Event Location:
Peter Kiewit Lodge
28500 W Park Hwy
Ashland, Nebraska
Abstract:
Despite the wealth of analytical technologies available today, 65% of fraud at public companies is detected through tips, management review, or simple accidents. Forensic Analytics combine human intuition and leading-edge technologies, and can provide superior detection methods to significantly improve the detection and investigation of illegal or unethical activities. In this session, we explore Forensic Analytics: a set of techniques we can use to uncover irregularities in financial data. We also gain an understanding of goals of Forensic Analytics: to enable us to find out how — and why — these irregularities exist, and to find out their source(s) — especially when fraudulent activity is suspected. We discuss guiding principles that are key to isolating data anomalies, and outline a standard, repeatable process to Forensic Analytics. Throughout the session, we view examples of how we can employ Power BI to drive Forensic Analytics via various tests and reviews.
Speaker(s): William E Pearson III,
Abstract:
Few subjects in Microsoft SQL Server inspire the same amount of Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt (FUD) as Extended Events. Many DBA's continue to use Profiler and SQL Trace even though they have been deprecated for years. Why is this? Extended Events started out in SQL Server 2008 with no user interface and only a few voices in the community documenting the features as they found them. Since then it has blossomed into a full feature of SQL Server and an amazingly low-impact replacement for Profiler and Trace. Come learn how to get started - the basics of sessions, events, actions, targets, packages, and more. We will look at some base scenarios where Extended Events can be very useful as well as considering a few gotchas along the way. You may never go back to Profiler again!
Speaker(s): Andy Galbraith,
Abstract:
Once we’ve extracted data from a source, we typically need to clean, or otherwise change, that data in preparation for loading it into Power BI. In this session, BI Architect, SQL Server MVP and Analysis Services Maestro Bill Pearson will explore the options Power BI offers to unpivot, filter, sort, aggregate, and perform other needed operations to make these preparations. We’ll employ a dataset containing issues that commonly present real-world challenges, and work through the steps we can take in Power BI to transform the data to a state that works within Power BI. Moreover, we’ll define calculations, and get a glimpse of the M language that underlies transformational processes we construct.
Speaker(s): William E Pearson III,
Abstract:
You know that execution plans can provide you with vital information to tune a query, but just how does that plan get generated? In this session, we will examine details the query optimization process that are not very well known. We will discuss how SQL Server parses a T-SQL statement then and begins applying rules to make it more efficient. Did you know that SQL Server can be coaxed into outputting hidden structures such as parse trees and memos? We#39;ll do just that, and then take it a step further with a unique visualization tool that I have created. With a better understanding of how SQL Server optimizes T-SQL (and sometimes doesn#39;t do it as well as might be hoped), you can write more efficient SQL statements.
Speaker(s): Brian Hansen,
Abstract:
A low cost place to park your JSON data is in Microsoft's Azure Data Lake, a cloud repository for a variety of data. But how do you query this data? You can use Hadoop stack tools like Hive. Or why not put your SQL skills to use and write USQL? USQL is an ANSI SQL like language for querying data in the Azure Data Lake. After I give a quick demonstration as to how you can read a CSV file, I will demonstrate how to use a custom Extractor to read JSON files. We will look at the C# code already built to read these files. I will demonstrate how to deploy this code. And finally we will look at how to actually extract the data. Data is expanding at a dizzying speed. It is helpful to have up to date tools to handle new kinds of data.
Speaker(s): Russel Loski,
Abstract:
There are over 800 wait types in SQL Server 2014, but there are only 10 (in my experience) that are seen very often. If you can learn these 10 wait types, what causes them and their solutions, you will be ahead of the performance analysis game. The list of 10 wait types to be discussed came from over 100 consulting engagements with customers, so come find out what they are and improve your performance troubleshooting skills.
