News
SQL Social No. 20 – Myths, Misconceptions and Must-See Conferences
Another very successful night for SQL Social with 29 people getting together at the Royal Melbourne Hotel. Chris Benson’s talk on Agile Data Warehouse project Myths & misconceptions sparked some lively debate and Martin Cairney’s review of PASS Summit 2013 looks to have planted the seed for a number of people to see how they can get to next year’s Summit Conference. A big thank you to our two speakers this evening, who managed to draw the crowds despite the inclement weather!
As promised, the slide deck to go with Martin’s talk is included here: PASS Summit 2013
We’ve also added a poll question about PASS – it would be interesting to see how many members there are here and how many more have signed up to find out more about PASS Summit.
And for those of you not yet signed up for PASS (the Professional Association for SQL Server), then you can do so here. And let’s not forget our local SQL Server User Group while we are at it.
It was pleasure to welcome C3 Business Solutions to the SQL Social fold this month . We are always very grateful for the support of our sponsors and look forward to lasting relationships.
This entry was posted in Events, News, SQL Server Social and tagged Agile, BI, C3 Business Solutions, Chris Benson, Data Warehousing, Lobsterpot Solutions, Martin Cairney, PASS, SQL Server Social, sql social, Summit 2013.
C3 Business Solutions – New SQL Social Sponsor!
C3 Business Solutions
C3 Business Solutions is an award winning Australian Information Management, Business Analytics and Business Intelligence company that delivers measurable business improvements for our clients.
C3 specialise in developing and deploying successful strategies end-to-end for large public & private sector organisations. While remaining vendor independent, C3 work with clients to establish current as well as future needs. Their team of top tier consultants continuously focus on delivering measurable business change.
“According to a client survey conducted last year, compared to other IM consultants our clients say we’re more collaborative, better at stakeholder management, have a ‘can-do’ attitude and are flexible, and we’re focused on quality.”
C3 Business Solutions will be sponsoring our next event, to be held on November 13th at the Royal Melbourne Hotel. Chris Benson will be speaking on their behalf about the Myths & Misconceptions of Agile Data Warehouse Projects. This promises to be a great talk and I am sure will lead to a hearty discussion. As a BI Consultant working on one the largest Agile Data Warehouse implementations in Melbourne (that I am aware of) I am thoroughly looking forward to this talk.
Chris Benson
Chris Benson is a Managing Consultant with C3 Business Solutions. Chris specialises in data warehouse and business intelligence applications, business process management, office development and general software development for Business Intelligence and Data Warehousing applications.
Chris is a Certified SCRUM Master, Microsoft Certified Trainer, and is also certified in a range of Business Intelligence tools and platforms on the Microsoft platform, and has authored white papers on security planning and strategy in the industry and has presented on Business Analytics at major conferences in South Africa.
Chris can be contacted via LinkedIn.
Details for SQL Social No. 20 can be found on the Eventbrite & MeetUp websites. Please register if you plan on attending the event.
See you next week!
This entry was posted in Events, News, Special Guests, Sponsorship, SQL Server Social and tagged Agile, BI, C3 Business Solutions, Chris Benson, Data Warehousing, Sponsorship, SQL Server Social, sql social.
SQL Social No. 16 – Recap

The weather didn’t play nice again last night and so we only had a handful of attendees at SQL Social No.16, held at The Royal Melbourne Hotel on Bourke Street. More’s the pity as we had a couple of great presentations lined up from Jim McLeod and Martin Cairney.
Jim presented on the new features of SQL Server 2014, recently announced at TechEd 2013. The presentation itself was kept to about 10 minutes, but the discussions that it spawned carried on for nearly a hour.
Martin had a demo planned on the use of the PAL tool-kit for consolidating and analysing Performance Monitor traces to give you a quick indicator of performance issues in your SQL Server, but with all the talk about SQL Server 2014 we ran out of time. It is always great to see conversations flow between peers about technology that we love & enjoy.
