SQLBits
SQLBits 8 in Photos
Well what a few days. Everyone I spoke to agreed that SQLBits 8 has been the best SQLBits conference yet. The organisers did a fantastic job, the whole event seemed to run incredibly smoothly and was very well received. I’m sure there’s a certain element of the swan effect, with frantic paddling behind the scenes, but they pulled it off very well indeed. A massive thanks for all of your effort.
For me, this was the first SQLBits conference that I’ve presented at, and I have to say it made it even better for me. I’ve got so much out of SQLBits over the years it’s really nice to be able to give something back and contribute to the event. I thoroughly enjoyed presenting my sessions, and will definitely get a session or two lined up for the next conference.
I took a few photos over the 3 days, and thought I’d share them to give you a feel of the event if you couldn’t make it.
 The venue: Brighton
And we couldn’t have asked for better weather. Just fabulous. |
 The hotel, The Brighton Grand.
The general consensus seems to have been that the best SQLBits conferences so far have been Celtic Manor and Brighton. To me, this is because both were held in hotels, which brings the social and work elements of the conference together. |
 The first day: SQLBits Insight
This is the first time the ‘Insight’ day has been held, and is aimed at more of a non-technical audience; managers, decision makers, architects etc. I thought it was a great success, and was far better attended than I expected, with every seat full and standing room only. Great to see. |
 The panel discussion.
Some really interesting topics covered, with a very experienced panel. Mark Souza (SQL Server General Manager) and Guy Lucchi (CTO for the NHS project at CSC) were especially interesting. If anyone tries telling you that SQL Server doesn’t scale, tell them to get in touch with Guy – the sheer scale of the NHS project defies belief, and is all SQL Server… |
 The Woz!
One of the highlights for me was Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple. He gave a fascinating talk about his history with electronics, and how it has led him to be involved with the Fusion IO team. If you’ve not heard of Fusion IO, go and look them up, they have some awesome kit for insanely fast storage systems. Very impressive. |
 Not just fast storage space…
Love this photo, tweeted by Aaron Bertrand. Is this the world’s most expensive iPhone charger?! |
 The Games.
On Thursday night, the Fusion IO guys put on the best SQLBits party yet. Not only can they give you really impressive IO stats, they can also give you a really impressive hangover… One of the highlights was the bucking bronco. This is Nigel from Barclays Loans getting thrown off with an element of style! He won an X-Box for his troubles though! |
 Woz signed iPod!
I couldn’t resist having a go myself, and won an iPod signed by Steve Wozniak! Result. |
 The mandatory late night greasy spoon. Well, you need something to soak up the free bar!One of my favourite parts of the conference is the people. It’s great to meet up with old colleagues, friends and clients, as well as putting faces to the twitterati and of course meeting some great new people. |
 The SQLCAT team.
Great to have Thomas Kejser and co from the SQL Customer Advisory Team. These guys know their stuff! |
 I have to confess, I did manage to sneak off for a few minutes and enjoy an ice cream on the beach… It would have been rude not to, I’m sure you’ll agree… |
 Friday night fun and games began with a game of giant Connect 4. I’m proud to say I managed a 4 game unbeaten run before having to quit on a high and head off to the speakers and sponsors meal. |
 The speakers and sponsors meal on Friday night |
 My conference room!
I gave two talks on the Saturday, one ‘lightning’ talk and one full hour session, both in this room. The lightning talks were a great success, lots of speakers both experienced and new, presenting a brief 5-15 minute session on something interesting. I was pleasantly surprised by the great turnout to these sessions, I hope they do more at the next SQLBits. |
 It’s not all about learning SQL stuff…
Jamie Thompson did a great job of recording some great impromptu videos which he’s uploaded to YouTube. One of his more amusing and random videos is of Allan Mitchell explaining the finer details of the espresso macchiato. He also recorded a couple of me summarising my two sessions: here and here. |
 In summary, great venue, great conference, great sessions, great people.
See you all at SQLBits 9! |
SQLBits and Microsoft BI conferences
Following the launch of SQL Server 2008 R2 this week, the ever dedicated SQL Bits team are putting on the next installment tomorrow with SQL Bits VI – ‘the Sixth Sets’. The Purple Froggers will of course be there, hopefully in time for a pre-conference bacon butty!
Also worth mentioning is ‘Microsoft Solutions for Business Intelligence’, a seminar that Microsoft are holding at their Reading campus on May 12 2010. Rafal Lukewiecki is speaking, anyone who has seen him before will know what an entertaining and knowlegable presenter he is. Whether you are currently implementing a BI solution or are just ‘BI curious’, a technical developer or a business manager, the day will provide an insight into the direction BI is heading in, and what we can expect in the years to come.
We hope to see you at either/both!
SQL Bits 6 – Registration Open
For anyone interested in SQL Server, the unmissable SQL Bits conference is returning for round six. “SQL Bits – The 6th Sets” is being held in central London for the first time, and unlike previous conferences it will be for one day only on Friday 16th April 2010.
It’s being held as part of the SQL Server 2008 R2 release, also happening that week in London.
Registration is now open, you can find out more at the SQL Bits website.
We highly recommend the event, hope to see you there…
SQLBits III and more…
Next week we’re lucky enough to have a double-whammy of SQL events in the UK, has Christmas come early?…
On Wednesday 10th September, Microsoft are running a live Technet event, SQL Server 2008 Unleashed, at their Reading campus. It looks like it should be a day well spent, with Prem Mehra delivering a keynote speech on large scale SQL Server systems, and other sessions including data warehouse improvements, upgrade paths, and a session focusing on BI. The event is now full, so I hope you’ve already booked your place…
Then, on Saturday 13th September, we’ve got the long awaited SQLBits III event in Hatfield. There are far too many sessions to list here, but with dedicated tracks for BI, Admin, Development and Katmai, there is certainly something for everyone. You can safely assume that I’ll be on the BI track all day!
I’ll be going to both events; I know a few of you regular frog-blogees are also going, so I look forward to meeting you at one or both.
Alex
Team Purple Frog specialise in designing and implementing Microsoft Data Analytics solutions, including Data Warehouses, Cubes, SQL Server, SSIS, ADF, SSAS, Power BI, MDX, DAX, Machine Learning and more.
This is a collection of thoughts, ramblings and ideas that we think would be useful to share.
Authors:
| Alex Whittles (MVP) |  |
| Reiss McSporran |  |
| Jeet Kainth |  |
| Jon Fletcher |  |
| Nick Edwards |  |
| Joe Billingham |  |
