Tag: AI

Microsoft Fabric and SQL Community Conference 2026, the Barcelona edition

Last week was filled with talks about SQL Server and Fabric. A large portion of the community travelled to Barcelona to learn from community leaders and Microsoft on their favourite topics. I'll take you through my personal experiences and highlights. Day 0: the MVP day On Monday, you have three options, depending on your relationship … Continue reading Microsoft Fabric and SQL Community Conference 2026, the Barcelona edition →

Fabric on-demand capacity: the first experiences

If you've been following the releases announced at FabCon, you must have seen one of the bigger Fabric ones: the on-demand capacities. Now, this blogpost is based on my personal, private preview, experiences. The documentation is not yet available. I've been told it won't take long before that will be available; just as the option … Continue reading Fabric on-demand capacity: the first experiences →

Azure: Check your data platforms resiliency

Wait, what? Resiliency? Against what? Well. The cloud sounds like an amazing, magical place without limits. The truth is, it isn't. Maybe you've seen the funny T-shirts with the text "the cloud is just someone else's computer". And that's true. Instead of building and maintaining your own data centre, you're hiring a global corporation to … Continue reading Azure: Check your data platforms resiliency →

Fabric Copy Job: Find the staging!

This week, I worked for a client using the following setup. Setup They're using SQL Server databases to store their OLTP data. They use a variety of options to authenticate. Fabric isn't using private links or anything; it connects to the data through the on-premises data gateway. Inside Fabric, we chose the Copy Job activity … Continue reading Fabric Copy Job: Find the staging! →

SQL Server REGEX_LIKE confusion

I was trying out some things to learn more about RegEx when I ran into something weird. When using REGEX_LIKE in a query, I got an error in both SQL Server and Azure SQL Hyperscale. Now, I learned what will be shared in this blog from Cláudio Silva, Greg Low, and Erland Sommarskog. They were … Continue reading SQL Server REGEX_LIKE confusion →

T-SQL Tuesday 200: When I Look at a Query …

First up, congrats to Adam Machanic and Steve Jones on reaching 200 episodes of T-SQL Tuesday; you can be proud of yourselves! I've always loved the variety of topics, the different views of the bloggers, and the learning that can be gained from all the posts. I've even had the honour of hosting. Anyway, Brent … Continue reading T-SQL Tuesday 200: When I Look at a Query … →

DP-800 Exam Experiences

Earlier this year, Microsoft released a new certification that combines AI and SQL Server knowledge: the DP-800: Developing AI-Enabled Database Solutions. As I still deeply care about SQL Server and am convinced it has a very central place in any data architecture (cloud or on-premises), this one sparked a lot of interest. Today, I took … Continue reading DP-800 Exam Experiences →

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. →

Speaking at Data Ceili. Or, how to work with fast-changing software in your demo

Today I had the pleasure of presenting my session on Copilot for SQL at the Data Ceili event in Dublin. Somewhere between 50 and 60 people attended, having fun and learning how this Copilot works, what it can and can't do, and, very important today, how much it will cost you. The challenge While preparing … Continue reading Speaking at Data Ceili. Or, how to work with fast-changing software in your demo →

SSMS 22.6: Custom Copilot instructions

When you start using SSMS with GitHub Copilot, there is no default set of instructions in place. The agent will just sort of do what it thinks is best. But you can make sure the agent has more knowledge of your local environment (yes, it can be a cloud database as well), how it should … Continue reading SSMS 22.6: Custom Copilot instructions →