sql pass
SQL Social No.18 – In the bag
What a fantastic evening!
By my reckoning SQL Social No. 18 has to be the best social event that we have hosted this year. With a +80% turnout, an excellent speaker and attendees that were engaged and willing to get deep into discussion, this event ranks highly on my list.
What made this event work? Well, for me, there are a number of factors that I believe contributed to the success of the event:
- The weather played ball (it was warm and dry!)
- We have a core attendance established through our (ever growing) contact list
- A great speaker with an interesting topic
- Attendees that are engaged and willing to participate
- Sponsors to make it all happen

Thanks must also go to our speaker, Tara Shanka Jana, a Microsoft Premier Field Engineer who presented on the topic of Extreme Transaction Processing (XTP). Tara’s presentation generated a number of good questions and subsequent discussion, keeping the focus for nearly an hour. It was great to see the attendees really engaged and learning a thing or two about Hekaton.



I had a lot of good feedback at the end of the evening, with some attendees commenting that this has been the best SQL Social yet. These are the things that I like to hear!
Our next event is penciled in for Wednesday, October 9th. So keep your calendars clear and keep an eye out for invites and registration in a couple of weeks time.
Want to speak at one of our events?
As always, we on the look out for new speakers. If you haven’t had the opportunity to speak before then this event is the perfect platform to get started. We operate in a relaxed, informal atmosphere that encourages discussion. We want you to present on just about anything data related, whether that’s DBA hot tips, Business Intelligence best practices, data visualisation, T-SQL performance tuning, SharePoint, Data Career paths, Certifications, etc. You name it, we want to hear about it. And if you do speak at SQL Social, you won’t go away empty handed. You will receive a one-month subscription to Pluralsight – Hardcore Developer Training. Pluralsight is an amazing resource for online learning, covering just about every developer topic under the sun; including SharePoint, Business Intelligence, SQL Server, PowerShell, Android, iOS, Windows Phone, Virtualisation. The list goes on.
So get in touch with us (luke.hayler at mopani.com.au / sqlsocial at outlook.com) or on twitter @lukehayler , @martin_cairney or @jim_mcleod and we can set a date for you to speak at one of our SQL Social events.
This entry was posted in Events, Sponsorship, SQL Server Social and tagged sql pass, SQL Server Social, sql sever 2014, sql social, tara shankar jana.
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.
SQL Server Social December Edition–Filling up fast!
There has been a fair bit of marketing for the next edition of SQL Server Social, to be held here in Melbourne. We have been fortunate enough to have been included in several mailing lists that go out to various user groups and forums, which has lead to a number of registrations for the event next week. If you’d haven’t registered yet and are keen to attend Please Register Now!
Don’t forget that we have Special Guest Peter Myers attending the event. Peter would have given his talk on Developing a Tabular BI Semantic Model at the Melbourne SQL Server User Group the previous evening, so this would be a great opportunity to chat to him in a casual setting.
It’s also a sponsored event; BizData and LobsterPot Solutions have generously donated to our cause and we will be providing food and drinks during the evening. So come hungry and thirsty!
As it stands we are up to 27 Attendees and I’m hoping we get a few more in when the remainder of the mail shots go out. And if you are attending, bring a friend and let others know about it! You can use the share links at the bottom of this post to do so.
Here’s a list of the current attendees (& twitter names):
- Luke Hayler (organiser – @lukehayler)
- Martin Cairney (organiser)
- Peter Myers (special guest)
- Ali Farahani
- Amir Fekri
- Ananth Samudrala (@RAAMU)
- Angus Bell
- Anup Pokhrel
- Bimal Fernando
- Dave Johnson (@djdba)
- Gopal Ganwani (@gganwani)
- James Wang
- Ming Bai
- Rainier Bryce (@Rainierb)
- Sean Kearns
- Sia Alavian
- Tejas Shah
- Vince Antonellie
- Vivek Pradhan (@viv3k)
- + 8 Others who declined to be mentioned here…
It’s going to be a great night!!!
This entry was posted in Events, SQL Server Social and tagged BISM, Events, Melbourne, Peter Myers, Power Pivot, sql pass, sql server, SQL Server 2012, SQL Server Social, sql social.
Peter Myers to Attend SQL Server Social
Peter Myers will be in Melbourne for a SQL Server User Group meeting on the night of the 20th December 2011. We will be lucky enough to have him join us the following evening for a SQL Server Social event at The Sherlock Holmes Inn. More details here.
Peter will be speaking about Developing an Analysis Services Tabular Project BI Semantic Model at the User Group event, so I expect that the BI contingent will be there in force. Why not extend the opportunity to come and meet him in a casual setting that’s ripe for discussion.
About Peter
Peter Myers has 13 years’ solid experience working in OLTP database design and development, DBA support and Data Warehousing/Business Intelligence with SQL Server.
