I've always been fascinated by computers.  I learned on a Commodore Pet prior to buying my first computer, a Commodore Vic20.
The fascination with data and databases comes from the...

When I was a DBA my attitude was don't upgrade until SP1 is out.  Every upgrade represented a huge risk and consequent huge investment in time and money for very...

I am extremely wary of projected price savings based on the price of an individual item.  If the item is stand-a-lone then the price you pay probably is what was...

I had hoped that Service Broker would address most of the issues with replication but it seemed to add complication and obscurity, not reduce it.

Having worked with replication...

Under GDPR the chief data office answers to the highest level of the organisation. They are not intended to block legitimate use of data nor dictate the way things should...

The fictitious bit is the happy ending

As Steve notes, there have always been people within the business putting together DIY utilities.  These end up being mission critical.  I don't think I'm being massively cynical in saying...

There are so many things we have to ask ourselves with regard to autonomous systems.
Which rules designed for human situations simply don't apply in autonomous ones?  If you take...

SQL Server 7 gets a vote from me.  I used to nurse maid a SQL6.5 instance and had to upload data from a client on a weekly basis with a...

I feel that this is an endless cycle.  If you have an out-of-the-box solution change to bepoke development.  If you have bespoke development then change the other way.
Trying to...

The longer you are in IT the more likely you are to recognise today's hot topic as yesteryears reheat. It's an endless cycle of centralise/decentralise, buy/build, specialise/generalise.

I see...