Speaker(s): Janis Griffin,
Abstract:
This session is designed for you, the experienced SSIS developer who's been hearing about the Business Intelligence Markup Language, Biml, but has not taken the plunge. We will cover what the Biml language is and how using your familiar development tools, SQL Server Data Tools, SSDT, and BIDS Helper, you will be able to streamline the creation of SSIS packages. We will work through progressively more complex examples from a "Hello World" equivalent to a to a full fledged, audited, truncate and reload pattern based on an external metadata repository. You will leave this session armed with the knowledge of how Biml can help you achieve a consistent and reproducible approach for the creation of SSIS solutions.
Speaker(s): Bill Fellows,
Abstract:
Get ready to play SQL Buzzword Bingo with the subject matter being SQL Install, Migration Configuration. Are you preparing to move a database from one SQL Server to another? Whether it's your first SQL install, a SQL Server Upgrade or changing from physical to virtual, there is a lot to consider. In some areas of the setup, you get only one chance to "get it right." Come to this session and find out all about the process - and have some fun while you're at it. First one to hit BINGO! Are you preparing to move a database from one SQL Server to another? Whether it's your first SQL install, a SQL Server Upgrade or changing from physical to virtual, there is a lot to consider. In some areas of the setup, you get only one chance to "get it right." Come to this session and find out all about the process - and have some fun while you're at it. First one to hit BINGO! will win a fun and unique prize.
Speaker(s): Mindy Curnutt,
Abstract:
You develop an SSIS package to load a flat file. You meticulously identify each of the columns and map the columns to the target table. Your package runs fine for months. Then the file format changes. It is back to the drawing board, selecting each column, setting the data types (type, length, etc.). In many cases, you actually have the file structure in an electronic form. Wouldn't it be nice to simply regenerate your SSIS package using that metadata? In this session I will demonstrate how to automate the generation of SSIS packages using the open source BIML and BIMLScript. I will generate a set of packages to load all of the tables from one database into a new database using the results of an Information Schema view. I will then demonstrate how to use this technique to handle changes in file structure. Using a simple Excel workbook I will represent the structure of a flat file and its relationship to a staging table. From this metadata, I will generate an SSIS package tha
Speaker(s): Russel Loski,
Abstract:
As DBAs, we are asked all sorts of impossible questions. Who dropped that important table last month? Why was everything slow last week? Who made that user a sysadmin? You’d have to be a mind reader to know the answers to some of those, right? Not necessarily! SQL Server can help you find information about these and other common problems with its default trace and system_health Extended Events session, but you have to know how to collect and interpret the data they provide. In this session, we’ll explore what system_health and the default trace are, what information they contain, and how to use them to find the answers you’re searching for.
Speaker(s): Ed Leighton-Dick,
Abstract:
Oh! ASYNC_NETWORK_IO just went through the roof! What just happened? Ever wonder how common tasks such as how servers communicate, how cross-subnet Availability Group failover to your disaster recovery site work, or why ‘they’ always recommend a dedicated network adapter for your WSFC? De-mystifying the networking underneath your databases makes you a stronger database professional. This deep dive technical session will cover many of the critical aspects of enterprise-level networking and how your database servers communicate with the rest of the world. Topics and demonstrations include networking technologies, quality of service, VLANs, routing, monitoring, and trending. By the end of this interactive session, you will be able to check your own networks for their performance and know how to converse with the networking admins to help improve the overall performance.
Speaker(s): Cody Chapman,
Abstract:
ORMs - oh how I LOVE them! As a consultant when I see them in play at a client I go KACHIIINNNNGGGG!! :-D Seriously though, they can provide some substantial benefits for coding throughput. But if you don't Read The Fine Manual and do some things right and avoid some major gotchas you will fall prey to one of my favorite Guruisms: "Anything that allows developers to slap code together more quickly is inversely proportional to the performance and scalability you will get from that code"! Although this talk is based on Entity Framework, most ORMs suffer from a lot of the same flaws.
Speaker(s): Kevin Boles,
Abstract:
You’ve just spent the last few days in deep technical training. You have learned many new techniques and best practices that you can take back to the office and use in your work to gain immediate improvements. But if you’re only interested in applying a handful of specific, tactical advantages, then you’ll miss out on the most exciting trend in the IT industry – our data-driven future. Share insights and inspirations in this talk with Kevin Kline, a founder and president emeritus of the Professional Association for SQL Server, to discover the broader trends that are pushing data professionals into greater prominence and strategies you can use to become the most respected, influential, and credible member of your organization’s technical staff.
