I’ve been quiet for a bit but a lot’s been going on. Yes, I saw the whole Crowdstrike thing. I have lots of thoughts and will blog about that whole situation soon. In the meantime …

Looking Back

First things first: My new album, Looking Back, was released July 26. You can buy high resolution (96/24) downloads or a limited edition physical CD at Bandcamp. It’s also available for streaming or download at all of the usual platforms worldwide so it’s not just available in the USA (Amazon Music, Apple Music, iTunes, Qobuz, Spotify, Tidal, Youtube, et al.). Check your local versions of those services. I’m incredibly proud of Looking Back and just a few weeks in, it cracked the top 200 at jazz radio according to the latest JazzWeek chart going live next week.

MVP Renewal

In early July, Microsoft renewed me as a an MVP (dual again: Cloud + Datacenter Management, Data Platform) for the 16th time. However, I recently resigned from the MVP program and it was official today.

I will always be grateful to Microsoft for recognizing both my technical skills and community work since 2009. Being an MVP did and always will mean a lot to me as I join the ranks of the alumni.

I made great friends because of the MVP program. , had opportunities I would not have been presented with otherwise, and events like MVP Summit – and the infamous full day Windows Server feedback sessions at the end – are some of my best professional memories. The feedback I provided over the years impacted both Windows Server and SQL Server. I’m very proud of my contributions these past 15+. Believe it or not, it was nice not having to be the smartest person in the room and I learned so much from listening to my colleagues. I’ll miss MVP Summit and things like those full day Windows Server feedback sessions.

New Job

The reason I resigned as an MVP is that I accepted a position at Microsoft on the Azure Data team. For everyone over the years who said to me “You’re so close to Microsoft, we thought you were” – now I actually am (again). I was at Microsoft earlier in my career and in many ways, this feels like coming full circle. Now I can make a direct impact (not that I didn’t in other ways, especially as an MVP).

I also want to thank Pure Storage for my time there.

Moving Forward

Besides Moving Forward being the name of my last album released in 2022 (available at Bandcamp and all other major platforms), I will still blog here and speak at events. Some of it may come with a disclaimer that the opinions are mine and not those of my employer on some posts.

I will be at two big events this fall: PASS Data Community Summit 2024 and Data Platform Live! At PASS Data Community Summit, I will be teaching a full day pre-con entitled “The Secret Sauce to SQL Server Availability“. Hope to see you in it. For both events, I will be there as myself, not under the auspices of Microsoft. Both of those speaking engagements are commitments from before accepting my new role at Microsoft.

See everyone soon ..