Is Microsoft SSMS Copilot the Future of Database Management?

Today, May 19th, 2025, is the keynote day of Microsoft Build, where Microsoft announces its big new tech innovations. You won't be surprised; there's a lot of Copilot in the announcements. You can't get around it if you have any toolset in the cloud; there will be AI waiting for you to help you. Bad … Continue reading Is Microsoft SSMS Copilot the Future of Database Management?

Loadtesting SQL, the sequel

Some time ago, I wrote a number of blogposts comparing the different Azure SQL options to give you some idea about performance, differences between tiers and differences between the Stock Keeping Units (SKU's). This was done by creating data in the database itself and review the metrics. This works fine and gave a good overview … Continue reading Loadtesting SQL, the sequel

DP-700 training: data masking

Data security is the most important part of our job as data engineers and data architects. There are very few use cases where people need to see all the data in full detail. I know, customers take a different view on this but in reality, do they really need every single detail? No, they do … Continue reading DP-700 training: data masking

DP-700 Training: Data transformation options

Welcome to my Ted Talk, data transformation is done in T-SQL. Thank you. Well, yes once upon a time, maybe. Nowadays there are many more ways that lead to the dark side (also known as data vault) and the happy side (also known as the star schema or dimensional model). Did I lose you yet? … Continue reading DP-700 Training: Data transformation options

DP-700 training: create windowing functions

Let's start this blog with a personal opinion: I love windowing functions. Sounds like a good start of this post? Cool, let's keep going. What is a windowing function? There's a lot you can read about it, but in short it comes down to creating a subset in your query result where you apply a … Continue reading DP-700 training: create windowing functions

2024 in review, 2025 in preview

Hi! 2024 is (almost) over and we're heading into the preview of 2025. Let's see how we get through this trial period of the new year. Let's start with looking back on the year that's behind us all. What a year it’s been! 2024 had a lot going for it, also enough things to, as … Continue reading 2024 in review, 2025 in preview

T-SQL Tuesday #181 The Data Platform Present

This month, Kevin Chant has a really fun writing challenge for us. Not only is it a very inspiring call to write about SQL Server (my choice), but it's also a crossover between T-SQL Tuesday and the Festive Tech Calendar. It's like opening a digital present! Kevin created a very nice image that shows the … Continue reading T-SQL Tuesday #181 The Data Platform Present

Top Highlights from #MSIgnite 2024

By the time you read this, I'm guessing the big #MSIgnite announcements were yesterday. You can use that hashtag to find most of the posts on social media. And there were many, very cool, announcements! Let me quickly take you through my favourites. Databases! As I still love the DBA work, announcing SQL Server 2025 … Continue reading Top Highlights from #MSIgnite 2024

SQL Server Management Studio 21: First Impressions & Features

It's been a long time coming, but all of a sudden there were a number of posts from Microsoft announcing the first preview of SQL Server Management Studio 21. This is big as it's quite the overhaul from the SQL Server Management Studio we're used to. To give you some idea, here are my first … Continue reading SQL Server Management Studio 21: First Impressions & Features

Analyze Azure NSG Flow Logs in SQL Server: Step-by-Step Guide

I had an interesting question lately where I was requested to show all the network traffic within an Azure landing zone. Specifically source and target IP, protocol and port. From the aspect of Zero Trust, it's important to show both successful and failed connections in your network. To be able to answer this question I … Continue reading Analyze Azure NSG Flow Logs in SQL Server: Step-by-Step Guide