Specializing in Microsoft Business Intelligence, Peter provides mentoring, technical training and course content authoring for SQL Server and Office. Specifically he works with Integration Services, Analysis Services (cubes and data mining), Reporting Services, Excel, PowerPivot and PerformancePoint Services.
He has a broad business background supported by a bachelor degree in applied economics, and he extends this with current MCITP and MCT certifications. He has been an MVP since 2006.
Peter is an established presenter and enjoys sharing his enthusiasm for Microsoft technologies by presenting at user group meetings, technical events and conferences.
Registration
So if you are keen to get a chance to chat with Peter and find out more about Tabular projects and SQL Server Analysis Services in SQL Server 2012, head on over to the registration page for SQL Server Social and sign up. The event is being sponsored by two great companies;
Thanks to these sponsors we will be able to provide food and drink at the event. There will also be a prize for the Best Festive Outfit!
And if you really don’t want to talk to Peter, then come along anyway, there will be lots of other SQL Server folks in attendance who you can network with and get to know a little better. Who knows, perhaps you’ll find someone who can help you out with that technical issue you have been having at work.
Remember:
Relationships formed between people are more important than relationships formed between tables.
Peter Myers around the web
This entry was posted in Events, Special Guests, SQL Server Social and tagged Bi Semantic Model, business intelligence, Events, Melbourne, Peter Myers, Special Guests, sql pass, sql server, SQL Server 2012, sql server analysis services, SQL Server Social, Tabular projects.
LobsterPot Solutions Sponsorship
I’m very happy to announce that LobsterPot Solutions have kindly agreed to be a sponsor of SQL Server Social.
From the LobsterPot website:
LobsterPot Solutions is a company that is fully dedicated to supporting the SQL Server community. Its owner, Rob Farley, has supported conferences such as SQLBits and PASS, and has had significant involvement in local user groups, including running the Adelaide SQL Server User Group for over six years. He has even been appointed as an advisor to the PASS Board of Directors, and is currently running for election to become a director. This mindset is common in all LobsterPot staff, who are all recognised faces at conferences both around Australia and in the rest of the world.
With this in mind, LobsterPot Solutions is proud to be the first sponsor of the SQL Server Social events in Melbourne, and to help coordinate the events. The SQL Server community is one of the strongest technical communities around the world, and events such as SQL Server Social help strengthen it even further. If you haven’t been to one, please make a point of adding it to your diary and getting to know more of your fellow database professionals.
SQL Server Social Christmas Edition is just a couple of weeks away. So clear your calendars and make a note to attend. Then head over to registration and sign up for what promises to be our biggest event yet.
This entry was posted in Events, Sponsorship, SQL Server Social and tagged Events, LobsterPot, Melbourne, sql pass, sql server, SQL Server Social.
SQL Server Social No. 3 – Let the Festivities Begin!
Can you believe it’s December already? Neither can I. And yes, I still need to go and do some shopping. Lots of it. But that’s not going to get in the way of yet another SQL Server Social!
SQL Server Social – Christmas Edition will be held in the week leading up to the Christmas break. So I hope that you all will still be around to join us for another great event. Here are some details:
SQL Server Social: Australia’s Premier SQL Server Networking event!
When Wednesday 21st December 2011 5:30pm onwards
Where The Sherlock Holmes Inn, 415 Collins Street, Melbourne
Registration Free!
Duration Till late!
Ready to join us? If so, head over to registration and get yourself signed up
If you are still not sure, you should know that we now have TWO sponsors on board! BizData & Lobsterpot Solutions, both MS SQL Server centric consultancies, have seen the potential of this event and have agreed to sponsor it. This means that food, and some drink, will be provided. A great BIG THANK YOU to both of these community driven companies!
This entry was posted in Events, Sponsorship, SQL Server Social and tagged BizData, Events, Lobsterpot Solutions, Melbourne, sql pass, sql server, SQL Server Social.
BizData Sponsorship
I’m very excited to announce that BizData have kindly agreed to be a sponsor of SQL Server Social!
BizData is an expert Business Intelligence services provider with a focus on enabling clients to leverage their data for better business decision making. BizData prides itself on delivering robust Business Intelligence solutions, having delivered over 200 projects to clients in the Financial Services, Manufacturing, Utilities, Health and Services industries, and provided solutions for Finance, HR, Operations, Sales, Marketing and IT departments – please see the Case Studies page for more information
BizData is a leading Microsoft Implementation Partner and has been one of the first companies in Australia to attain Gold level specializations in Business Intelligence and Portals & Collaboration.
BizData maintains a specialisation in business and technical competencies across:
- Financial Governance and Planning
- Data Integration and Management
- Reporting and Analytics
- Portals, Collaboration & Workflow
- Application Integration
For more information, please visit www.bizdata.com.au
SQL Server Social Christmas Edition is just a couple of weeks away. So clear your calendars and make a note to attend. Then head over to registration and sign up for what promises to be our biggest event yet.
This entry was posted in Events, Sponsorship, SQL Server Social and tagged BizData, Events, Melbourne, sql pass, sql server, SQL Server Social.