Jacksonville's 16th Annual SQL Saturday event includes paid pre-con tracks and one FREE day of training sessions for Microsoft Data Platform professionals and those wanting to grow their Business Intelligence, Analytics, and SQL Server skills. This event is hosted by Jacksonville SQL Server Users Group, a 501c3 non-profit organization.

SQL Saturday is a training event for SQL Server and data professionals who want to learn how to elevate their careers to the next level. This is the 16th year of SQL Saturday in Jacksonville and will be held on May 4, 2024. Admittance to this event is free; donations and sponsorship cover all costs. Please register soon, as seating is limited, and let friends and colleagues know about the event. SQL Saturday Jacksonville is hosted by Jacksonville SQL Server Users Group, a 501c3 non-profit organization.

Why: It is a great opportunity to learn from SQL Server Experts, Microsoft MVPs, SQL Server Authors, and Professionals who have been through and can relate to the obstacles you have day to day. This one-day training event is unlike any other, providing free food, training, and networking.

When: Saturday, May 4, 2024

Cost: FREE!!!

Optional Box Lunch: $15

Where: University of North Florida Campus, Main Campus, 1 UNF Drive, Jacksonville, FL 32224. Building 51 and Building 4. Parking in Garage 38 near the baseball fields.

Event Hotel: Hilton Tru

You may place discounted reservations between 5/2/24 and 5/7/24 - All reservations must be booked before 4/11/24 for the discount.

PreCons

#1 - Harnessing the Power of Microsoft Fabric - Accelerating Insights with OneLake, Power BI, and Synapse - Patrick LeBlanc - GuyInACube

Session Details:

In this session, we will explore the incredible potential of Microsoft Fabric, a cutting-edge data platform designed to unlock the full power of your data and artificial intelligence (AI). With its robust suite of capabilities, Microsoft Fabric empowers organizations to leverage data effectively and extract actionable insights. Join us as we dive into the key components of Microsoft Fabric, including OneLake, the revolutionary “OneDrive for data” solution that simplifies data storage, organization, and sharing. From leveraging lakehouses and notebooks, to data warehousing and data movement with Pipelines and Dataflows, we will also delve into how this empowers Power BI, Microsoft’s leading business intelligence tool, which allows users to visualize data and gain valuable insights through interactive dashboards and reports.

What will you learn?

What is OneLake and why is it so revolutionary?
Building your Lakehouse in Fabric
Mastering Data warehousing in Fabric
Orchestrating with pipelines and dataflows
Understanding Power BI’s role in Fabric

Speaker:

Patrick LeBlanc is a currently a Principal Program Manager at Microsoft and a contributing partner to Guy in a Cube. Along with his 15+ years’ experience in IT he holds a Masters of Science degree from Louisiana State University. He is the author and co-author of five SQL Server books. Prior to joining Microsoft he was awarded Microsoft MVP award for his contributions to the community. Patrick is a regular speaker at many SQL Server Conferences and Community events.

#2 - Unlocking AI Potential for the Data Professional: Azure OpenAI

Session Details:
Are you ready to unleash the full potential of artificial intelligence? Whether you’re a seasoned Data Professional or just dipping your toes into the world of machine learning, our full-day session will empower you with the knowledge to create groundbreaking solutions.

Why Attend?

• AI & Azure OpenAI Unveiled: Get an exclusive introduction to Azure Open AI, a comprehensive suite of tools and services designed to empower developers like you.

• Cutting-Edge Insights: Dive into the latest breakthroughs in natural language processing, computer vision, conversational AI, and generative models.

• Harness the Fusion: Discover how the synergy between artificial intelligence and cloud computing can revolutionize your business and data projects.

• Hands-On Collaboration: Engage in collaborative exercises where you’ll team up with fellow participants. Together, you’ll design robust architectures and make informed decisions about AI project implementation.

• Scalability and Security: Learn how to build scalable, secure, and responsible AI/Data solutions using Azure OpenAI.

Key Takeaways

By the end of this session, you’ll walk away with:

1. Deep Understanding: A solid grasp of the Azure Open AI ecosystem and its capabilities.

2. Decision-Making Superpowers: The ability to make informed choices when it comes to AI project design and deployment.

3. Modern Guidance: Valuable insights and practical tips to elevate your AI projects to new heights.

Speakers: Buck Woody, Bradley Ball, Josh Luedeman, Daniel Taylor, Andres Padilla, and Neeraj Jhaveri

Buck Woody is an Applied Data Scientist working on the Azure Data Services team at Microsoft, and uses data and technology to solve business and science problems. With over 39 years of professional and practical experience in computer technology, he is also a popular speaker at conferences around the world; author of over 700 articles and nine books on databases, machine learning, and R, he also sits on various Data Science Boards at two US Universities and specializes in advanced data analysis techniques. He is passionate about mentoring and growing the next generation of data professionals.

