A few minutes ago, I came across a post on LinkedIn by Erin Stellato, highlighting the post from Makena Barickman on the release of SSMS 22, preview 3. If you've been following my blogs, you've read that I'm a keen follower of the latest editions of SSMS, especially now that Copilot is integrated. From very … Continue reading Exploring SSMS 22 Preview 3: New GitHub Copilot Features
DP-700 training: implement database projects
Some of you might recognise database projects from either Synapse Analytics or SQL Server. Yay for the latter ;). A long story, very short, database projects are a way to develop and deploy your databases using a CI/CD (Continuous Integration/Continuous Development) approach. For each database, the code you've written is saved in a specific project … Continue reading DP-700 training: implement database projects
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
SSMS 22 preview 1 first impressions
We're almost used to SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) 21, and now 22 is already in preview. So, let's see where it's available for download, install it and see what's different. Download and release notes. The most important part, of course, is the download of the binaries. Click here for the download. Click here for … Continue reading SSMS 22 preview 1 first impressions
SQL Server 2025: Simplifying Data Checks with RegEx
One of the new features in SQL Server 2025 is that you can now use regular expressions directly in your T-SQL queries. Now, regular expressions (or RegEx) have never been a syntax that's easy to read. There are a lot of brackets, dashes and other symbols that make no sense when you first see them. … Continue reading SQL Server 2025: Simplifying Data Checks with RegEx
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
SQL Server 2025: time-bound Extended Events explained
In a previous blog post, I discussed my initial impressions of SQL Server and the key features that are relevant to my work in Business Intelligence. This time, I want to focus on a specific and improved feature of SQL Server, namely extended events. What are they? To provide some context, let's begin by defining … Continue reading SQL Server 2025: time-bound Extended Events explained
My top features of SQL Server 2025 for Business Intelligence
Some time ago, Microsoft announced the release of a new version of SQL Server. This made me happy, mainly because in the storm of everything Fabric, Copilot, and cloud, sturdy technology still has a place, and Microsoft hasn't forgotten that. Companies still rely on on-premises systems that require databases. And running everything on-premises is still … Continue reading My top features of SQL Server 2025 for Business Intelligence
How to set the Copilot default execution mode in SSMS 21
This is going to be a short blog post, as it serves to highlight a new setting found in SSMS 21.4.12. Tell me more! Well, if you go to the Tools menu in SSMS and click on Options, you will see, unsurprisingly, the options. Locate your Copilot option and click on the Azure OpenAI settings. … Continue reading How to set the Copilot default execution mode in SSMS 21
Mastering Real-Time Analytics with Microsoft Fabric
When Microsoft Fabric was introduced in May 2023, one of its major promoted components was the Real-time Analytics part. We (that is, my coworkers and I from Axians) focused mainly on the batch processing of data. With the introduction of the DP-700 exam, I started to focus more on the real-time part of Microsoft Fabric. … Continue reading Mastering Real-Time Analytics with Microsoft Fabric









