In the introduction to Azure Data Factory, we learned a little bit about the history of Azure Data Factory and what you can use it for. In this post, we will be creating an Azure Data Factory and navigating to it.

Spoiler alert! Creating an Azure Data Factory is a fairly quick click-click-click process, and you’re done. But! Before you can do that, you need an Azure Subscription, and the right permissions on that subscription. Let’s get that sorted out first.

Azure Subscription and Permissions

If you don’t already have an Azure Subscription, you can create a free account on azure.microsoft.com/free. (Woohoo! Free! Yay!) Some of the Azure services will always be free, while some are free for the first 12 months. You get $200 worth of credits that last 30 days so you can test and learn the paid Azure services. One tip: Time your free account wisely ⏳

Hi! I’m Cathrine 👋🏻 I really like Azure Data Factory. It’s one of my favorite topics, I can talk about it for hours. But talking about it can only help so many people - the ones who happen to attend an event where I’m presenting a session. So I’ve decided to try something new… I’m going to write an introduction to Azure Data Factory! And not just one blog post. A whole bunch of them.

I’m going to take all the things I like to talk about and turn them into bite-sized blog posts that you can read through at your own pace and reference later. I’ve named this series Beginner’s Guide to Azure Data Factory. You may not be new to ETL, data integration, Azure, or SQL, but we’re going to start completely from scratch when it comes to Azure Data Factory.

Does that sound good? Are you in? Cool. Let’s go!

On January 31st, 2019, Microsoft released two new Azure Data exams: Implementing an Azure Data Solution (DP-200) and Designing an Azure Data Solution (DP-201). If you pass both of these exams, you become a Microsoft Certified Azure Data Engineer Associate. On June 17th, 2019, I passed DP-201: Designing an Azure Data Solution! Yay 🥳

In this post, I share how I prepared for the exam and what my experience was like on the day of the exam.

(I have previously also written about Exam DP-200. )

At SQLBits 2019, I presented my Biml Tips and Tricks: Not Just for SSIS Packages! session. The session recording has been available for many months, but I only just now realized I never blogged abut it 😊 You can view the slide deck on my SlideShare and download my Biml Demos if you want to dig into my code examples.

Biml Tips and Tricks: Not Just for SSIS Packages! Session Recording

Watch the full video on the SQLBits website:

You can increase or decrease the speed, enable closed captioning, and even download the video for offline viewing.

(If you want a laugh, I recommend watching in 2x speed with the not-quite-accurate captions. You’ll see gems like “This is Bemmel. Tips and tricks not just for exercise packages!” 🤣)

At DataGrillen 2019, I presented a session called Uhms and Bunny Hands: Tips for Improving Your Presentation Skills. The wonderful Amanda Debler (@texmandie) was kind enough to record it, yay! 🥳

The session recording is now available on YouTube, and the slide deck is available on SlideShare.

Tips for Improving Your Presentation Skills - Session Recording

Watch the session recording on YouTube:

(As this was an unplanned session recording, we didn’t have any microphones. The sound quality could be better, but I decided to share this video anyway. I hope it can still be useful for others!)