Making Sense of Microsoft’s AI Strategy: Work IQ, Fabric IQ, Foundry IQ

A few weeks ago, I found myself staring at a slide full of new Microsoft AI names and thinking… wait a second. Work IQ. Fabric IQ. Foundry IQ. Agent...

Fix Slow, Bloated MSDB: Purge Old History And Add Missing Indexes

Fix Slow, Bloated MSDB: Purge Old History And Add Missing Indexes

After tempdb, msdb is often the most abused system database, growing unchecked until it tanks...

SQL Server 2025 CU1 Fixes the Docker Desktop AVX Issue on macOS

Microsoft fixed the AVX instruction issue in SQL Server 2025 CU1. The container now runs successfully on Docker Desktop for macOS without needing OrbStack.

Webinar: Navigating the Database Landscape in 2026

For a number of years, we’ve produced the State of the Database Landscape report, based on surveys and research we do every year. I have found it very interesting...

Reality (And Limits) of Instant File Initialization for Transaction Logs in SQL Server 2022

Reality (And Limits) of Instant File Initialization for Transaction Logs in SQL Server 2022

If you’ve spent any time tuning SQL Server, you’ve probably heard “Turn...

Three Ways to Use Snowflake Data in Microsoft Fabric

Organizations increasingly want Snowflake and Microsoft Fabric to coexist without duplicating data or fragmenting governance. With Fabric OneLake and open table formats like Iceberg and Delta, there are now...

A New Word: Dolorblindness

dolorblindness – n. the frustration that you’ll never be able to understand another person’s pain, only ever searching their face for some faint evocation of it, then rifling through...

Advice I Like: Ranch Rules

Leave a gate behind you the way you first found it. – from Excellent Advice for Living This is a ranch rule. Leave something as you found it. If...

PASS Data Community Summit 2025 Recap

This is long overdue but life and distractions happened. It’s been a little over two months since I returned home from PASS Summit 2025.

Using AI for Git Hooks

Recently I had someone internally ask about whether SQL Source Control supports Git Hooks. Since it was after UK work hours, I decided to run a quick test. One...