Call for speakers
We are currently looking for speakers to give 2-3 short presentations (5-15 minutes) at each of our future events. These presentations can be on anything data related and needn’t be constrained to just technical how to’s. We are also very keen to hear about case studies involving issues that you faced and how they were overcome, careers in the data industry, etc.
It’ll be worth it too, as each speaker/presenter will earn a 1-month Pluralsight subscription!
Enjoy the next couple of Month’s while we revamp SQL Social and bring you new content and a better format. As always, we are open to suggestions, so if you have an idea that you think will improve the event we would love to hear from you.
This entry was posted in Events, News, SQL Server Social and tagged jim mcleod, royal melbourne hotel, sql server, sql server 2014, sql social.
SQL Social No. 16
Greetings all
The next event is nearly upon us (http://www.eventbrite.com/event/6884851777/eorg) so get yourself registered quickly.
This month Martin Cairney will also be giving a quick demo on the use of the PAL toolkit for consolidating and analysing Performance Monitor traces to give you a quick indicator of performance issues in your SQL Server.
Additionally Jim McLeod will be giving some insights into the planned new features that will be coming in SQL Server 2014 – wow!!
Hopefully we’ll see plenty of you there.
This entry was posted in Events, News, SQL Server Social.
Kalen Delaney Coming to Melbourne in March
March 2013 is almost upon us and I for one cannot quite believe where this year is going. But another month brings with it another SQL Server Social, and for our next meeting we are hoping to have world leading expert in SQL Server Kalen Delaney join us for the evening.
Kalen Delaney will be coming to Melbourne to conduct one of her extremely sought after Deep Dive courses; this one in particular is about SQL Server 2012 Query Tuning Internals. For details about the course and to register, please click here.
Kalen has agreed to spend a couple of hours at the next SQL Server Social, which is currently planned for Thursday, 21st March 2013 (NOTE the change of day and week for this one). So if you would like to come along and pick Kalen’s brain about the internals of SQL Server then this is a golden opportunity. The registration for the next event is not yet open, but keep an eye out for it in the coming days.
Here is an excerpt about the course;
Kalen Delaney – SQL Server 2012 Query Tuning Internals
This is a four day advanced course designed for advanced Microsoft SQL Server professionals. The course includes extensive demonstrations that illustrate the details of SQL Server internals as well as tuning techniques. This course will be presented on SQL Server 2012 and cover features specific to that version, but most of the information is relevant to SQL Server 2008 and some is relevant to SQL Server 2005.
Kalen Delaney is considered to be the world’s leading expert in SQL Server Internals. Kalen’s courses and seminars on SQL Server Internals have been delivered at internal Microsoft training events and as on-site courses for premier Microsoft partners around the world.
Canberra: Tue 12 – Fri 15 March 2013
Melbourne: Mon 18 – Thu 21 March 2013
This entry was posted in Events, News, Special Guests, SQL Server Social and tagged Events, kalen delaney, SQL Server Social.
SQL Server Social Survey – We need YOUR feedback!
After nearly a year of SQL Server Social events it’s time to get some much needed feedback.
We, the organisers of SQL Server Social, are constantly thinking of ways to make this event better, more enjoyable, more satisfying. And while we have come up with a few good ideas, we need your help to tailor this event into something that is going to make YOU want to attend time after time after time. So we created a [very short] survey to gather this feedback in a slightly more scientific way than a passing comment after a couple of beers.

And here’s the best bit:
By completing the survey you stand a chance of winning licenses for Red Gate‘s AWESOME SQL Compare Pro AND SQL Source Control! That’s nearly $800 worth of software!!
These licenses, along with a number of other Red Gate goodies, will be given away at the next SQL Server Social event in October 2012. You need to be at the event in order to claim your prize (Details of the event to follow).
You can take the survey now by following the link below:
Take the SQL Server Social Survey Now!
Your feedback is greatly appreciated and will go a long way to making this a better event for everyone.
-Luke-
This entry was posted in Events, News, Sponsorship, SQL Server Social.
SQL Server Social No. 9 – New Format!
