All our environments for SQL Server are different, but Andy Warren wonders if each of us might have a "perfect environment." Would things be standardized to make administration consistent? Or perhaps flexible to allow each instance to be tailored to its own needs.  Read more...

When should a DBA get fired? Steve Jones thinks it should be rare and gives you two cases.  Read more...

Steve Jones notes that security can be a reason to upgrade your systems, but it can also result in an endless cycle.  Read more...

Day 2 at the PASS Summit provides some inspiration for Steve Jones at the Women in Technology luncheon.  Read more...

Testing our applications is important, but at what level do we need to test? Steve Jones talks about unit testing today, and wonders if this is prevalent for SQL Server developers.  Read more...

Schemas may be largely irrelevant to small databases, where it is no trouble to assign permissions to individual objects, but they are vital for a hard working corporate database that is being actively developed and used by several applications, with thousands of objects that must be assigned the correct permission.  Read more...

This Friday Steve Jones wants you to look back and cringe a bit. Share with the rest of the community what a bad day was for you and see if it was really as bad as you think.  Read more...

Much of the data collected by companies is being sold for profit. This data isn't treated well and while not much may change, perhaps we should be aware of how we handle data as professionals.  Read more...

Pick your poison.  Read more...

What's the worst code you've seen? Steve Jones hopes it isn't your own code.  Read more...

How many passwords do you have? Steve Jones has a lot and while he notes there are some new ways for us to authorize ourselves for servers, they aren't necessarily making things more secure or less complex.  Read more...

Many people have been unsure of cloud computing and what it means for your particular application. Steve Jones notes there's a great new demo that can help you get started exploring the Azure offerings.  Read more...

What do you do as a DBA if you get asked to cook the books? With the economy doing poorly, some executives will be tempted to mis-report earnings and they might ask the technical people to help. Steve Jones has a few thoughts.  Read more...

The #sqlhelp hashtag on Twitter is a great way to interact with the SQL Server community and get help.  Read more...

SQL Server is so large and complex that it's like an operating system. In fact, there the core engine is often referred to as the "SQL OS" by Microsoft developers. Steve Jones would like to see SQL Server as it's own OS at some point.  Read more...

A survey of developers on Stack Overflow has some interesting results that Steve Jones notes. Some of them might just impact our careers as data professionals.  Read more...

The practice of continuous software development is growing, with continuous integration, deployment, and delivery being topics that Steve Jones is learning about. Today he talks about delivery.  Read more...

Developers, enamored of the integrated approach to Software Delivery, would like to be able to respond to business need in business time, adding functionality when the need is recognized, instead of 6-9 months later after it's gone through the sclerotic IT purchasing and configuration process.  Read more...

This Friday Steve Jones asks if you build your own mini-me's to help you manage your database systems.  Read more...

Beware added value.  Read more...