Welcome to the July 2014 newsletter from Australia's leading SQL Server Consultants, Trainers and Business Intelligence specialists

July has been another month full of milestones for WARDY IT Solutions with the team being recognized with two international awards.

WARDY IT Solutions was the global winner of the HP and Microsoft Outstanding Frontline Partner for 2014 in Big Data. Winning this Global Award for the second year in a row reinforces WARDY IT Solutions as the true leader in Microsoft SQL Server Big Data, Data Platform and Business Intelligence solutions in Asia Pacific.

WARDY IT Solutions was also named in the CIO Review annual listing of the Top 100 Companies that have the expertise and experience to enhance Microsoft platforms enabling enterprises to transform and optimize their business processes.

WARDY IT Solutions is a suppoter of a number of charaties incluidng Variety-the Children’s Charity. WARDY IT Solutions is proud to be the major sponsor for the Rocket XP team in the 2014 XXXX Gold ‘Cane Toads to Cockroaches’ 25th Anniversary Variety Bash to help raise funds for Queensland’s sick, disadvantaged and special needs kids. You can help support this 10 day, 3,000km road trip by donating to the Rocket XP team here.

You can keep updated on all the latest WARDY IT Solutions SQL Server news on Facebook & Twitter:

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SQL Server Backup to Microsoft Azure Tool

If you’re considering backing up your SQL Server database to the cloud, there are many compelling reasons. Not only will you have an offsite copy of your data for business continuity and disaster recovery purposes, but you can save on CAPEX by using Microsoft Azure for cost-effective storage by using the SQL Server Backup to Microsoft Azure Tool. You can download this free back tool from here.

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SQL Server 2014 Training

WARDY IT Solutions is now offering the SQL Server 2014 training course Updating Your SQL Server Skills to MS SQL Server 2014 (Course Code 10977). This five-day instructor-led hands on course teaches participants how to use the enhancements and new features that have been added to SQL Server and the Microsoft data platform since the release of SQL Server 2008. The course focuses on teaching individuals how to use SQL Server 2014 product features and other Microsoft data platform components. To find out more about this and other SQL Server training course refer to here.

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SQL Server 2014 Hot Lap

WARDY IT Solutions is proud to announce that they will be delivering another series of SQL Server 2014 workshops in Australia. The workshops will be conducted as a free ½ day Hot Lap. A Hot Lap is a quick and concise way of finding out what is new in SQL Server 2014 and how these changes will improve database operations, developer efficiency and enable self-service Business Intelligence solutions. You can find out more and register for these free sessions here.

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Migrate from Oracle to SQL Server

Microsoft have made available a new version of the SQL Server Migration Assistant (SSMA) which is a free tool to help customers migrate their existing Oracle databases to SQL Server 2014 and Azure SQL DB. This free migration tool can be downloaded from here.

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SQL Server 2014 and Windows Azure Blob Storage Service

SQL Server 2014 introduces significant new features toward a deeper integration with Microsoft Azure, thus unlocking new scenarios and provide more flexibility in the database space for IaaS data models. A new technical white paper has been released that details how to utilise SQL Server 2014 Data Files on Azure Blob storage service including guidance on scenarios, benefits and limitations, best practices and lessons learned. You can download this white paper from here.

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Optimizing Query Plans with SQL Server 2014

SQL Server 2014 introduces the first major redesign of the SQL Server Query Optimizer cardinality estimation process since version 7.0. The goal for the redesign was to improve accuracy, consistency and supportability of key areas within the cardinality estimation process, ultimately affecting average query execution plan quality and associated workload performance. Microsoft has released a white paper which provides an overview of the primary changes made to the cardinality estimator functionality by the Microsoft query processor team. This white paper can be downloaded from here.

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SQL Server Healthcheck

Does your SQL Server environment need a Healthcheck? The WARDY IT Solutions SQL Server Healthcheck is designed to review and verify the implementation of common SQL Server Best Practices. Our Database Healthcheck includes all the usage and administration aspects of a SQL Server database, ensuring that your SQL Servers are managed and operated well. Our approach is to analyse the total health of your SQL Server environment and highlight areas of concern, providing recommendations to improve the health and performance of your database environment. For more details on our SQL Server Healthcheck refer here.

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End of Mainstream Support for SQL Server 2008 & 2008 R2

The 8th of July 2014 was the Mainstream Support End Date for Microsoft SQL Server 2008 and Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2. You can find out more about the Microsoft Support Lifecycle Policy for SQL Server here.

If you haven’t yet migrated to SQL Server 2012 and 2014 then now is the perfect time to start planning this migration.

WARDY IT Solutions is offering a complimentary half-day upgrade assessment workshop onsite at your office including lunch to assist you upgrade your legacy SQL Server environment to an environment that is in main stream support. To learn more about how you can benefit from this upgrade assessment contact WARDY IT Solutions today.

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Free Exam Voucher

WARDY IT Solutions provides a bonus for all 5 Day Microsoft Official Curriculum (MOC) SQL Server training course. When you book any 5 Day MOC training you receive a FREE Prometric Exam Voucher. To take advantage of this offer contact us today.

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SQL Server Virtual DBA

WARDY IT Solutions Virtual DBA service was named one of Australia's 100 most innovative products or services for the third year running in the Anthill Magazine 'SMART 100' Index.

Something you may not know is that our Virtual DBA can be utilised for phone and email support. So, if your organisation just needs someone that they can call on for advice then why not use a Virtual DBA?

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