DBTA – Tools to Evaluate Viability of Database Platforms

As the manager for enterprise architecture in a very large IT organization, the C-suite executives frequently posed the question, "What database platform is best for this application today and for the future?" Implicit in that question was the idea that some platforms, for the application and for the database, might be more than adequate today but be trending in a direction that didn't match with our executive's goals. So what's a person supposed to recommend under those dynamics? Read the rest of the article … [Read more...]

The New PASS Executive Committee of 2014

I'm sure you can understand the high level of interest I have in the internal affairs and governance of PASS.  After all, I was one of the founders of the organization way back in 1999 and was president for four years from 2003 through 2006 (fondly remembered as "the hardest fricken years of my life"). So I was keenly interested when the latest press release from PASS named the incoming PASS Executive Committee to take their seats on January 1st, 2014. The executive committee is composed of the officers of the organization, that is, directors who are empowered to sign contracts and to speak … [Read more...]

PASS Summit 2011, Day 3 – A Tribute to Wayne Snyder

First things first, Wayne Snyder is rolling off the board of directors for PASS this year.  We'd worked together, shoulder to shoulder along with Joe Webb (blog | @joewebb) and other outstanding members of the SQL Server community, for many years of on the PASS board of directors and I'm certain that my tenure on the board and as president of the organization would've been nothing but trouble had Wayne not been there, covering my blind side(s), at every turn.  Here's my tribute to Wayne Snyder: If you were to mention “Wayne Snyder” to me, I’d instantly start to grin and, probably, nod a … [Read more...]

New on “Database Trends & Applications”

In last month's column, "2012 Might Really Be the End of the World as We Know It," I described a number of major developments in the IT industry that are likely to disrupt the life of database professionals everywhere.  I categorize those four disruptors - virtualization, cloud computing, solid state drives (SSD), and advanced multi-core CPUs - into two broad groups.  I'm going to continue an analysis of these disruptive technologies in inverse order.  Today, let's discuss SSDs. [READ MORE ON DATABASE TRENDS & APPLICATIONS ] … [Read more...]

Run as Radio Podcast – A little Denali

      In this podcast on the uber-popular podcast "RunAs Radio", host Richard Campbell asks me about what topics are of particular interest at Tech-Ed 2011, focusing the discussion on cloud and SQL Server "Denali" You can download the MP3 version of the podcast or the transcript here. … [Read more...]

Getting Ahead of the Curve – Big Data

I have to confess that I'm incredibly excited about BigData.  I haven't been this excited about new innovations in IT since relational databases first appeared on the scene early in my career.  But what is BigData? Back in those days, I can still feel the echos of adrenaline when I was hired to work on a NASA project that would involve over 100Mb of data.  ONE HUNDRED MEGABYTES! Good grief, that was fantastically huge to us on the team.  (That database was over 130Mb when I finally moved on to another project).  And remember - PC software was installed using 640Kb floppy disks at the time.  … [Read more...]

How Much Data is a Lot of Data?

It's always interesting to see the guestimations of the big brains about figures and facts that are hard to verify.  Here's an example - how much data is computerized today?  I'm not talking about ancient stuff, like the Codex Synaticus (which, incidentally IS on-line at www.codexsinaiticus.org).  I’m talking about the new and really important stuff, like the fourteen pictures that my step-daughter posted on her FaceBook account from our recent trip to Rock City. Well, IDC figured that overall digital data was up to 1.2Zb (Zetabytes!)  at the end of 2010.  My mind is boggling.  Ok, so that's … [Read more...]

DBTA: The NoSQL Movement- Hype or Hope?

If you spend any time at all reading IT trade journals and websites, you've no doubt heard about the NoSQL movement.  In a nutshell, NoSQL databases (also called post-relational databases) are a variety of loosely grouped means of storing data without requiring the SQL language.  Of course, we've had non-relational databases far longer than we've had actual relational databases.  Anyone who's used products like IBM's Lotus Notes can point to a popular non-relational database.  However, part and parcel of the NoSQL movement is the idea that the data repositories can horizontally scale with … [Read more...]

DBTA: Microsoft’s Trajectory for SQL Server Becomes Clear with PowerPivot

I was once asked what I thought Microsoft's overall product trajectory for SQL Server was, in light of Oracle's rather obvious trajectory of acquiring multiple application vendors who will, in turn, deploy more and more of their applications to the Oracle database platform.  To be honest, I had a little difficulty perceiving a clear and concise strategy statement for the sort of work going on in Redmond.  I could see a lot of great features being developed.  And I knew the SQL Server development team had developed a lot of new "plumbing" with each new release - features like Service Broker and … [Read more...]

DBTA: The Future of Coding for SQL Server

In a two-part article over the next two months, I'm going to address an important issue for the SQL Server community: the future direction of coding for SQL Server, as directed by Microsoft. I'll start by telling you a bit about the current situation with writing code on and for SQL Server, and, in the next installment, talk more about the ramifications brought on by the current coding environment. I'm curious if you agree with my assertions.  You also have the added advantage of hindsight, since I wrote these a while ago. [READ MORE] … [Read more...]