talk-data.com

*In Person Only MeetUp, Free To Attend*

Thank you to Accenture for sponsoring and hosting this event.

Join us for a In-Person User Group Meeting (LDPaC), where you can network, learn, ask a question, and meet other likeminded folks. These events are a really great opportunity to socialise in an informal learning setting.

Remember to tell your friends and the people you work with; make sure you register as soon as you can. We will need to provide a list of names to Accenture before the event, so to ensure there are no issues with access on the day please make sure you have registered.

17.45 - 18:00 Network 🤝

18.00 - 18:30 Drinks & Pizza 🍕

18:30 - 18:40 Intro🎙️

18:40 - 19:30 An Introduction to Azure Terraform - Jake Walsh Everything you need to start using Azure Terraform in around 60 minutes! Covering setup, tips, tricks, and deploying your first Cloud Environment using Terraform. For many people, the initial steps to using infrastructure as code can be daunting - but in this session I will alleviate those fears!

In this session I will cover the following areas:

Introduction - what is Terraform and Infrastructure as Code Why? - Why should we use Terraform and what are the benefits? How? - How do I get started? Live Demo - I'll go through a full demo of the installation, code creation, and the deployment of an Azure environment using Terraform. Tips/Tricks - covering tips and tricks that will allow you to get the most when using Terraform. Next Steps - how to continue developing your skills and learning more, including sample challenges, recommended reading, exams, and sample code to try out.

19:30 - 19:40 10-min Break 🥤

19:40 - 20:30 The CEO will thank you: Cost-Cutting Techniques for Data Engineers - Miky Schreiber Businesses spend at least 40% of their cloud costs on data engineering and according to Garter, 70% of the cloud costs are wasted. You do the math - as a data engineer you can save more than 25% of your company’s cloud costs! Isn’t that a good reason for the CEO to personally thank you?

In this talk, we will discuss and demonstrate real-world techniques, solutions and methodologies for data engineering cost reduction that we implemented in Next Insurance. We will show how we got into stable, managed and predicted costs. We will also elevate our expertise and learn how to seamlessly integrate cost efficiency into design and code.

We’ll look at managing and reducing storage and data scan costs, the right ways to make sure that we don’t find ourselves with unexpected costs with serverless services such as Redshift Serverless and Lambda functions, decrease and control the costs of EMR clusters and building a blameless cost-aware culture in the engineering group.

This talk will focus on the AWS technological stack, but the concepts are the same for all cloud providers.

Come and join the Leeds Data Community and start learning and networking! All are welcome!

*In Person Only MeetUp, Free To Attend*

Thank you to Accenture for sponsoring and hosting this event.

Join us for a In-Person User Group Meeting (LDPaC), where you can network, learn, ask a question, and meet other likeminded folks. These events are a really great opportunity to socialise in an informal learning setting.

Remember to tell your friends and the people you work with; make sure you register as soon as you can. We will need to provide a list of names to Accenture before the event, so to ensure there are no issues with access on the day please make sure you have registered.

17.45 - 18:00 Network 🤝

18.00 - 18:30 Drinks & Pizza 🍕

18:30 - 18:40 Intro🎙️

18:40 - 19:30 Getting Started With Index Maintenance - Liz Hardy This is a introductory session to provide you with some of the basics in terms of know how and tools to get you started with implementing index maintenance in your own environments.

Imagine we see a database for the first time and know nothing about this it. It You could either be going into a new client or discovering a database you’ve never know known about previously.

There are a lot of things you want to check over in this scenario, for example, are backups being taken, are integrity checks in place and is there any corruption in the database? Another key thing to check is whether there is any index maintenance currently in place.

In this session, we will first take a look at the basics of index maintenance:

• what it is? • why do we need it? • where do you start? • what solutions exist?

Then I'll provide a few quick and easy steps to get you started on implementing index maintenance in your own environments. We will consider the options for index maintenance and focus on the implementation of Ola Hallengren’s Maintenance Solution. This is such an impressive tool and it is open source and free for all to use and yet we still go into clients where no index maintenance is in place.

We’ll look at basic configuration of the indexing maintenance jobs from Ola's solution with some simple parameters. We will then uncover ways to deploy this and outline any gotchas to be aware of along the way. Either if you aren't using Ola's solution or if you weren't aware of some of the configurations, this session will empower you to think more on your index maintenance and improve your process.

19:30 - 19:40 10-min Break 🥤

19:40 - 20:30 Another Brick in the Firewall: How to Secure Your Azure Data Platform - Grace O'Halloran

These days, most people want their Azure Data Platforms to be deployed in a secure network topology. As Data Engineers, we are often the ones that have who make this happen. The cloud has made it easy for us to deploy a virtual network here and a private endpoint there, but what does a good, networked data platform actually look like, and how does it work? Simple things become complex: How will my ADF Integration Runtime talk to my data sources? How do I securely access my resources to do development?

