Kathi Kellenberger

Kathi Kellenberger is the Editor of Simple Talk and a Microsoft Data Platform MVP. She has worked with SQL Server for over 20 years and has authored, co-authored, or tech edited over a dozen technical books. Kathi is the co-leader of the PASS Women in Technology Virtual Group and a volunteer at LaunchCode. When Kathi isn’t working she enjoys spending time with family and friends, cycling, singing, and climbing the stairs of tall buildings. Be sure to check out her courses on Pluralsight.

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Kathi Kellenberger 22 October 2020

What you’ll learn at my 2020 PASS Summit presentation

Blogs

T-SQL is my favorite aspect of working with SQL Server. The release of SQL Server 2005 coincided with the beginning of my involvement with the community as a presenter and author. For a while, I would put together a “What’s new with T-SQL” session for each release. Eventually, the windowing functions were such a big … Read more

Blogs

Kathi Kellenberger 20 October 2020

Is communication always important?

Editorials

Conventional wisdom says that communication is the critical for success in just about any aspect of life, be that personal relationships or within teams or corporations. Of course, miscommunication can cause all sorts of problems. Communication has changed drastically over the past few centuries due to technology. We’ve gone from the ability to speak mostly … Read more

Editorials

Kathi Kellenberger 19 October 2020

US Insurance Industry Data Security Regulations

Blogs

Over the past few years, several new regulations regarding the privacy of data have been enacted. Many of these, such as the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) and CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act) cover private data based on citizenship. The GDPR, for example, protects the data of European citizens regardless of where the holder of … Read more

Blogs

Kathi Kellenberger 06 October 2020

Spreadsheet blamed for UK Covid-19 testing debacle

Editorials

Whenever I teach database topics to a class of beginners, someone inevitably says that Microsoft Excel is a database. Excel is an amazing tool with built-in functionality for financial calculations, statistics, and more, but it’s not a database. It’s great for keeping track and organizing small amounts of data, but it doesn’t meet the requirements … Read more

Editorials

Kathi Kellenberger 09 September 2020

How to make classifying SQL Server data easier

Classifying the data within an organization is not just something nice to do. It’s critical for complying with regulations such as The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), The Australian Privacy Act, and a host of other privacy laws enacted throughout the world. … Read more

Kathi Kellenberger 25 July 2020

Keeping up with SQL Server

Editorials

I gave a session for the recent PASS Marathon entitled “Modern T-SQL for Better Performance.” During the session, I talked mostly about windowing functions. These functions introduced in 2005 and 2012 not only make writing T-SQL code easier, but often it’s better performing as well. In many cases, they can help you avoid self-joins and … Read more

Editorials

Kathi Kellenberger 14 July 2020

Reading Books

Editorials

Books are usually meant to be read in an analogue fashion. Start at page one and keep on going until the book is done. Some people take an early peek at the end of mysteries to see how they turn out, but isn’t that cheating? In today’s digital world, it isn’t easy – at least … Read more

Editorials

Kathi Kellenberger 09 June 2020

PASS Summit Goes Virtual

Editorials

The PASS organization announced last week that the 2020 Summit, originally planned for Houston this November, will now be held virtually. This is bittersweet for me, since going to the Summit has been the highlight of almost every year since 2003. I had decided, however, that I would not attend in person this year unless … Read more

Editorials

Kathi Kellenberger 04 June 2020

Using Azure Data Studio with SQL Prompt

Blogs

One of the coolest and most useful features of Azure Data Studio (ADS) is SQL Notebooks. If you haven’t seen them, notebooks allow you to combine text with markdown and runnable code in the same document, and they are shareable. Notebooks might be used for teaching, documentation, or runbooks among other uses. I recently heard … Read more

Blogs

Kathi Kellenberger 02 June 2020

Too Much Stuff

Editorials

We’ve lived in our current home for 30 years and have managed to accumulate a lot of possessions. We have closets, drawers, cabinets and a storage shed filled with things, many of which we don’t remember buying or receiving in the first place. I haven’t quite gotten into the Marie Kondo way of organizing yet, … Read more

Editorials

Kathi Kellenberger 20 May 2020

Key Insights from the 2020 State of SQL Server Monitoring Report

This marks the third year that Redgate have launched a survey to better understand how organisations monitor their databases. This year, 971 database professionals from around the world responded. Here are some of the key insights from the survey: Estates are growing more than ever Companies who reported over 1,000 SQL Server instances grew 9% … Read more

Kathi Kellenberger 10 May 2020

Learning New Skills

Editorials

A lot of folks have taken advantage of more time at home recently to pick up new skills and hobbies. In my case, I have started learning more about 3D printing. I bought an entry level 3D printer about a year ago to have something fun to do with my grandson during the summer. The … Read more

Editorials

Kathi Kellenberger 22 April 2020

Making a Difference in Uncertain Times

Editorials

Most of us have found our lives turned upside down in recent weeks as we try to shelter in place, work from home, or care for our families. There are many ways to cope with the situation. On Facebook, I see my friends talk about cooking and baking, watching hours of streamed content, trying to … Read more

Editorials

Kathi Kellenberger 20 April 2020

Free Classes from Redgate Community Circle

Opinion

Everyone has been impacted in some way from the Covid-19 pandemic, whether it is missing out on holiday travel and events, being isolated from loved ones, facing economic issues, or contracting the virus. In the best of scenarios, buying groceries and supplies has turned into a scavenger hunt, while, in the worst, people are truly … Read more

Opinion

Kathi Kellenberger 08 April 2020

Technology Makes a Difference

Editorials

I’ve been working from home for several years, so I’m used to it. Many people who have never thought of doing this have found themselves working from home the past few weeks. Companies who have never given their employees a chance to work remotely are finding that it’s possible. Setting up remote workers is not … Read more

Editorials

Kathi Kellenberger 20 March 2020

DevOps is Essential for Analytics

The term DevOps was coined in the early 2000s to improve the speed and resiliency of the delivery of features and applications and providing more value to customers. It’s not about any particular technology, methodology, or toolset, but automation of everything from unit testing to building environments to delivery is part of it. DevOps also … Read more

Kathi Kellenberger 11 March 2020

Virtual Reality

Editorials

As a Star Trek: The Next Generation fan, I am intrigued with the idea of a Holodeck. The Holodeck on this and subsequent series is a place that the characters mostly go to for recreation or to relax. They can hang out with historical figures, view an earthly sunset, or be a part of their … Read more

Editorials

Kathi Kellenberger 04 February 2020

Key Findings from the 2020 Database DevOps Survey

Each year Redgate Software runs a survey to learn more about how organizations practice DevOps, especially when it relates to the database. This year, over 2000 individuals responded, and they are from diverse industries and company sizes. The key findings in the report are: Frequent database deployments are increasing: 49% of respondents now report they … Read more

Kathi Kellenberger 08 January 2020

Capturing a Mind

Editorials

When the Netflix series Black Mirror began in 2011, I watched a few episodes. Recently, I “binge-watched” more to catch up. If you’re not familiar with the series, each episode is about technology, and how people must deal with it when it goes awry. For the most part, the technology featured in the series doesn’t … Read more

Editorials

Kathi Kellenberger 01 January 2020

Why the Database Must be Part of DevOps

According to Microsoft, DevOps is “the union of people, process, and products to enable continuous delivery of value to our end users.” The definition doesn’t mention any frameworks or specific tools, and it’s more about communication and culture than any technology. That said, automation and tooling are critical components of DevOps as it helps organizations … Read more

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