How many people can you identify in the above photo from the closing party at SQLBits? Can you find Ola Hallengren, Mladen Prajdić, Jonathan Allen (FatherJack), Ross Mistry, James Rowland-Jones, Andre Kamman, among others?
SQLBits 8 (Beside the Seaside) was held this past weekend (April 7-9, 2011) at the Grand Hotel in Brighton, England. With over 800 registrations, it was the largest SQLBits to date, and the largest SQL Server event in Europe.
Joe Webb will be speaking at the SQLServerCentral.com track at SQL Server Connections, March 27-30, in Orlando, FL.
Tell us a little about yourself.
For the past 16 years, I’ve been self-employed as a database consultant and I regularly work with clients in the areas of business process analysis and improvements, database design and architecture, software development, and technical training.
SQLBits, the largest SQL Server conference is Europe, will be held this April 7-9, 2011 in Brighton, England at the Brighton Grand Hotel. Unlike many conferences, SQLBits offers three different levels of SQL Server training. Day 1 consists of full day, paid, deep-dive sessions from industry experts. Day 2 includes about 25 sessions of more conventional, paid sessions. Day 3 includes about 25 free, conventional sessions. So if you have a training budget, then plan on attending all three days. If you have a smaller budget, or no budget at all, then consider attending day 2 or day 3. Early bird pricing is available through March 11, 2011.
If you would like to submit a presentation abstract to SQLBits for consideration, the call for speakers is still open, but will close very soon.
The recently resurrected DevTeach/SQLTeach event will be held May 31 through June 2, 2011 in Montreal, Canada at the Montreal InterContinental Hotel. The event, the largest of its kind in Canada, will offer 68 sessions in .NET, SQL Server, and much more. Early registration is currently open, and if you register before February 28, 2011, you will get a hefty discount.
I recently held a poll on my blog, asking people if they had attended any SQL Server events in the past year. As you can see from the results on the right, just over 90% of the poll takers attended one or more SQL Server events in 2010, which I think is a great number.
The most attended events, included:
All the other events listed in the poll were much smaller. Some of these had fewer attendees because they were smaller, regional events, which is to be expected.
What was a little surprising was how few of the poll takers attended Microsoft TechEd (a huge event), and DevConnections/SQL Server Connections (also a large event). Of course, both of these events cover a of topics besides SQL Server, but both offer many SQL Server sessions.
At 2011 is now upon us, hopefully you have begun to consider what events you will attend this year. If not, begin researching potential events, as there are many to choose from. And even if you can’t attend an event in-person, there are still many virtual events you can attend. If you have any suggestions for events to attend that are not included in this poll, please add them below in the comments section.
Looking for some free SQL Server training? How about 24 hours of free training offered by some of the top SQL Server experts in the world? If so, sign up for the upcoming 24 Hours of PASS live webcasts to be held September 15-16, 2010. It’s your opportunity to continue and broaden your SQL Server education, with your only investment being your time.
Brad M McGehee 