In this session, we will look at some of the core network components which can be used to secure your data platform, what they are, and how to use them effectively. We will also look at some of the decisions that need to be made when moving your data platform inside a private network, which weren't a consideration previously. Some basic knowledge of what a virtual network is is required.

By the end of this session, you should feel more confident in working with network components in Azure and how you can use them to secure your Data Platform.

Come and join the Leeds Data Community and start learning and networking! All are welcome!

*In Person Only MeetUp, Free To Attend*

Thank you to Accenture for sponsoring and hosting this event.

Join us for a In-Person User Group Meeting (LDPaC), where you can network, learn, ask a question, and meet other likeminded folks. These events are a really great opportunity to socialise in an informal learning setting.

Remember to tell your friends and the people you work with; make sure you register as soon as you can. We will need to provide a list of names to Accenture before the event, so to ensure there are no issues with access on the day please make sure you have registered.

17.45 - 18:00 Network 🤝

18.00 - 18:30 Drinks & Pizza 🍕

18:30 - 18:40 Intro🎙️

18:40 - 19:30 Shubhangi Goyal - Transforming Language Understanding Using Generative AI

"Transforming Language Understanding Using Generative AI" explores the impact of generative artificial intelligence on language comprehension. This topic delves into how advanced AI models, capable of generating human-like text and understanding nuanced language contexts, are reshaping communication, translation, and interaction across various domains. Discover the transformative potential of generative AI in enhancing natural language processing tasks and paving the way for future innovations in linguistic technologies.

19:30 - 19:40 10-min Break 🥤

19:40 - 20:30 Johnny Winter - Data Modelling for Super Stars! How to collaboratively design your star schema with end users

Despite claims to the contrary, dimensional modelling and star schemas are alive and well the in the modern data world. But whilst developers might have great technical skills and understand how to build a star schema, they may lack the business domain knowledge to ensure that what they deliver is fit for use by analysts and self-service users. On the flip side, these end users often know what they want and need from a data platform, but struggle to explain this in a way that makes it easy for developers to implement.

How can we improve the requirements gathering process to make sure we avoid the tensions that can arise from this?

This session will cover a data modelling requirements approach that looks to bridge the gap between business and IT by using an end-to-end process for working with business users to collaboratively design a dimensional model, making sure you build super star schemas and turn your self into a data modelling superstar.

Come and join the Leeds Data Community and start learning and networking! All are welcome!

*In Person Only MeetUp, Free To Attend*

Thank you to Accenture for sponsoring and hosting this event.

Join us for a In-Person User Group Meeting (LDPaC), where you can network, learn, ask a question, and meet other likeminded folks. These events are a really great opportunity to socialise in an informal learning setting. This event is a Double MVP Speaker Edition!

Remember to tell your friends and the people you work with; make sure you register as soon as you can. We will need to provide a list of names to Accenture before the event, so to ensure there are no issues with access on the day please make sure you have registered.

17.45 - 18:00 Network 🤝

18.00 - 18:30 Drinks & Pizza 🍕

18:30 - 18:40 Intro🎙️

18:40 - 19:30 Azure Virtual WAN 101 - Jake Walsh (MVP) 🔊

Join me for a technical exploration and overview of Azure Virtual WAN. We will cover what it is, how it can be used, and the key features that make it a great choice for Azure Networking. The session will provide a baseline overview - and share lots of links and resources to help continue your learning around Azure Virtual WAN.

19:30 - 19:40 10-min Break 🥤

19:40 - 20:30 Introduction to SQL Server Automation with dbatools - Jess Pomfret (MVP) 🔊

Unlock the potential of PowerShell as a tool for managing your SQL Server estate. Regardless of your current expertise level, in this 60-minute session, I'll guide you from the basics to becoming comfortable using PowerShell to simplify your SQL Server administration.

Throughout the session, I'll delve into the fundamentals of PowerShell, explore how modules, like dbatools, can extend its capabilities, and dive deep into practical scenarios encountered by database administrators.

This session will include many demos, so you can see just how easy this can be, and you can take those demos back to your environments and get started right away.

PowerShell is not just a scripting language; it's a gateway to efficient automation and management of diverse IT environments, from on-premises SQL Servers to cloud-based resources. Whether you're a complete novice or have dabbled with PowerShell before, this session equips you with the skills needed to harness its power effectively.

Come and join the Leeds Data Community and start learning and networking! All are welcome!

Price - Free

Thank you to Accenture for sponsoring and hosting this event.

