It's Time for PASS
Well, here we are on the eve of another PASS Community Summit in Seattle. Last year it was in Denver, then two years ago it was here in Seattle. I'm looking forward to another great event!
The main conference doesn't really start until Wednesday. On Monday and Tuesday there are day-long pre-con events which are always popular. Tuesday night is the kickoff Welcome Reception where you can reconnect with friends from past events, and meet new ones. And then we hit the ground running Wednesday morning with the first Keynote by Ted Kummert, Corporate Vice President, Data and Storage Platform Division at Microsoft.
If you have never attended a Community Summit, I encourage you to start planning (and saving if necessary) right now to get there next year. This will be my fifth summit and every time it has been a fantastic experience. As Joe Webb mentions, there are a ton of different training sessions, and this year, the opportunity to complete certifications. It's likely that the author of your favorite SQL book will be speaking at the event this week, along with a whole lot of very knowledgeable folks who never got around to writing a book. Just take a look at these snippets from the agenda (spotlight sessions and program sessions). And of course there will be plenty of experts from Microsoft who will be presenting as well. In fact, with this one being in Seattle, the Microsoft presence will be phenomenal.
The exhibit hall is a great opportunity to check out a ton of cool tools for both developers and DBAs (and you can win great prizes, too...right Wendy?). And, of course, the networking opportunities all week are amazing. I won't go into a bunch of name-dropping, but let me tell you, it rocks!
As I have done in the past, I'll post a few bits from the event, but there's nothing like being there yourself. Come join us!