Specialties: Data, Data Science, Databases, Communication, Teaching, Speaking, Writing, Cloud Computing, Security

Clifton's Strengths: Individualization, Learner, Connectedness, Positivity, Achiever, Ideation

Bradley Ball is a Sr. FastTrack Azure Engineer on the Microsoft CXP Product Group. He is a current Microsoft MVP Reconnect member and former MVP. Bradley spent 8 years working as a Defense contractor for clients such as the U.S. Army and The Executive Office of the President of the United States, was the Data Platform Practice Manager for Pragmatic Works Consulting, and a Sr. Consultant for Microsoft Premier Support for Developers. He has presented at many SQL Saturdays, for PASS SSUG’s across the US from California to Puerto Rico to New Hampshire, SQL Rally, DevConnections, SQLBits 2015, TechReady 24, SQL Live 360 2011-2019, SQL Intersections 2019 - 2021, & the PASS Summit 2011-2015. He wrote Chapter 14 Page & Row Compression for PRO SQL Server 2012 Best Practices, he hosts the Tales from the Field weekly Azure Data Community Round table and technical videos on https://www.youtube.com/@Tales-from-the-Field with his Azure FastTrack PG colleagues, and he can be found blogging on http://www.sqlballs.com about anything else that interests him.

Josh Luedeman is a Principal Engineer with Azure Engineering's CXP team at Microsoft, focusing on Big Data, Analytics, and Cloud Architecture. He is a regular speaker at Professional Association of SQL Server(PASS) events, Code on the Beach, the PASS Summit, Microsoft Ignite, and other IT conferences. He has worked in IT for over 10 years and currently works with customers in industries like Higher Education, Consulting, Manufacturing, and Software Development to help them migrate their workloads to the Azure cloud.

Daniel Taylor is a Microsoft Sr. Service Engineer on the FastTrack for Azure and Azure Engineering CXP Team. He have presented a pre-con on Azure Dedicated Pools at SQL Saturday Jacksonville and was a speaker at many SQL Saturday events. My consulting role at Pragmatic Works provided me an opportunity to present the Airlift Dedicated Pool workshop to a large audience. Outside of public speaking engagements, my role within Microsoft has provided me with the opportunity to speak with large groups about the benefits of migrating to Azure, as well as, the capabilities of SQL Server on-premises and in the cloud. My passion these days is helping folks modernize within Azure utilizing one of our many PaaS solutions, as well as, the out of the box SQL Server product.

Andres Padilla is a Microsoft Principal FastTrack Engineer, Azure Engineering – CXP. A passionate Microsoft Cloud Architect with over 20 years of experience focusing on analytics, streaming data, IoT and Azure Technologies. Along the way, I have been able to live in corporate IT, get dirty with big data, jump into the cloud and take a shot at the start-up world. I spend my days blending cloud architectures, business strategy, coding, influencing, designing, motivating and delivering solutions that live in the cloud. My goal is to constantly push myself, absorb different perspectives, inspire and be inspired, learn from every experience and create something exciting, awesome and new.

Neeraj Jhaveri is Sr. Azure Fasttrack Engineer with expertise in providing Data, Analytics and AI solutions. Neeraj has MS in Computer Science from NYIT. He has about 20 years of experience in the IT industry as an Architect/Team Leader which includes experience

in Data warehousing, Business Intelligence & analytics areas. IT Leader managing and delivering Big Data & Business Intelligence solutions while promoting analytics driven culture.

He has worked closely with Client Managers, Solution Architects, Leads, Users and Development teams in successfully translating business requirements into specifications, planning and deliverable. Neeraj is one of the founding host of Tales from the Field youtube channel.

SQL Clinic

We will have a room set up for you to ask our SQL Experts for assistance with any current challenges you might be having. Look for this image posted at the door

Women In Technology Lunch Panel

This year's topic will be 'Bridging the Gap: Evaluating the Impact of Investment on Women in Technology and Addressing Bias' and will be hosted by Kellyn Gorman

Speakers

If you are interested in speaking at SQL Saturday Jacksonville, please go here to submit your sessions: https://sessionize.com/sqlsatjax

Sponsors

Platinum - UNF - https://www.unf.edu/ccec

Code of Conduct

By registering for this event, you agree to the following.

SQLSaturday events seek to create a respectful, friendly, patient, considerate, and inclusive event experience and an environment where all participants feel welcome.

We therefore ask all participants to honor this Code of Conduct. Any disruptive, intolerant, or inappropriate behavior will not be tolerated, and we reserve the right to remove participants who violate our Code of Conduct from the event.

We do not tolerate any harassment or discrimination. Although this list cannot be exhaustive, we explicitly honor diversity in age, gender, gender identity or expression, culture, ethnicity, language, national origin, profession, race, religion, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, physical and psychological ability, and technical ability.

The organizer of this event will prioritize marginalized people’s safety over privileged people’s comfort. Please report any concerns, harassing behavior, or suspicious or disruptive activity to the event organizer or staff.