Tag: 3Cloud

The Next Phase & A Fresh Start

On By SteveIn Work Enablement3 Comments
Steve walking down a road in Yosemite

As of June 1, I am no longer an employee at 3Cloud. I am now officially on long term disability. This marks the first time since I graduated from high school that I am not working full time in some capacity.

A Little History

Bethany House Publishers logo

I started working with technology around 1995. My career started with Microsoft Access with which I built a warehouse management solution for Bethany House Publishers.

Magenic logo

I was recruited from there to work with Magenic as a VB developer. I learned about SQL Server and fell in love with databases. From there I learned how to use Analysis Services and really enjoyed working with MDX. That is right, I actually like working with multi-dimensional models and with MDX. I continued to work with these tools and built up a good reputation and skillset in that area. Star schemas and multi-dimensionality just made sense to me. During my time at Magenic, I developed my technology leadership and presentation skills. I became a Practice Lead and drove business and technical expertise in the data (SQL Server), collaboration (SharePoint), and integration (BizTalk) areas.

Xata truck

My time there was split around a stint at Xata, a transportation management company. It was here that I created Data on Wheels. This became the brand I would use for the next 14 years to disseminate technology learning in data and business intelligence. I would eventually move over to Pragmatic Works to continue my focus on data.

Original Data on Wheels logo
Pragmatic Works logo

While I was at Pragmatic Works, I started to specialize in presales and would eventually lead that team. I would go on to lead the entire consulting organization. During that time, I would spearhead the move to Azure and cloud data work. We would eventually be acquired by 3Cloud and grow their data team substantially. I worked closely with management to help grow the data business including building up our Microsoft Fabric expertise.

3Cloud logo

In my second year at 3Cloud, I was diagnosed with ALS. This would change my career and life in so many ways. The company has treated me very well given this situation. They have given me great support through this journey right up to the very end of my time there which was at the beginning of June 2024. I am happy that they stood by me through all of this. I wish them the best as they continue to grow and become the best Azure company in the world!

What’s Next?

Fabric 5 thumbnail

In the next phase of my journey, I plan to continue to give back to the data community for as long as I am able. I will try to speak when I can, which will depend on how I am doing and how I am sounding. I also plan to continue recording Fabric videos. My hope is to do some additional content on accessibility with Fabric including how to use various features to support development in practical ways (I will not be typing a lot of code). I am going to work with CoPilot in the various tools such as Fabric, M365, and Windows and share how it can help someone like me continue to be productive in a work setting.

I will continue to educate anyone who will listen on ALS and how to keep living with it and working with it. As this disease continues to ravage my body, my plan is to continue to share how to work with it and how to enjoy the best life you can while you can!

I will not give up!

I will not give in!

I look forward to sharing journey with all of you and I hope you enjoy it with me. Thank you for all the support through the years and all the support yet to come.

For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” – Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT) (emphasis mine)

2023 in Review – Steve’s Perspective

On By SteveIn Microsoft Fabric, Tribute, Work Enablement3 Comments

2023 was another transition year as I continue to navigate my ALS with work. It has become harder to write or at least more work is required. I use Voice Access day to day which allows me to operate my system and dictate everything from messaging in Teams to documents and blog posts such as this. While the technologies allow me to continue to contribute in a variety of ways they are not without their flaws. I find myself doing a lot of correction or relying on friends and family to correct and modify documents and PowerPoints in particular. Despite these limitations, I continue to find ways to contribute and be productive at work and in the community when I am able.

Where I Am Today

At the beginning of the year, I was using a smaller wheelchair but was able to get around well and was still able to go to Usergroup meetings and travel the country. My wife and I made a trip to Disney in May of last year. This was a great opportunity to experience what Disney had to offer for those of us with the accessibility issues. I will tell you they do a great job! As a year progressed, I started to lose more functionality in my legs. It was particularly bad after surgery in June. At that point it became increasingly difficult for me to participate in events further away in the region.

Steve and Sheila at Disney World

I now have a great new power chair which allows me to get around easily and we can use a mobility access van as well. There are still limitations on my ability to travel but we were able to make it out to Kristyna’s wedding in October using these tools.