Speaker(s): Kevin Kline,
Abstract:
We’ve all seen the recent news stories about companies whose data has been stolen by hackers. What was once a rare event has become all too common, and companies large and small are at risk. While it isn’t always possible to prevent intrusions, you can reduce the risk by encrypting your data. In this presentation, I’ll show you the four ways that SQL Server provides to encrypt data: hashes, cell-level encryption, database-level encryption (also known as transparent data encryption), and backup encryption. We’ll also discuss the keys required for each type of encryption and discuss how to protect the keys themselves.
Speaker(s): Ed Leighton-Dick,
Abstract:
“The application is too slow”...”reports are taking too long to load”… “my queries are running slow”. These are complaints we have all heard from our end users, and as we know, it is always the database that is the issue. In this session we will talk about different things to look for when assessing performance of queries. We will examine execution plans at a high level to see where problems may lie and look at some few different “gotchas” that can affect query performance. We will talk about indexes and statistics – what are they, what to index, and how they can help query performance.
Speaker(s): Phillip Podhradsky,
Abstract:
If you’ve been a SQL Server DBA or Dev for any length of time, you’ve probably heard of various options that you can set at the instance- or database-level that can impact performance. Do you know what they are, when to use them, or what they do? And what about all of those trace flags? There are so many of them and many are undocumented. What gives? In this session, you’ll learn about a variety of ways to speed up IO, adjust memory, change plan and buffer cache behavior, debug the SQL query optimizer, and how to punch SQL Server in the face!
Speaker(s): Kevin Kline,
Abstract:
This course will focus on the fundamentals of strategic SQL Server index design and creation. Terms that will be covered and clarified: clustered index, non-clustered index, uniqueness, covering index, fill-factor, scan, seek, key lookup, and fragmentation. This is a beginning level course for those who have always found indexes confusing and somewhat elusive. Lots of valuable information will be provided in a short amount of time.
Speaker(s): Mindy Curnutt,
Abstract:
Application servers or services running on a cloud platform now have many options for their database engines. We discuss the various alternatives for providing Microsoft SQL Server services to cloud-based applications, including Microsoft Azure, Amazon AWS, and Google GCE. Why would you choose one approach over the other? What are the trade-offs on cost, performance, availability, security, ongoing maintenance, required skill sets, etc.
Speaker(s): Tim Plas,
Abstract:
This session is an introduction to the spatial features in SQL Server. In this session, you will learn how to create, procure and leverage spatial data. You will be made aware of tools you can use to integrate your own spatial data with a variety of public data sources such as the Census Bureau, National Weather Service, etc. Functions and T-SQL commands related to spatial data analysis will be demonstrated. We will end the session by using the geometry data type to actually mimic a bitmapped picture using SQL (that's the fun part!).
Speaker(s): Mindy Curnutt,
Abstract:
Microsoft has added new performance improvements and new features to SQL Server 2016’s implementation of Always On Availability Groups. This session will cover improvements that range from Standard Edition support for AGs to load balanced replicas to new ways to create those replicas. We’ll kick the tires on the improved Azure support and discuss the massive performance improvements in Always On as well.
Speaker(s): Matt Gordon,
Abstract:
Another in TheSQLGuru's Deep Dive series! Query plans - the roadmaps of how your query will be handled by the engine. TONs of information for the asute SQL Server user. Lets dig into them and see what we can learn from and about them and also talk about how they can be used to aid our query tuning efforts.
Speaker(s): Kevin Boles,
Abstract:
Partitioned tables are awesome and partitioned views are dead, right? Well, sure partitioned views are not sexy but there are still plenty of applications where they are critical. And not necessarily just for standard edition. If your data is time stamped, do you see different queries run against older data than new data? Do you with you could segment your data across multiple columns? Do you have data you need to partition horizontally? It's possible partitioned views may still be for you. Come hear why this is still an important topic long after cargo pants and trucker hats went away.
