Fit and Finish Considering how expensive it is to bring on new people into your organization, it really pays dividends to make sure that any new hire is both a good fit for the technical requirements of the job as well as a good fit for the overall culture of the team and organization overall. In part 1 of this series, we talked about the groundwork needed to effectively bring in a new hire. Like database and application design, a little extra preparation in the beginning can save you a lot of heartache later in the process. In part 2 of the series, we talked about various styles of … [Read more...]
DBTA: The Trouble with Third-Party Applications
September 28, 2010 by Leave a Comment
Third-party applications are a very important part of the IT landscape. Many of us have faced the common dilemma of trying to decide whether to build or buy that next important application our organizations need. (By the way, I'm talking about smaller, specialized applications like an inventory management system for the company warehouse, or a practice management system for a doctor's office. I'm not talking about the huge and incredibly sophisticated ERP systems like SAP and Oracle Financials.) [READ MORE] … [Read more...]
DBTA: SQL Server in the Clouds?
September 21, 2010 by Leave a Comment
The idea of "SQL Server in the cloud" is all the rage as I write this article. Many SQL Server experts already predict the demise of the IT data center and a complete upending of the current state of our industry, in which large enterprises can spend millions of dollars on SQL Server licenses, hardware and staff. I have to admit, when I first heard about this idea, I was ecstatic. What could be better for an enterprise than to have all the goodness of a SQL Server database with none of the hardware or staffing issues? However, on deeper examination, there is much about which to be cautious. … [Read more...]
Broken or Just Bent? #passvotes
September 14, 2010 by 1 Comment
Cross Posted from TimMitchell.net Though things have died down a bit since the initial backlash, the recent development in the PASS board election process is still the talk of the town. I’ve had the opportunity to talk to a number of folks about this, and have read some excellent blogs and other opinion pieces from those on both sides of the debate. I traded some e-mails with Kevin Kline, a longtime member of the PASS board of directors, and he asked an interesting question: “Many in the community seem to think that the PASS election process is badly broken. Do you think that PASS … [Read more...]