Kristyna And Steve at her wedding

The other big change for me has been the effect on my breathing. This has limited my ability to talk in long sentences or for long periods of times without requiring a breathing break. Because of this new limitation, I have begun limiting my external speaking and webinars because I would not be able to maintain a long session over 15 minutes or so. As you can imagine this is very disappointing for me as I spent much of my career in the public speaking arena.

I mention all this not so that you can feel sorry for me, but so that you can understand why you may see me in different circumstances or contributing in different ways I’ve never done before. I have always loved working in the community and wish to do so where I am able to. And more about that next.

Contributing to YouTube

This year we launched the new YouTube channel for Data on Wheels. We launched this channel to give me a voice to support some of the working with ALS content I have been creating. My first content was related to using Voice Access. This is a series of videos that introduced users to how to use Voice Access in practical ways. It has a particular focus on enabling users like me on the capabilities on Voice Access. I use Voice Access for most of my navigation and dictation needs in the day-to-day work. I do however lean on Microsoft 365 dictation for longer content creation such as this blog post. Someday I hope to do all of it in one tool.

Fabric 5 video series logo

One of the big contributions I wanted to make was a series of discussions on Microsoft Fabric architectural decision points. That was how the Fabric 5 was born! I was able to maintain about 5 minutes of good conversation regarding Fabric and the various architectural decisions customers should make. This is allowing me to continue to contribute to the community despite the disabilities in front of me. I look forward to contributing even more this upcoming year as Fabric continues to change the landscape of data analytics as we know it.

Spirit of 3Cloud

This year was capped off with my company awarding me the Spirit of 3Cloud award. This award reflects the contributions I have made to the company while battling my disability but at the same time providing support for other team members and growing our organization. I believe this award represents my ability to continue to encourage others to give their best in their lives and in work. Thank you to all of those who continue to support me in this journey, and I hope to continue to represent 3Cloud well throughout it all.

Steve with the Spirit of 3Cloud Award

What’s Next for Data on Wheels

This year I am handing the primary reins all the Data on Wheels blog and YouTube channel over to my daughter, Kristyna, as well as our Data on Rails program for new bloggers. I look forward to seeing great things from her as she continues to grow in her experience and community involvement. You should continue to look for great content from her as she takes the primary role and voice for Data on Wheels. I have truly enjoyed contributing to the blog for over 12 years and will continue to contribute as I’m able to both the blog and YouTube channel.

I am not totally getting out of all of this but want to express my sincere thanks for all the support you all have given us through the years. As I continue to work through my ever-changing disease, your support continues to be appreciated and I will keep you all up to date.

Thank you and Happy New Year!

Announcing a New Book on SQL from 3Cloud Authors

On By SteveIn Book Authoring/Reviews, SQL Server

I am proud to announce the launch of a new book, centered around the importance of SQL, authored by six consultants from 3Cloud. Our new book is called “SQL Query Design Patterns and Best Practices.” This project was brought to us by PACKT and it’s a unique opportunity as we have five brand new authors on the project. Steve Hughes worked with the publisher to create a plan and recruit authors from within the talented data practice at 3Cloud.

The focus of this book is primarily to help those citizen developers who have limited experience in SQL to expand their knowledge to the next level. While the book can be read end to end, it is designed in multiple parts to support different subject areas that meet the needs of these new developers. In the first part of the book, we spend most of our time dealing with best practices on query design. We follow that up with the implementation of some difficult features that have a great use case in report writing and similar types of queries.

The second half of the book guides developers through using query tuning tools and techniques, including indexes. While our focus is not on creating the indexes, it is important to understand how the indexes can impact and improve your queries as you build your queries. We wrap up with some coverage on modern data estate solutions, including working with JSON, querying files, and creating Jupyter notebooks to manage and share SQL solutions.

About the Authors:

This is not the first book that Steve Hughes has worked on, but that is not true for the rest of the authors. Chi Zhang, Leslie Andrews, Dennis Neer, Shabbir Mala, and Ram Babu Singh worked on a few chapters each in this project, which gives them their first opportunity to coauthor a published book. “As lead on this project, I (Steve Hughes) must say I’m very proud that they tackled this project in such a short timeline. I hope this gives them the opportunity to author more books in the future as we look forward to seeing great things from them.”

