Last week was the annual Microsoft MVP Summit, held virtually for the second year in a row. I am fortunate to have the opportunity to participate in the MVP Summit as a Data Platform MVP.
I am not able to explain why I am considered an MVP and others are not. I have no idea what it takes to be an MVP. And neither does anyone else. Well, maybe Microsoft does since they are the ones that bestow the award on others. But there does not seem to be any guaranteed path to becoming an MVP.
I enjoyed spending time interacting with the product team, it is always nice to see/hear how the sausage is made. And the virtual format allows me to attend far more sessions than an in-person MVP Summit. However, it is mentally exhausting to attend eight sessions (or more) a day. I am looking forward to the opportunity to meet in person at a future MVP Summit, where I can be physically exhausted as well as mentally.
This past week I was reminded how important it is to have respectful conversations as you discuss products, features, and strategy. The product teams know we MVPs are never shy about providing lovingly critical feedback. And we don't take advantage of our NDA status to write “breaking news” blog posts, either. But this past year has taught me how virtual conversations lead to more occasions of implied disrespect to one side or the other.
I believe in-person events are necessary for better communication. A virtual meeting with 300 MVPs is not the same as having us all in the room. Here's hoping in 2022 we get to shout at each other in person.
Lastly, I want to say THANK YOU to everyone in Redmond and elsewhere that help make the MVP Summit possible. In a world of “everyone get’s a trophy”, the MVP award is the greatest participation trophy on Earth. Thanks again for letting me take part.
Today's Sponsor
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Raw Data Podcast
Kasper de Jonge
Had a great conversation with Kasper de Jonge, who told me to stop trying to pronounce his last name because I will never do it correctly. As Analytics Advisor and Principal Program Manager of Power BI, Kasper knows a great deal about the problems that BI customers face daily. He shares some of these experiences and his expertise, and we have some good laughs along the way as well. This was a lot of fun to record.
Events
SQL Server Live!
We are moving forward with plans to host Live! 360 this November in Orlando. The call for speakers is open through May. As co-chair for the data platform track I encourage you to submit a session to speak. Send any questions about the event to me at SQLRockstar@thomaslarock.com
Webcasts
Securing the Supply Chain
The latest in our Secure by Design webcast series, this past week I hosted our CEO Sudhakar Ramakrishna and FireEye CEO Kevin Mandia for a discussion on securing the supply chain.
Data Janitor Roundup
AWS Glue DataBrew - visual data preparation
Another week, and another visual data preparation tool. Thanks to the folks that sent me messages alerting me to this AWS service. Exploratory data analysis is a critical part of any data project, and the ability to visualize data is a wonderful tool in your toolbox.
Microsoft To Build New $200M Data Center As Azure Sales Soar
Now they just need to find a way to keep their services online for more than a few hours at a time.
AWS Database Migration Service now supports Db2 LUW version 11.5 as a source
This is going to make both of those DB2 customers very happy.
Kroger CEO says no one has the ‘data and insights’ that it has
Apparently the CEO for Kroger hasn't heard about Amazon, AWS, Facebook, Google, or Microsoft.
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