Category: Non-Technical

T-SQL Tuesday #193 – Notes to my past self and from my future self

On By SteveIn Non-Technical

It has been a while since my last T-SQL Tuesday blog. When I saw Mike Walsh’s topic for T-SQL Tuesday #193, I was intrigued and inspired – “Notes to yourself from the past and the future.” It has been a year and a half since I went on full time disability due to ALS. I worked for as long as I was able contribute well. It was a sad but necessary reality. This very reality feeds into my notes.

Note to my past self, ten years ago

Don’t allow others to influence you away from your passion for data excellence and leadership. When you are told that becoming a Microsoft MVP is only a personal (or selfish) endeavor and will not help the company and it doesn’t matter, DON’T LISTEN! They are showing how little they know or understand you. The same is true about your data community involvement.

I was awarded the Microsoft MVP award for my work on Microsoft Fabric about a year and a half ago. It was then I learned how much access you get to the engineering teams at Microsoft and a worldwide network of fellow pros. Throughout my years working for Microsoft partners, I have been on data partner advisory councils. I appreciated that exposure, but MVPs already knew what we were hearing for the first time. I can only imagine how I could have helped steer the technological direction of my companies with that insight.

A quick soapbox… It never ceases to amaze me how many MVPs and advisory members do not give feedback and recommendations back to Microsoft. These relationships should be mutually beneficial. From personal experience, I know that giving feedback to Microsoft is beneficial. Many times, Microsoft teams and others thought I was an MVP even though I was not. It was because of my feedback on the data platform through other channels.  …end of soapbox.

My overall point to my past self is that you should pursue the path that you see as right for you. Don’t let the naysayers deter you. You need to play to your strengths.

Note from your future self

Before I start this, living ten more years would be amazing. ALS life expectancy is 2-5 years, and I am in year four.

Don’t stop what you are doing. It will continue to be easier and more efficient for you to create. Don’t be afraid of continuing to contribute to the data community. Your mind still works. It will take a lot of patience to work with data tools that are not eye gaze friendly. Don’t let that deter you. Have fun, find a lane and run with it.

I just started getting back to technology. I created the Data on Wheels ~ ALS website, only using eye gaze technology. “Look mom, no hands!” It has been a great experience for me and got me back into technology. I tried using Power BI for the data analysis but quickly realized that I needed Microsoft Fabric to do the work I wanted to do which is out of reach financially (trial capacities are time boxed). So maybe I will see what I can do to solve that problem.

Wrapping it up

I listened to company leaders early in my career. They were wrong. I trusted their input too much. I should have sought additional advice. It would have been better for me and the companies I enjoyed working for.

Today, I have the desire but not the patience or means in some cases to data work. I enjoyed it a lot. I should not give up. I look forward to sharing what I learn.

My advice to everyone is to follow your passions and find enjoyment in your career. Seek council from many different perspectives in your pursuit.

Becoming Kristyna Ferris <3

On By Kristyna FerrisIn Non-Technical1 Comment

Hey folks, fun personal post today. A few weeks ago, I got married!

My amazing new husband is Kyle Ferris, and I will be changing my name to Kristyna Ferris! Thank you to everyone who has reached out with congratulations! Curious about how we met? Feel free to check out our story on our wedding website! It’s been a crazy few months of planning a wedding from a few states away then helping Kyle move in, so I’m excited to get back into blogging and speaking again after the holidays. I was sad I couldn’t make it to PASS Summit to see everyone, but I’ve really enjoyed the extra time home to unpack and unwind with my new hubby.

Hope you all have a lovely holiday season!

Huge shout out to my photographer, Marley Vedder, for getting one of the best pictures of me and my dad together! If you’re wondering what he’s been up to, check out his awesome 5-minute videos on Microsoft Fabric – https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLb5InovAUFm-IHkZCgiwejFOzoP13J-ZH!

Focusing on a Different S Curve

On By Kristyna FerrisIn Conference Recaps, General, Non-Technical

At the beginning of the year, I took a step back and looked at how far my career had grown. In large part because of the incredible data community, I’ve been given unbelievable opportunities to speak at international conferences and meet passionate data folks from all over the world. Got a few things off the bucket list like going on a cruise, and even added some new ones like having a beer with my friends from Germany in Germany.

But when I looked at this upcoming year, my heart felt a bit sore and tired. While I love traveling and speaking, I realized that I was losing my balance on the tight walk of fulfillment with burnout valley looming below. I talked to Adam Jorgensen, who I have seen make difficult decisions in search of this balance, and he turned my attention to the S curve of growth. An S curve is always going up, but there are periods of rest and recovery along the way. As I thought about my goals for the current year, I realized that slowing down may be the key to continuing to love what I do and grow.

