Tag: SQLBits

Azure Data Factory Training Day at SQLBits 2020

On March 31st, I will be presenting my A Day Full of Azure Data Factory training day at SQLBits 2020. Yay! 🤓

SQLBits is one of my absolute favorite events. I was literally jumping up and down when I got the news that I was selected as a speaker! 🥳 In addition to presenting a training day session, I will present a general session, and volunteer again on the other days. Woohoo!

If you are considering registering for SQLBits 2020, I highly recommend that you make a decision and register as soon as possible. Why? Because the prices go up on January 11th! Early bird pricing is only £999 for two full-day training days and three conference days. That’s a bargain! From January 11th, the price goes up to £1199. From February 15th, the price goes up to £1499.

You can also register for individual days. Check out the SQLBits pricing page for all the details, then go register!

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Biml Tips and Tricks (SQLBits 2019 Session Recording)

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:

Biml Tips and Tricks Session Recording (SQLBits 2019)

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!” :D)

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Level Up Your Biml (SQLBits 2018 Session Recording)

At SQLBits 2018, I presented my Level Up Your Biml: Best Practices and Coding Techniques session, and the session recording is now available! :) You can also view the entire slide deck (including lots of slides I didn’t show during the session itself) on my SlideShare, and download my Biml Demos so you can dig into my code examples.

Level Up Your Biml: Best Practices and Coding Techniques Session Recording

Watch the video on the SQLBits Website:

SQLBits 2018 Session Recording: Level Up Your Biml by Cathrine Wilhelmsen

What did I learn and how can I improve?

In a previous post about presenting webinars, I recommended that everyone should do a few things afterward: watch the recording and take notes about what you can improve, and write about it.

The same goes for session recordings. My sessions are rarely recorded, especially not with video of me (eeeeek!), so I decided to take this opportunity to learn more about how I deliver sessions in-person. By sharing my thoughts, I hope to improve my own skills and maybe even help a few others so they can pick up a few tricks and not make the same mistakes as me.

And if you’re wondering, yes, it still feels extremely awkward watching and listening to my own session recording :D

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Speaking and Volunteering at SQLBits 2018

It’s that time of year again… The largest, coolest, geekiest, most awesome party of the year is just around the corner! Oh, and there’s this conference attached to the party as well. SQLBits 2018: Magic Edition. You may have heard of it? :D

SQLBits is the largest SQL Server and Microsoft Data Platform conference in Europe. It has 4 days of training and over 170 sessions by both the Microsoft Product Group and community speakers. It’s a professional conference in all ways, and it’s organized entirely by a group of dedicated volunteers. That’s right, it’s a pure community event, and it’s fantastic.

I was a speaker and volunteer at SQLBits 2015 (Superhero Edition), a precon speaker at SQLBits 2016 (Space Edition), a PASS representative at SQLBits 2017 (Disco Edition), and I’m very happy to go back to where I started as a speaker and volunteer at SQLBits 2018 (Magic Edition). I was actually really bummed when I wasn’t a volunteer, it’s so much fun helping out to make it a smooth conference for attendees and getting to know all the other wonderful volunteers. This year, I’m back! Yay :)

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Biml Training Day at SQLBits XV

Yay, I’m so excited to finally share these news! Join Scott Currie (@ScottCurrie) and me for a Biml Training Day at SQLBits XV in Liverpool on May 4th: Learn Biml Today: Start Using It Tomorrow.

Biml Training Day at SQLBits XV

Scott and I will guide you through everything you need to start using Biml in real projects. From installing the free Biml tools, to the basics of Biml and BimlScript, to creating a staging environment, to building a metadata framework, and finally how to organize your code, work in a team, and automate deployment. Yep, that’s a lot of content to go through in one day, but you will get all the sample code so you won’t have to start from scratch.

We have very different backgrounds and experiences. Scott created Biml and I work in-house with teams in different countries. We will focus on best practices and code standards, but I’m also looking forward to sharing how we’ve solved problems in different ways. We hope the day will be interesting for everyone, from those of you who are completely new to Biml to those of you who have already built a Biml solution. Bring your questions and real-life problems! And if one day isn’t enough? I’ll be there for another three days :)

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