SQL Server Social No. 9 is just around the corner, if you haven’t already you should go and register right now. This month we are introducing a new format to the event: Ask The Experts.
Ask The Experts
Our Ask The Experts format incorporates the best bits of any networking event: keeping it social, relatively unstructured but with the bonus of having industry experts on hand to answer YOUR questions. These industry experts have kindly agreed to be at the event for your benefit. So do your homework, and come prepared with some good questions.
This Month the focus is on Business Intelligence. Our experts are three of the best. Boyan Penev, Darrren Gosbell and Simon Selves will be at hand to answer your questions and provide advice on the vast topic of SQL Server Business Intelligence and GIS.
Boyan Penev
Boyan is a SQL Server MVP who specialises in all components of the Microsoft SQL Server Business Intelligence stack.
Boyan’s topics of conversation will include Microsoft SQL Server BI Stack, Microsoft Office and the future roadmap of these products, their current capabilities and features, as well as Business Intelligence and Data Warehouse Best Practices and concepts.
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Darren Gosbell
Darren Gosbell has over ten years of practical experience in building and implementing data warehousing and business intelligence solutions for some of Australia’s largest corporations. Darren has been awarded as a Microsoft MVP SQL Server since 2006 in recognition of his contribution to the community specially in the areas of Analysis Services and MDX. Darren contributes to a number of open source projects including BIDS Helper, AS Stored Procedures, PowerSSAS and Dax Studio. Last year he was accredited as one of the first 11 Analysis Services Maestros...
Simon Selves
Simon is a GIS Masters Graduate with 14 years of Spatial Industry experience in both the UK and Australia, with strong expertise in the use of MapInfo and ESRI systems.
Simon specialises in Spatial Data Warehouse design and implementation using MS SQL Server 2008 R2 technology, Retail Network planning and analysis, Socio-demographic modelling and analysis for targeted marketing campaigns.
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So come to SQL Server Social next week and meet our experts as well as other Melbourne data professionals. And don’t forget that this is a sponsored event, so we will have food and drinks available for registered attendees.
SQL Server Social No. 9 Event Details
When: 2012/08/08 From 6:00pm onwards
Where: The Bull & Bear Tavern, 347 Flinder’s Lane, Melbourne
How much?: Free!
Duration: ’til late!
See you there!
This entry was posted in Events, News, SQL Server Social and tagged Boyan Penev, Darren Gosbell, Melbourne, microsoft, Simon Selves, sql pass, sql server, SQL Server Social, sql social.
Lucky 7
Yes, SQL Server Social No 7 is on the horizon.
What’s more, we have a new helper – Vivek Pradhan has volunteered to assist with the organisation of the SQL Server Social starting with the next one on Wednesday, 6th June. We’ve asked Vivek to organise some events on the night (which might involve the free pool tables), so hopefully we can add something more to your evening. Watch this blog for more details.
Once again we are going to the The Bull & Bear Tavern, 347 Flinders Lane, Melbourne.
Please click here to register for the event.
This entry was posted in Events, News, SQL Server Social and tagged Bull & Bear, Melbourne, networking, sql server, SQL Server Social.
Come and Find Us …..
For any new attendees at tonight’s SQL Server Social event, come and find the organisers (Luke and Martin) and the sponsors (LobsterPot and Avanade – they should be the easy ones with the company shirts on) with your EventBrite ticket and there could be something extra in it for you.
The aim of the evening is networking, so by having to ask around to find us you will have taken the first steps to building your own SQL Server community.
This entry was posted in Events, News, Sponsorship, SQL Server Social.
It’s Alive!
SQL Server Social now has some dedicated web space. This is where all things SQL Server Social will be placed. All news, event details, feedback, etc will can be found here. So add this as a bookmark and check back regularly. Or, simply subscribe to the feed to be notified of any updates.
And remember, this is social, so make sure you leave your feedback/comments/rants/whatever and let’s make this as interactive as possible.
– LH
This entry was posted in News, SQL Server Social and tagged Events, Melbourne, SQL Server Social.