[Video] Office Hours: Back in the Bahamas Edition
Yes, I’m back on a cruise ship with another 360 degree video. Lest you think I’m being wildly irresponsible (or responsible perhaps?) with your consulting and training money, be aware that this particular cruise was free thanks to the fine folks in the …
My thoughts on Redgate’s 2026 State of the Database Landscape report
I always really look forward to reading Redgate’s annual State of the Database Landscape report, and 2026 was no exception. I love the level of detailed statistics they collected from many thousands of database professionals worldwide, from DBAs to sen …
Who’s Hiring Database People? March 2026 Edition
Is your company hiring for a database position as of March 2026? Do you wanna work with the kinds of people who read this blog? Let’s make a love connection. If your company is hiring, leave a comment. The rules: Your comment must include the job title …
How to secure MySQL and PostgreSQL in the world of AI
Are you feeling the impact of AI in your daily work? No? Your database might say otherwise. If you run a forum, threads, posts and messages that are forwarded to the database are likely to be at least partially AI-generated. Run a search engine derivin …
The secret life of database keys
There’s not much to database keys, right? When you build a new table, you add a column to act as the primary key, then set it to auto-generate. Done. That’s all there is to know…right? The goal of this article is to demonstrate that there’s much more t …
The Tech Consulting Market Isn’t Looking Good.
After hearing the same dire news from several of my consulting friends, I put a poll up on LinkedIn: About half of the consultants out there are having a tougher time bringing in new clients than they have in the past. There are a couple things to keep …
[Video] Office Hours in the Vegas Home Office
Let’s hang out in my home office in Vegas and go through your top-voted questions from https://pollgab.com/room/brento. The audio’s a little echo-y in this one because I just moved my office down to a small first floor guest bedroom with hardwood floor …
Why disabling the SQL Server sa account still matters in 2026
Every few years, someone asks a familiar question: do we really still need to disable the sa account in SQL Server? After all, it’s 2026. SQL Server has better encryption, better auditing, better defaults, and more security features than ever before. S …
I Don’t Take Private Questions at Pre-Conference Classes.
When I first started teaching database sessions at conferences, I noticed a pattern. When I finished the session, closed PowerPoint, and thanked everyone for attending, a big queue of attendees would instantly start forming at the podium. People would …
10 Signs It Was Time to Hire Me
You’ve been reading my blog, watching my videos, and maybe even taking some of my training classes. You’ve heard me say things like “my clients” from time to time, and you’re wondering… why do companies actually hire me? What problem are they trying to …
Learning PostgreSQL with Grant: Data Storage
If you’re hosting your databases within a Virtual Machine (VM) or on some big iron, one of the principal bottlenecks you’re likely to see within your PostgreSQL clusters is I/O. With I/O at the center of potential performance problems, a good understan …
How to optimize planned availability group failovers in SQL Server
We often perform planned availability group failovers in SQL Server for maintenance, patching, upgrades, and even hardware rotation. Typically, our failovers are fast, but sometimes they take longer – and it’s not always intuitive why, as there are no …
[Video] Office Hours: Ask Me Anything About Microsoft SQL Server and Azure SQL DB
Want to ask your own questions or pick the ones I discuss? Head over to https://pollgab.com/room/brento to get involved. In the meantime, let’s hang out in the backyard, where Beni makes a special guest appearance. Here’s what we covered: 00:00 Start 0 …
How to safely use MySQL 8.0 post end-of-life (and alternatives to consider)
Regardless of how popular a specific software appliance is, particular versions of it are inevitably phased out over time, paving the way for new ones. MySQL, the DB-Engines DBMS of the Year in 2025, is perfect proof of this. MySQL 8.0 was officially r …
How to Help Copilot Encourage Good Database Standards
I know a lot of y’all lag behind on upgrading SSMS, but v22.3 just introduced something that you need to be aware of. It’s going to impact any of your users who DO upgrade their SSMS, or who use Github Copilot. There’s something that you can do in orde …