Speaker(s): Rick Lowe,
Abstract:
Demonstrate advanced statistical analysis performed against SQL Server data.
Speaker(s): Dana Stubben,
Abstract:
After spending more than a decade completely devoted to the Microsoft stack, I did some time supporting a Java team. Yes, sure, Java is just another language so there aren't really and issues that are absolutely unique to the Java world. But it is a different stack, different culture, and different group of folks giving bad advice to developers ... just enough different to keep life interesting. Come hear about my misadventures with server side cursors, output parameters, integrated authentication, and NOCOUNT settings.
Speaker(s): Rick Lowe,
Abstract:
This session provides a comparison of SQL High Availability amp; Disaster Recovery options, presented by a practitioner who has implemented and managed pretty much all the SQL High Availability and Disaster Recovery approaches (and various combinations thereof). We will provide an overview of all the various HA amp; DR options, then compare trade-offs for complexity, usability, hardware, licensing, failover speed, initial costs, ongoing support costs, staff skill requirements, etc.
Speaker(s): Tim Plas,
Abstract:
So the big wigs have come up with a “master” report that shows everything you could ever want on a single report. It includes grids and charts of varying sizes and complexities. And of course, they want it to be pretty as well. This session discusses how to use SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) to bring it all together while avoiding pitfalls and mistakes. The demonstration shows you how to build a multipage, dashboard-style report to manage your report server, showing a multitude of grids and charts. Discuss the challenges with data reuse and formatting while exploring techniques for getting them to work.
Speaker(s): Pam Shaw,
Abstract:
Have you ever wondered what it takes to keep an Always On availability group running and the users and administrators who depend on it happy? Let my experience maintaining several production Always On Availability Groups provide you some battle-tested information and hopefully save you some sleepless nights. From security tips to maintenance advice, come hear about some less than obvious tips that will keep users happy and the DBA’s phone quiet.
Speaker(s): Matt Gordon,
Abstract:
Women in Technology session engages the audience to discuss how we can energize the next generation to consider careers in technology. The participants on this panel today do not have all the answers. They will share a bit about themselves and how they were encouraged to pursue a career in technology. They will let us know what they are doing to encourage the young people in their lives to embrace technology, science, and math.
Speaker(s): Dana Stubben,
Abstract:
Everyone is eager to get started with Microsoft’s new offering: Power BI. It promises to be a great delivery system of information and analytics. This session will show some tips and tricks to getting started fast and deliver some real WOW factor to your users. We will explore bringing in data, enhancing it, and then displaying it. We will look at how to work with the standard visualizations as well as a few custom visualizations. We will discuss publishing options to allow us to show off our work. Come join the fun and see why there is so much ado about Power BI.
Speaker(s): Pam Shaw,
This is a list of speakers from the XML Guidebook records. The details and URLs were valid at the time of the event.
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/russloski
Contact: http://www.sqlmovers.com
Russ Loski is a SQL Server BI Developer based in Dallas-Fort Worth. He current works as a Data Analytics Engineer for Navisite, a remote managed IT services company. Twenty years ago, he began working with SQL Server 6.5. He has since continued to develop applications connected to all of the versions of SQL Server. He has worked with clients in industries from insurance to healthcare, from movie theaters to American football. Russ is a regular speaker at SQLSaturday events, as well as the SQL Server Users Groups in the North Texas region. Russ likes working with data in various shapes.
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/pshaw1129/
Contact: http://sqlpam.wordpress.com/
Pam Shaw has been in IT for over 30 years. Since 2001, Pam has been working with SQL Server, first 2000, then 2005, 2008, 2008 R2, 2012 and now 2014. Pam currently works as a BI Developer as an independent contractor. Pam is also the Chapter Leader of the Hillsborough SQL Users Group PASS chapter and organizer of SQL Saturday Tampa.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mindycurnutt
Contact: http://www.mindycurnutt.com
Mindy Curnutt is a 5X Microsoft Data Platform MVP, Business Owner and Entrepreneur. Her specialties include SQL Server hardware, configuration, migrations, scalability, performance tuning. She has been actively involved in the SQL Server Community for over two decades and has become a well known speaker within the SQL and Transportation Management communities. She is a two-time PASS Volunteer of the Month, has presented at 6 SQLPASS Summits, Live360, DevConnections, MVPMix and too many SQL Saturdays to count. She is currently the President of the North Texas SQL Server User Group out of Dallas/Fort Worth, TX.