I am truly excited to have helped 5 new authors get started!

About the Publisher:

We would like to thank PACKT for their support as we worked through this project. They did a marvelous job supporting this group of new authors on their first project! The project leaders and editors were patient and thoughtful throughout the entire project.

About 3Cloud:

We are all grateful to be working for a company who supports our efforts to become the best consultants in the market and look forward to more opportunities to share our expertise.

If you’re interested in reading the book, please feel free to check us out on Amazon.

Working with ALS – ALS Awareness Month 2023

On By SteveIn Azure, Work Enablement

I have been living with ALS for the past two years. I was diagnosed in September 2022 but had my first symptoms and started researching what was going on in July 2021. As I begin to understand my diagnosis more, I realize that this is a progressive disease, and my needs and situation will change over time. In my situation, I lost the use of my arms and hands first and I’ve begun to lose functionality in my legs and torso over the past few months. To learn more about my journey to this point check out this video on YouTube which tells my personal story.

Launching the YouTube Channel

Now that we’ve mentioned YouTube, Data on Wheels is launching its YouTube channel focusing first on my ALS story. While this YouTube channel will support technical content like the Data on Wheels and the Data on Rails blogs, it will also support ALS awareness and accessibility technology.

I realized early on that a blog post was not the best way to share the story or tools that I use while working with ALS. We will have a couple of playlists that are directly related to this part of my story. We will have a playlist called Living with ALS that focuses on my personal journey and various things we’ve learned or experienced in the process. We will also have a playlist that’s called Working with ALS that will focus on the tools I use to keep me working and how I keep working as my disease progresses.

While I wish we could have started this much earlier, the disease itself has slowed my ability to complete some of these tasks as quickly as I wished. It is with a lot of help from my family who have supported me through video editing, content support, and motivation that we’ve been able to get this launched. I hope you enjoy it for what it is, and I look forward to having a number of you follow and learn more about accessibility.

Global Accessibility Awareness Day 2023

I had the opportunity to work with the Voice Access team from Microsoft on a story video that was used on Global Accessibility Awareness Day, May 19, 2023. I am truly impressed with the work Microsoft has done with Windows and Office to create more accessible experiences for those of us who need help doing our day-to-day job. When I think about how Voice Access has truly helped me be productive in my day-to-day work needs such as IMs in Teams, it was a pleasure to work with them to do a video to promote this tool. You can check out the video in the Voice Access area here. You can also learn more about the other accessibility options available in Windows 11.

Supporting the Cause -ALS Walk Lexington, August 2023

As part of the effort we’re doing around ALS Awareness this month, Data on Wheels is the team name for our team that will be doing the ALS Walk in Lexington KY this year. This is an opportunity for us to do our part to help the local community continue to do great things for the ALS community. Check out our team site and support if you can. Every little bit counts. If you’re in the area and want to join us for the short walk that happens in August feel free to sign up on the team.

3Cloud – Inclusive and Supportive Workplace

I was employed at 3Cloud when my disability first surfaced. As you can imagine, it was an emotional roller coaster and I really needed to determine how much it would affect my ability to do work for the company. As you have seen above or in one of my stories, this disease first affected my hands and arms and my ability to type. Without knowing the speed or rate of the disease and the impact to my current workload, I was able to work with my bosses to find a good place for me in the company which allowed me to contribute while I sorted this out. With their help, I have been able to find a place to continue to contribute and participate in the technology that I love to work with. For example, just this past week, Microsoft released a new product called Microsoft Fabric that I’ve been working with them and our team on to understand how to best work with it in our field. The company has trusted me with this and other initiatives that have allowed me to continue to be productive and generally contribute to the growth and success of 3Cloud.

Wrapping It Up

ALS has changed a lot about how I work and how I view life. I hope that what I share about what I learn helps others in similar situations. I will continue to be as active as I can both through work and in the community. Each day is a new day. Some days bring good things and some days bring bad, but God is in control of it all. Thank you for your continued support!