Lots of Learning at SQL Bits

This year SQLBits is returning to Telford, UK, on April 5-8, 2017. I’ll be there, presenting on Friday, and enjoying the show the rest of the time. If you haven’t ever been to the event, it’s a fantastic, fun, casual event with attendees from all over the world coming to learn, teach, and get excited about SQL Server. The event isn’t the largest SQL Server event, but it’s got the best atmosphere and doesn’t have all the hassles of some other events.

I’ve attended most of the SQL Server conferences in the world, and if I had to choose only one to go to, it would be SQL Bits. The others are good, but SQLBits is my favorite. I’ve been many times, and I’ve watched the event grow over the years. With the venue moving from year to year, it’s also a chance to experience different venues and locations in the UK.

One of the neat things about SQLBits is that there are a mix of different training on different days. The event started with one day of pre-con learning, a paid training day on Friday with more technical sessions, and a free day on Saturday. This has grown to two full training days of pre-con training, and if you’re looking for a good deal on learning a new technology, you should come spend a day on Wednesday, April 5, or Thursday, April 6 with one of the world class instructors.

I don’t get much of a chance to attend classes, but since I’ll be there, I’m hoping to sit in on a class each of these days. There are many to choose from, and fortunately I’ve seen a few so my choice isn’t as hard as yours. Whether you want to learn HA, Power BI, T-SQL, Text Mining with R, or more, I’m sure you’ll find one or two days worth of valuable training. In fact, if you’re going to make the journey to Telford, you should spend both days in class. Whether it’s directly useful in your job right now or it’s something that interests you, I bet you could find two days of intense training beneficial.

If you make the decision to come soon, you’ll save a bit of money if you register now. The full conference registration will go up on Mar 4, so push your boss to send you today. I’ll be there, and I hope to see a few of you there as well. Be sure to say hi to me if you make the journey to SQLBits in April.

Steve Jones