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/kekline/
Contact: http://blogs.sentryone.com/author/kevinkline
Kevin Kline is a database and industry expert serving as Principal Program Manager at SentryOne, the industry leading SQL Server database tools vendor. A Microsoft SQL Server MVP since 2003, he is a founder and former president of PASS. Kevin is an author of many books, blogger, columnist, and popular international speaker. Kevin’s best known book is the best-selling SQL in a Nutshell and contributes monthly to Database Trends Applications magazine. He tweets at @kekline and blogs at http://Blogs.SQLSentry.com/Author/KevinKline.
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/billinkc
Contact: http://blog.billfellows.net
Bill Fellows is a SQL Server MVP and has been a database developer for most of his career, with the past 15 years focused on ETL. He is the organizer of Kansas City's eight SQL Saturdays and a speaker at many other SQL Saturdays, User Groups and the PASS Summit. Bill is the owner of Sterling Data Consulting where he gets to solve interesting data problems.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mindycurnutt
Contact: http://www.mindycurnutt.com
Mindy Curnutt is a 5X Microsoft Data Platform MVP, Business Owner and Entrepreneur. Her specialties include SQL Server hardware, configuration, migrations, scalability, performance tuning. She has been actively involved in the SQL Server Community for over two decades and has become a well known speaker within the SQL and Transportation Management communities. She is a two-time PASS Volunteer of the Month, has presented at 6 SQLPASS Summits, Live360, DevConnections, MVPMix and too many SQL Saturdays to count. She is currently the President of the North Texas SQL Server User Group out of Dallas/Fort Worth, TX.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tplas
Tim is a Principal Consultant at Virteva, in Mpls MN. His current focus areas are cloud architecture / engineering / migration, operational-DBA services (esp. HA/DR), server migrations, server virtualization, and storage. His experience over the past 25+ years has been primarily with server / data-center infrastructure, including being CTO / co-founder of a successful hosting company. Tim has held a variety of MS certifications since 1994.
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/rick-lowe/a/228/441/
Contact: http://dataflowe.wordpress.com/
Rick is a Microsoft Certified Master with more than 20 years of SQL Server experience in a variety of roles. He currently lives in Washington state and works as an independent consultant providing remote performance DBA and performance tuning services for clients in the USA and Canada. His first exposure to SQL Server was as a database developer, but over time he became more and more interested in how the database engine operated... eventually specializing more on performance issues than code. Rick will work with all things relational, but most enjoys helping smaller companies get better performance from MSSQL, as well as smoothing over relationships between DBA and development teams.
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/russloski
Contact: http://www.sqlmovers.com
Russ Loski is a SQL Server BI Developer based in Dallas-Fort Worth. He current works as a Data Analytics Engineer for Navisite, a remote managed IT services company. Twenty years ago, he began working with SQL Server 6.5. He has since continued to develop applications connected to all of the versions of SQL Server. He has worked with clients in industries from insurance to healthcare, from movie theaters to American football. Russ is a regular speaker at SQLSaturday events, as well as the SQL Server Users Groups in the North Texas region. Russ likes working with data in various shapes.
