November Roundup

November 2016 round up

This time of the year is Microsoft conference season which provides a platform to make product announcements. This year is no different and the Connect(); 2016 developer event saw a number of exciting new announcements including the first public preview of the next release of SQL Server including SQL Server on Linux.  The next version of SQL Server will provide you the ability to deploy the leading operational database management system on Linux.

November Round Up

1. No more 3am wake up calls

Richard Wiltshire, Head of Technology Operations at Cover-More explains how the Virtual DBA service has helped Australia’s leading travel insurance provider become a 24-7 operation. Watch the video.

2. $99 Power BI training

We’re proud to announce that Microsoft’s very own Dashboard in a Day is coming to a city near you:

  • Sydney: Friday 25th November
  • Melbourne: Friday 2nd December
  • Brisbane: Monday 12th December – SOLD OUT
  • Brisbane: Tuesday 13th December

Designed by Microsoft, delivered by WARDY IT Solutions, Dashboard in a Day is a 1-day training session including the latest features of Power BI for only $99+GST per person. Limited spaces available. Find out more and register.

3. Free Data Science & Advanced Analytics eBook

Every business and nearly every industry is being transformed by technology. SQL Server 2016 was built for this new world and to help businesses get ahead of today’s disruptions. Microsoft have released a free eBook to help with this transformation and enable you to deliver data science solutions and advanced analytics projects. You can download this free eBook from here.

4. $900 Service Pack

Are you struggling to keep up to date with the latest SQL Server Pack? For only $900 ex. GST WARDY IT Solutions can review a SQL Server instance and prepare an implementation plan and install the latest SQL Server service pack for your instance and provide post implementation support. To take advantage of this limited offer contact us today.

5. Data Migration Assistant

Data Migration Assistant (DMA) enables you to upgrade to a modern data platform by detecting compatibility issues that can impact database functionality on your new version of SQL Server. It recommends performance and reliability improvements for your target environment. It allows you to not only move your schema and data, but also uncontained objects from your source server to your target server. You can download this free tool from here.

6. SQL Server Database Healthcheck

Reduce the need for expensive upgrades by optimising your existing infrastructure and identify problem areas with the SQL Server Database Healthcheck. We carry out a comprehensive examination of your SQL Server environment. Helping to reduce the business risks associated with down-time, performance bottlenecks, and the complexities of deploying and managing Microsoft SQL Server.

For more details and to book your SQL Server Healthcheck refer here.

7. Hybrid and Hyperscale Cloud with SQL Server

With cloud computing comes a new paradigm shift as organizations continue to realize the potential cost benefits of running their database applications in the cloud with greater scale and flexibility. Microsoft SQL Server 2016 is built for the cloud first, but not cloud only—organizations can easily deploy SQL Server in a private cloud, hybrid cloud, or public cloud, and can use familiar tools for development and management.

Learn more about running SQL Server across cloud environments here.

8. Azure Analysis Services

A preview of Azure Analysis Services (AS) was recently announced. Azure Analysis Services is based on the proven analytics engine in SQL Server Analysis Services, and is an enterprise grade OLAP engine and BI modelling platform, offered as a fully managed platform-as-a-service (PaaS). You can provision an Azure AS instance in seconds, pause it, scale it up or down, based on your business needs. For more details about Azure AS refer to here.

9. SQL Data Warehouse free trial

An exclusive one-month free trial of Azure SQL Data Warehouse is available for a limited time. You can bring in your own data or try out a pre-loaded sample data set and run queries with compute power of up to 200 DWU (Data Warehouse Units) to experience this fully managed cloud-based service. You can take advantage of this free offer here.