Attending a Level 400 training at Microsoft.

This week, I was invited to the Microsoft office in London. The reason was a Level 400 training for Microsoft partners on Real-Time Intelligence. As I've been working with RTI on a large project for the last year, it felt natural to join this training. My objectives were not listed, but I wanted to see … Continue reading Attending a Level 400 training at Microsoft.

T-SQL Tuesday #199: Back to on-prem?

This month, Koen Verbeeck invites the blogging community to write about their thoughts on returning to on-premises. What could be struggles, things we have to re-learn, etcetera. When I read the invite, it immediately sparked inspiration, because there are increasing rumours around cloud exits. People musing about 'what if'. Some clients reference these questions, but … Continue reading T-SQL Tuesday #199: Back to on-prem?

DP-800: First Microsoft Learn experiences

The DP-800 training is new and was released to GA a few weeks ago. It now sits in the same family as DP-600 (Data Analytics using Microsoft Fabric), 700 (Data Engineering using Microsoft Fabric) and 750 (Data Engineering using Databricks). The full name of this training is "Develop AI-Enabled Database Solutions". This one sparked my … Continue reading DP-800: First Microsoft Learn experiences

MVP Summit 2026

Disclaimer: This blog will focus only on experiences and tips for newcomers. It will not contain any information on what was discussed at the MVP Summit. Preparation Preparing for the MVP Summit is key. You have to build your schedule, but also try to see if product managers, engineers, and others are available to catch … Continue reading MVP Summit 2026

Chocolatey, and how to quickly set up your new laptop

Last month, my company got me a new laptop. I have very little choice in which one I get, and I have to reinstall a lot of software. So, what to do next? Option one: download and install This is something I see a lot of people do: make a list of the software they … Continue reading Chocolatey, and how to quickly set up your new laptop

Speaking experiences at Data Community Day Austria

Every now and then, I have the pleasure of presenting at a new event. This time, it was at the Data Community Day Austria, held at the Jufa hotel in Vienna. Before getting into the details, at the time of writing, I'm not fully OK. It's not a full burnout, but dangerously close. I wrote … Continue reading Speaking experiences at Data Community Day Austria

Microsoft Fabric Community Conference: announcements and experiences

Last week, I had the pleasure of attending the Microsoft Fabric Community Conference (FabCon) in Vienna. Four days of learning, networking, meeting new people, speaking, announcements, Power Hour, volunteering and charity. I'll cover all these aspects in this post. The updates part won't cover all of them, as there are many. I'll pick my favourites … Continue reading Microsoft Fabric Community Conference: announcements and experiences

Why in-person events matter: insights from the community

When 2020 happened, a lot of things came to a standstill. Working at the office, going to a bar or a movie, and attending in-person events. Before we knew it, everything went online. Work from home became the standard, services like Netflix and movies at home boomed, and data events were available through Teams or … Continue reading Why in-person events matter: insights from the community

Speaking experiences at Data Céilí

This month marked a new experience for me, as I spoke at the Data Céilí event in Dublin. I had never been in Dublin before, nor in Ireland. As the weather turned warm and sunny in the Netherlands, I looked forward to lush green hills, glorious views, and amazing people. Rain Well, that idea quickly … Continue reading Speaking experiences at Data Céilí

T-SQL Tuesday #187: How do you solve problems

This month's invitation is from Joe Fleming, who invites the blogging community to write about how we troubleshoot problems. Every issue has layers. So whenever a problem surfaces, my first assumption is that it's part of something else. This may sound a little vague, so let me elaborate. Whenever code throws an error, and it's … Continue reading T-SQL Tuesday #187: How do you solve problems