Contact: http://www.tf3604.com
Brian is a database administrator at Children International in Kansas City. He has been working with SQL Server technologies since 1998, including roles in report development, application development and database administration.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/e/fpf/252170891
Contact: https://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile=02C5CD07-7511-4151-A678-3A4A3451F85E
Bill Pearson created Island Technologies Inc. in 1997, and has developed a large and diverse customer base since. Bill#39;s background as a CPA, Internal Auditor, Management Accountant, and SQL Server MVP (BI) enables him to provide value to clients as a liaison between Accounting / Finance and Information Services. Bill has implemented enterprise business intelligence systems over the years for many Fortune 500 companies and focuses his practice upon the integrated Microsoft Business Intelligence
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sqlatspeed
Contact: http://www.sqlatspeed.com
Matt is a Microsoft Data Platform MVP and has worked with SQL Server since 2000. He is the leader of the Lexington, KY PASS local group and a frequent domestic and international community speaker. He's an IDERA ACE alumnus and 2020 Friend of Redgate. His original data professional role was as a database developer, which quickly evolved into query tuning work that further evolved into being a full-fledged DBA in the healthcare realm. He has supported several critical systems utilizing SQL Server and managed dozens of 24/7/365 SQL Server implementations. He currently utilizes that real world experience as a data platform consultant helping clients design solutions that meet their ever-changing business needs.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/codyrchapman
Cody Chapman is a Technical Product Manager with Scantron Technology Solutions. His areas of expertise are virtualization, cloud, storage, performance, datacenter architecture, risk mitigation through high availability and disaster recovery, and performing technical exorcisms. He has worked on systems large and small in a wide variety of industries. He is actively working to automate every facet of datacenter and database management. You can reach him on Twitter at @codyrchapman.
LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/phillip-podhradsky-a724a941
SQL Server DBA at Fishback Financial Corporation. I have been working with with SSRS, SSAS, SSIS, and the SQL server database engine from SQL 2005 on up since 2007. Some of my main focuses are to troubleshoot performance issues, disaster recovery, and support various application development initiatives.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sqlatspeed
Contact: http://www.sqlatspeed.com
Matt is a Microsoft Data Platform MVP and has worked with SQL Server since 2000. He is the leader of the Lexington, KY PASS local group and a frequent domestic and international community speaker. He's an IDERA ACE alumnus and 2020 Friend of Redgate. His original data professional role was as a database developer, which quickly evolved into query tuning work that further evolved into being a full-fledged DBA in the healthcare realm. He has supported several critical systems utilizing SQL Server and managed dozens of 24/7/365 SQL Server implementations. He currently utilizes that real world experience as a data platform consultant helping clients design solutions that meet their ever-changing business needs.
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/eleightondick
Contact: http://www.edleightondick.com
Ed Leighton-Dick is a Microsoft MVP, SQL Server performance and architecture specialist, and Founder/Principal Consultant of Kingfisher Technologies. He is a frequent volunteer with PASS, including current roles as a Regional Mentor, co-leader of I-380 PASS local group, and co-leader of the HA/DR virtual group. He can often be found teaching sessions at local, regional, and national events, including user groups, SQLSaturday, and PASS Summit.
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/eleightondick
Contact: http://www.edleightondick.com
Ed Leighton-Dick is a Microsoft MVP, SQL Server performance and architecture specialist, and Founder/Principal Consultant of Kingfisher Technologies. He is a frequent volunteer with PASS, including current roles as a Regional Mentor, co-leader of I-380 PASS local group, and co-leader of the HA/DR virtual group. He can often be found teaching sessions at local, regional, and national events, including user groups, SQLSaturday, and PASS Summit.
