Blog Posts

My Favorite Online Services for Consultants

June 24, 2014

Here’s some of my favorite stuff. No affiliate links, just recommendations. The One Service Every Consultant Should Use Internet plumbing glue as a service: Zapier – from free to $99/month. I have to start with this one because it’s the service we use to tie everything together. It listens for triggers and takes actions. For example, when you buy an online class from me, Zapier registers you for the webinars you picked, subscribes you to your chosen email newsletters, and makes an entry in our customer relationship software. All of that without any web development work whatsoever – now, there’s still plenty…

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Thinking Critically About Fusion-io’s SQL 2014 Tests

June 17, 2014

fusion-io, review, vendors

With the first vendor-based 24 Hours of PASS approaching, it’s a good time to learn how to think critically. Critical thinking doesn’t mean criticizing – it means seriously examining the evidence and basing your decision based on facts. For example, when reading a vendor benchmark or white paper, it means asking: What does the evidence say? What evidence is missing? How is the evidence being interpreted by the author? What’s the author’s bias, and what is my own bias? Are we purposely being misled? What conclusion should I draw from the evidence? Let’s do a real-life example together. Fusion-io’s SQL Server 2014 Performance…

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#SQLPASS and the 24 Hours of Microsoft

June 10, 2014

24hop, microsoft, pass, sqlpass, vendors

The Professional Association for SQL Server describes itself this way: “PASS is an independent, not-for-profit organization run by and for the community.” Every now and then, PASS runs a popular online event called the 24 Hours of PASS. With a name like that, and a mission statement like PASS’s, you’d assume the speakers would be community members. That was true for years – but this time around, there’s something a little different. The speakers are Microsoft employees (save one co-presenter). The topics focus on marketing SQL Server 2014 and Azure SQL Database. And the 24 Hours of PASS is sponsored by Microsoft.…

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Why Something Like RapGenius Will Eventually Revolutionize Documentation

June 3, 2014

community, documentation, rapgenius

I’m a lyrics guy. Sure, I love a catchy beat and a good hook, but I don’t really love music unless the lyrics grab me too. These days, when I find a song I like, the first thing I do is look up the lyrics on RapGenius to hear what they really mean. For example, I’ve loved Sia’s music for years, and she just released a new single, Chandelier. Here’s the music video. Incredibly catchy, and at first I thought the chorus was “1,2,3 1,2, 3, 3.” (I do love Sia, but sometimes she slurs her words.) So off I went…

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ApexSQL Monitor Explained in One Screenshot

May 27, 2014

apexsql, review, vendors

Let’s get one thing straight from the start: I love monitoring products. I get really excited when there’s a new one because I think there’s still a lot of space for innovation in this market. So when I got an email from ApexSQL announcing their new SQL Server monitoring product, I was excited. I clicked on it immediately and looked at the first screen shot in their announcement blog post: ApexSQL Monitor – click to enlarge The more things I looked at, the more horrified I got. Let’s take it from the top: SQL Server isn’t capitalized correctly. I can forgive…

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My Favorite Blog Posts

May 20, 2014

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My arm is busted, so rather than giving you a new post, I’m linking to a few of my past favorites: Adam Machanic at Alinea. No particular reason, just one of my favorite photos from the last year. Pick a Needle and Move It – Quit focusing on fragmentation and start paying attention to what the business users want. How to Pass the MVP Exam – No, there’s not really a test – or is there? My 6 Rules for Incredible Time Management – Starting with making the decision that you want to be incredible. Treat Criticism Like Incoming Email – Use…

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Broken Arm = Less Brent for a While

May 10, 2014

life quest, personal

I tripped while carrying a monitor, and before you could say “banana peel” the top of my humerus bone was smashed: As they say on Mythbusters, “There’s your problem.” The surgeons think it broke completely across, but they don’t want to pop me open to do screws or anything – just stuck in a sling for the next month while the bone grows back together. There doesn’t appear to be any muscle or tendon damage. The tingling feeling means it’s working. It’s my left arm, and I’m right handed, so it could be worse. However, this means a sling until early June,…

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The One Pound SQL Server: Dell Venue Pro 8

May 6, 2014

dell, microsoft, reviews, SQL Server

I should have bought one with an ARM processor. If you’re like me (and I have a feeling you’re not), you’ve always wanted a portable backup SQL Server that you could use for presentations, script authoring, and settling bar bets – but you didn’t want to pay a lot for this muffler. Enter the $250 Dell Venue 8 Pro running full-blown Windows 8.1 (none of that crippled “RT” stuff), an Intel Atom processor, 2GB RAM, and 32GB of internal storage. I won it free at SQLSaturday Madison 2014, but I’ve sunk about another $100 into it: 64GB MicroSD card (I…

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Why I Keep Speaking at User Groups and SQLsaturdays

April 29, 2014

consulting, marketing, presenting

Badges badges badges badges badges badges badges badges badges badges badges badges MUSHROOM MUSHROOM Before I did a lot of speaking, I assumed there were two types of speakers. One group just loved volunteering to help people. The other group was a bunch of money-hungry people that wanted to talk attendees out of their wallets. Now that I do a lot more speaking, I don’t just assume that this is true – I am convinced it’s true. For example, I accidentally sat in a vendor session at SQLSaturday Chicago, and I was flabbergasted by the blatant advertising – frankly, hucksterism – coming from…

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How the Company-Startup Thing Worked Out For Me, Year 2

April 22, 2014

Brent Ozar Unlimited, consulting, life quest, personal

About a year ago, I shared the first post in what will hopefully be a long series about starting and growing a company. The timeline went something like this: April 2011 – started the company. April 2012 – year one finished, but I didn’t blog about it right away. I wanted to get it into the rear view mirror for perspective before blogging. April 2013 – year two finished, so I blogged about year one. April 2014 – year three finished, so I’m blogging about year two now. When Last We Met As we finished up year 1, we had just brought…

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Blog Posts

Hi. I’m Brent.