Join us for a In-Person User Group Meeting (LDPaC), where you can network, learn, ask a question, and meet other likeminded folks. These events are a really great opportunity to socialise in an informal learning setting.

Remember to tell your friends and the people you work with; make sure you register as soon as you can. We will need to provide a list of names to Accenture before the event, so to ensure there are no issues with access on the day please make sure you have registered.

17.45 - 18:00 Network 🤝

18.00 - 18:30 Drinks & Pizza 🍕

18:30 - 18:40 Intro🎙️

18:40 - 19:30 Transforming SQL Authentication: Real-World Scenarios with Azure Managed Identity. - Dieter Gobeyn 🔊

Discover how to enhance the security of your SQL databases by transitioning from traditional password-based authentication to a modern, passwordless approach using Azure Managed Identity. In this session, I will explore real-world scenarios that demonstrate the practical implementation of transitioning from connectionstrings to Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) with Managed Identity for Azure applications. Highlighting the benefits of eliminating passwords and simplifying access management.

19:30 - 19:40 10-min Break 🥤

19:40 - 20:30 Flink-Kafka Fusion: Patterns for Building Scalable Stream Processing Applications. - Dunith Dhanushka 🔊

When properly configured, Apache Kafka and Apache Flink provide a solid foundation for building scalable and reliable stream processing applications. However, it is difficult for most data professionals to get this combination right first, leading to project delays and costly mistakes. Consequently, having a set of patterns for stream processing applications is essential, just as it is for other software architectures.

This talk will walk you through more than ten stream processing patterns using Kafka and Flink. First, we discuss various computational patterns covering stateless and stateful operations. Then, we look at several state management patterns for state recovery and maintaining accuracy. Finally, we discuss several non-functional patterns, especially related to the deployment architecture, which helps us achieve high availability, security, and cost reductions of streaming applications. For each pattern, the business motivation, a sample code in Flink, and other related patterns will be provided, making it easy for the audience to grasp the essence.

This talk can benefit data practitioners of all levels, including application developers, data engineers, and architects, by providing them with blueprints for stream processing. Knowing these patterns will save time and avoid making the same mistakes that others have made in the past.

Come and join the Leeds Data Community and start learning and networking! All are welcome!

LEEDS DATA PLATFORM AND CLOUD (LDPaC) IN-PERSON MAY MEETUP - 14th MAY 2024 Price - Free

Thank you to Accenture for sponsoring and hosting this event.

Join us for our first Leeds In-Person User Group Meeting (LDPaC) for 2024, where you can network, learn, ask a question, and meet other likeminded folks. These events are a really great opportunity to socialise in an informal learning experience. Remember to tell your friends and the people you work with; make sure you register as soon as you can. We will need to provide a list of names to Accenture before the event, so to ensure there are no issues with access on the day please make sure you have registered.

17.45 - 18:00 Network 🤝

18.00 - 18:30 Drinks & Pizza 🍕

18:30 - 18:40 Intro🎙️

18:40 - 19:30 What's What and Who's Who? Cross System Record Linkage with Fabric and Splink - Barney Lawrence 🔊

Finding records representing the same real-world entity either in multiple sources or duplicated within a single system is a common need when seeking to build a single definitive view of the truth with your data.

Variances in format, changes over time and data entry errors mean connecting our Tom, Dick, and Harries in one system to our Thom, Dirk, and Harriets in another can be challenging. This session introduces one approach using Fabric notebooks to run Splink, an open-source Python library developed by the Ministry of Justice to implement probabilistic record linkage. This session will cover the basics of deterministic, fuzzy, and probabilistic matching and then dive in to creating and applying a model to example data and how to analyse the results. By the time we're done you'll be ready to take what we've learned back home with you and apply it to your own data.

19:30 - 19:40 10-min Break 🥤

19:40 - 20:30 7 Steps to Successfully Setup Azure Private Endpoints - Grace O'Halloran 🔊

If you're working in the cloud, sooner or later you'll come across someone who cries out that the cloud is not secure, that your data is exposed to the internet as a whole. With the right structures in place, this is simply not true… but what are the right structures? How do you go about changing a public-facing PaaS resource into a private resource only accessible from your own networks, whilst still retaining all the benefits of the cloud? This is where private endpoints come in - they're a powerful tool you can use to secure your Azure data estate.

We’ll begin by covering what a private endpoint is and why they make your platform more secure. We’ll then go through my 7 step process to successfully deploy and configure a private endpoint, which includes covering Private DNS Zones, A Records and Virtual Network Links. We’ll also step through a demo of how to deploy and configure a private endpoint, and we’ll wrap up by discussing some common mistakes to avoid when working with private endpoints.

Come and join the Leeds Data Community and start learning and networking! All are welcome!