Fast forward a couple months, and my boyfriend asked me to marry him! I was overjoyed and can’t wait for him to move to Kentucky in a couple months (our story). As many of you know, my dad (Steve Hughes) was diagnosed with ALS a couple years ago (CaringBridge). Given the progression of his ALS symptoms, Kyle (my incredible fiancé) and I decided to have the wedding this coming October! It’s a quick turnaround, but I have full faith it will be the celebration we dreamed of. I was never a big fan of the long distance anyway, so I am super excited to start our lives together sooner rather than later.

With all this in mind, I have had to back out of a couple of conferences this fall – Enertia Software Conference and PASS Summit. Unfortunately, my current employer requires employees to take PTO to attend conferences. There are some allowances made if you’re speaking (one day per session accepted), but it does make it difficult to take time off to attend conferences in person when I would like to be there for any complications in surgeries and also take a honeymoon. Both Enertia and PASS Summit are near and dear to my heart, but I have already contacted the organizers who have graciously allowed me to back out of those commitments and find alternative speakers. I will dearly miss all of the friends I only get to see at these events, but for a little while my PTO and energy need to be allocated elsewhere. Don’t worry though, I’ll still stay in touch on social media and learn from you all from afar! I also plan to continue speaking virtually and in local user groups while catching up on some blogs that have been in my drafts for too long.

I have no doubt I will be speaking at conferences again, but for now I am very happy to focus on the big life changes coming up. Thank you so much for all the support we have received as a family, it’s been amazing to see the data community contribute to the ALS foundation! The response from data folks on Twitter and LinkedIn was overwhelming, so thank you again for your support. The walk is a week away, and I can’t wait to see some of you in person for that as well!

For those of you struggling on that tightrope of fulfillment, don’t ignore your gut when it tells you something is out of balance. Make those adjustments, and enjoy the view.

Welcome to 3Cloud …

On By SteveIn Azure, Non-Technical

A little over a month ago, Pragmatic Works Consulting was a part of a merger that included 3Cloud and Applied Cloud Services over a period of a few months. Let’s look at the journey.

June 30, 2020: 3Cloud Receives Growth Equity from Gryphon Investors
July 30, 2020: 3Cloud Acquires Applied Cloud Services
September 9, 2020: 3Cloud Acquires Pragmatic Works Consulting

From June through September, 3Cloud went from about 70 people to 170. We are now the largest Azure “pure-play” consulting company in the United States. And this is just the beginning…

So, what are my thoughts on this?

I am truly excited about the opportunity to grow a consulting company that is focused on Azure. Sure there is a lot of change, but change is not bad. As we bring our three companies together to become one, there are challenges and successes. All of us have already benefited from the merging of skills and teams to create a more complete solution team for our customers.

I look forward to seeing how we evolve over the next few months and years. Exciting times are ahead!

Customer Impact

While working for a data centric company like Pragmatic Works was great, the shift to cloud technologies and Azure data services required us to expand our capabilities beyond data and SQL Server. This merger allows us to immediately add value to our customers by adding application development and infrastructure capabilities to our toolbox. Beyond that, 3Cloud and ACS bring a mature managed services offering including the ability to host and manage customer resources in Azure (CSP).

I think our customers get a significant boost in services as we become a more complete Azure company.

Some Final Thoughts

I will miss working directly with Brian Knight and Tim Moolic, two of the founding partners at Pragmatic Works. Their vision helped shape a great organization over 12 years. In case you did not realize it, Pragmatic Works will continue on as a training organization. You can still expect excellent technical training from the team there. We all will continue to learn and grow with their support.

If you are interested in joining our team or learning more about what 3Cloud offers, reach out to me at [email protected]. I look forward to seeing you on a webinar or working with you in the future.

Congratulations to Pragmatic Works – Microsoft Partner of the Year Finalists, Again

On By SteveIn Azure, Non-Technical, Power BI, Power Platform

Pragmatic Works has done it again. Microsoft has recognized us for our work this year with two finalist awards — Power BI and PowerApps and Power Automate. This recognizes work we have done for our customers with these products.

This follows awards over the last three years for Data Analytics (2019) and Data Platform (2017). I am proud to work for a great company who strives to be industry leaders in data and analytics in the cloud and on-premises. I am truly excited to see where we go from here!