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/thesqlguru
Kevin Boles is a SQL Server expert, working exclusively with the product since v6.5. With over 25 years of database experience and over 45,000 man hours of SQL Server engine experience, he holds many related certifications, is an MCT and was a SQL Server MVP from 2007 to 2012. Kevin has been a very successful independent consultant for over 20 years. His passion is the relational engine, especially designing, building, analyzing and tuning high-performance database applications.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dana-stubben-411b6578
Contact: http://kelsanddane.com
Database Architect / Developer / Administrator / Mentor
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dana-stubben-411b6578
Contact: http://kelsanddane.com
Database Architect / Developer / Administrator / Mentor
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/janis-griffin/0/914/aba
Janis Griffin has over 30 years of DBA/database experience including design, development and implementation of many critical database applications. Before coming to Quest Software, Janis primarily worked in the Telecom/Network Industry, working with both real-time network routing databases and OLTP business to business applications. Janis also held positions as a Principal Architect and Senior Manager, mentoring other DBAs on best practices in database performance tuning.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tplas
Tim is a Principal Consultant at Virteva, in Mpls MN. His current focus areas are cloud architecture / engineering / migration, operational-DBA services (esp. HA/DR), server migrations, server virtualization, and storage. His experience over the past 25+ years has been primarily with server / data-center infrastructure, including being CTO / co-founder of a successful hosting company. Tim has held a variety of MS certifications since 1994.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/e/fpf/252170891
Contact: https://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile=02C5CD07-7511-4151-A678-3A4A3451F85E
Bill Pearson created Island Technologies Inc. in 1997, and has developed a large and diverse customer base since. Bill#39;s background as a CPA, Internal Auditor, Management Accountant, and SQL Server MVP (BI) enables him to provide value to clients as a liaison between Accounting / Finance and Information Services. Bill has implemented enterprise business intelligence systems over the years for many Fortune 500 companies and focuses his practice upon the integrated Microsoft Business Intelligence
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/rick-lowe/a/228/441/
Contact: http://dataflowe.wordpress.com/
Rick is a Microsoft Certified Master with more than 20 years of SQL Server experience in a variety of roles. He currently lives in Washington state and works as an independent consultant providing remote performance DBA and performance tuning services for clients in the USA and Canada. His first exposure to SQL Server was as a database developer, but over time he became more and more interested in how the database engine operated... eventually specializing more on performance issues than code. Rick will work with all things relational, but most enjoys helping smaller companies get better performance from MSSQL, as well as smoothing over relationships between DBA and development teams.
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/thesqlguru
Kevin Boles is a SQL Server expert, working exclusively with the product since v6.5. With over 25 years of database experience and over 45,000 man hours of SQL Server engine experience, he holds many related certifications, is an MCT and was a SQL Server MVP from 2007 to 2012. Kevin has been a very successful independent consultant for over 20 years. His passion is the relational engine, especially designing, building, analyzing and tuning high-performance database applications.
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/kekline/
Contact: http://blogs.sentryone.com/author/kevinkline
Kevin Kline is a database and industry expert serving as Principal Program Manager at SentryOne, the industry leading SQL Server database tools vendor. A Microsoft SQL Server MVP since 2003, he is a founder and former president of PASS. Kevin is an author of many books, blogger, columnist, and popular international speaker. Kevin’s best known book is the best-selling SQL in a Nutshell and contributes monthly to Database Trends Applications magazine. He tweets at @kekline and blogs at http://Blogs.SQLSentry.com/Author/KevinKline.
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/pshaw1129/
Contact: http://sqlpam.wordpress.com/
Pam Shaw has been in IT for over 30 years. Since 2001, Pam has been working with SQL Server, first 2000, then 2005, 2008, 2008 R2, 2012 and now 2014. Pam currently works as a BI Developer as an independent contractor. Pam is also the Chapter Leader of the Hillsborough SQL Users Group PASS chapter and organizer of SQL Saturday Tampa.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mindycurnutt
Contact: http://www.mindycurnutt.com
Mindy Curnutt is a 5X Microsoft Data Platform MVP, Business Owner and Entrepreneur. Her specialties include SQL Server hardware, configuration, migrations, scalability, performance tuning. She has been actively involved in the SQL Server Community for over two decades and has become a well known speaker within the SQL and Transportation Management communities. She is a two-time PASS Volunteer of the Month, has presented at 6 SQLPASS Summits, Live360, DevConnections, MVPMix and too many SQL Saturdays to count. She is currently the President of the North Texas SQL Server User Group out of Dallas/Fort Worth, TX.
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/andy-galbraith/5/149/98b
Contact: http://nebraskasql.blogspot.com/
I’m a forty-something Microsoft SQL Server DBA of 18+ years, a devoted husband, and a father of three young boys (all aged eight and under!) I have been a DBA at a public university, at a major bank, at a healthcare system, and I now work as a consultant with customers across the United States. I write and speak primarily about the tips and tricks that I discover along my SQL Server journey.
The following is a list of sponsors that helped fund the event.
Farm Credit Services of America