Ben Weissman

Modernizing your SQL Server estate doesn’t have to start with a full migration to the cloud. With Azure Arc, you can bring cloud-based management, governance, and innovation to SQL Server wherever it runs - on-premises, at the edge, or in other clouds.

A shelf full of LEGO became a database and a web app – built in a back-and-forth with an AI agent. It mixed up sets, invented data and told me a web service wasn't possible; I changed requirements mid-project, ran SQL scripts by hand, and checked every identification in the end. An honest...

The Community Kickoff opens PASS Summit West with an easy, welcoming start to connect, share, and learn. Join us for a welcome drink and time to reconnect, meet new faces, and ease into the rhythm of the event. After a short networking warm‑up, we’ll gather for a fun, community‑driven hour...

Modernizing your SQL Server estate doesn’t have to start with a full migration to the cloud. With Azure Arc, you can bring cloud-based management, governance, and innovation to SQL Server wherever it runs – on-premises, at the edge, or in other clouds.

*Pre-registration is required. Login to your booking, click modify booking, scroll down + next, add the lunch and complete to the end* Diversity strengthens the data community by expanding the questions we ask, the perspectives we consider, and the solutions we build.

The Power BI Dataviz World Championships are back – an international competition celebrating the very best in creativity, insight, accessibility, and storytelling with Power BI.

Vector search is one of the most exciting additions in SQL Server 2025. In this session, we explore how the new vector datatype works, how embeddings enable semantic search on your data and how to implement vector search directly inside the database, bringing these capabilities directly into the engine.

Vector search is one of the most exciting additions in SQL Server 2025, bringing powerful AI capabilities directly into the database engine. In this session, we will explore how the new vector data type enables you to store and query embeddings, allowing semantic search scenarios that go far...

AI is everywhere in today’s world. It’s embedded into tools, workflows, and platforms and yet according to MIT, 95% of generative AI pilots are failing ( https://fortune.com/2025/08/18/mit-report-95-percent-generative-ai-pilots-at-companies-failing-cfo/ ) How often is AI genuinely solving problems, or is it just the latest layer of complexity wrapped in hype?

Vector search is at the core of modern AI applications, powering recommendation engines, semantic search, and image recognition. Traditionally, implementing vector-based queries required adding a dedicated vector database, introducing complexity and additional infrastructure.

Vector search is at the core of modern AI applications, powering recommendation engines, semantic search, and image recognition. Traditionally, implementing vector-based queries required adding a dedicated vector database, introducing complexity and additional infrastructure.

Vector search is at the core of modern AI applications, powering recommendation engines, semantic search, and image recognition. Traditionally, implementing vector-based queries required adding a dedicated vector database, introducing complexity and additional infrastructure.

Join us as we uncover the evolution of SQL Server into Microsoft Fabric’s cloud-native ecosystem. Learn how SQL Database in Fabric, a SaaS operational database, simplifies transactional data management while enabling real-time replication into OneLake for unified analytics.

Prepare for a thrilling journey through the skies of the data platform community as six diverse aviators of the digital realm share their high-flying experiences and the turbulence they faced en route to making a lasting impact. In this keynote, our speakers, each with a unique flight plan, will...

In this session, featuring four speakers from the data platform community, each speaker unfolds their unique journey, revealing personal and professional milestones within the community. Their stories highlight the interconnectedness within the community, emphasizing how mentorship fosters growth and collaboration.

Ben and Rob have found some wonderful folk to actually do the important parts of the community keynote. on the theme of How to be a nonpassive member of the data community

Let's take a look at Synapse Link - it's capabilities and restrictions! Synapse Link is Microsoft's new solution to push your OLTP data in near-real time to Azure Synapse for analytical purposes.

Join Rob and Ben for a fun filled hour from the community for the community as they invite a concatenation of community experts on stage and let them show us what their favorite data platform feature is and why!

SQL Server now runs on Linux, Containers and Kubernetes. In this session you will get an overview of this environment, and explain the installation, management, and monitoring of each.