was entitled, Fuel AI innovation with Azure Databases.

The session abstract: Data is the fuel for innovation, driving the development of transformative AI applications. In this keynote, join Shireesh and the Microsoft engineering team as they explore harnessing the power of data across the Azure databases portfolio to drive ground breaking advancements. Take your first step on the journey with vector search, multi-agent apps and more and learn to unlock new patterns like retrieval augmented generation (RAG).  Explore the latest database innovations in SQL Server, Azure SQL, Azure Cosmos DB, Azure Database for PostgreSQL and Azure Database for MySQL that enhance operational efficiency, deliver personalized user experiences, and revolutionize the way we interact with technology. 

There were some great announcements 

Announcing

  • SSMS 21 and Copilot in SSMS
  • Azure SQL Database Hyperscale enhancements (Storage up to 128TB (GA) Log throughput rate up to 150 MB per second (Preview) , Continuous priming (Preview))

Preview

  • Next gen general purpose on Azure SQL Managed Instance (32TB of storage, 500 DBs, Lower storage latency, improved storage importance, customisable I/O performance)
  • Migration Assessment from SQL Server enabled by Azure Arc
  • Mirroring in Fabric for Azure SQL Database and Azure Cosmos DB
  • In-database embedding generation
  • Vector Indexing and search in Azure Cosmos DB for NoSQL
  • Native vector type and functions in Azure SQL Database (Available now)
  • DiskANN indexing in Azure Database for PostgreSQL

Generally available

  • Bi-directional disaster recovery with link feature in Azure SQL Managed Instance
  • Flat and quantized flat vector indexes in Azure Cosmos DB for NoSQL
  • Serverless auto-pause delay to 15 min
  • Azure AI extension
  • Hyperscale elastic pools
  • Azure Cosmos DB for MongoDB enhancements

Tuesday, 5 November 2024

Data Toboggan Alpine Coaster 2024

Alpine Coaster is our shorter 3 time zone end of year unconference event. You know we like to mix things up with this version of Data Toboggan, so this time:

Sessions are around 20 minutes long.

There are three session editions to join. APAC 7:30 8:40 | EMEA 12:30 - 1:40 | AMER 5:30 - 6:10 GMT, join one or all

Please note, there will be no recordings taken on the day. We feel that kinda takes the pressure off a little for this short session more interactive type of event.

Register now for the Alpine Coaster event: Friday 8 November 2024

APAC Edition - https://www.meetup.com/data-toboggan/events/304285946/

EMEA Edition - https://www.meetup.com/data-toboggan/events/304285953/

AMER Edition - https://www.meetup.com/data-toboggan/events/304285956/