I talk to a lot of people about the latest release of SQL Server and have been surprised to get a lot of “why should I…” type statements.  I think a lot of this has to do with the solid nature of SQL Server 2005 (and 2000 to some degree) and most businesses fear of upgrading most any product these days.

I presented a webcast earlier this month titled Shed the Shackle That Limits Your Organization’s Performance discussing this very topic, purely from a business perspective.  It is now available on the Magenic site here.  If you are looking to sell the business reasons to your organization (or yourself, perhaps) I believe you will find plenty of information to do so.

As always, if you have any questions on the content feel free to drop me a line through my Email page.

Just in time for Christmas…yes Virginia, there really is an SP3 for SQL Server.  :)

I really wasn’t sure this was going to be a reality for a while there.  You can start looking through the detail here.  Hopefully you don’t have your heart set on the “What’s New” document, it takes you to a Page Not Found at 10:20PM EST.  Doh.

The KB for all the bug fixes can be found here.  Happy installing!

This is the post I was trying to write this evening before I got the heads up that SP3 was released…

A general question for the readers of this blog: do you have a peer that serves as your “sounding board” when it comes to technology?  Not just someone that will stop you and ask why you’re doing something a certain way, much more than that.  I’m talking about a person that you can count on to “check” you technically. 

An example of this is my good friend Steve Porter.  We have known each other for years and worked together for a few years to great success.  Over this time we’ve bounced a lot off each other and shared lots of highs and lows.  Although we both have a lot going in our respective consulting lives we always make a point of attending the other’s user group/event sessions (check him out at the MDC tomorrow).  That kind of support goes a long way.

I tell you all this because before today I had never really questioned the fact that I had this great resource.  A conversation led to someone describing their lack of growth over the year in a very “oh well” manner.  I asked them if they didn’t have someone pushing them in some technical direction and just got a puzzled look.

If you have that same puzzled face as you’re reading this I really urge you to try and find someone in your company or at a user group, etc. and try to build that kind of relationship.  Technology comes at us so fast and furious these days that it’s really easy to feel washed over and a little immobilized.  Having someone that can ask you what you’re doing to improve yourself can be that little kick in the pants we all need from time to time.

On Tuesday of the coming week I’ll be heading over to The Westin Peachtree Plaza for MDC Atlanta.  My buddy Steve Porter will be doing a session and I have to swing by to heckle support him.

If you have the time (and the $99) it should be a great day of content and technical conversation with some really knowledgeable people.

See you there!