Authored by Dean Richards, Senior DBA, the SQL tuning methods presented in this detailed paper follow a simple, repeatable, four-step process. Several tuning case studies help illustrate how the method works in real applications. This methodology is a valuable time saver because it will help you get it right the first time. [goal id=”237619″]

Overcoming the challenges of data quality doesn’t have to be costly or difficult to do. Organizations can take advantage of the integration capabilities inherent in Microsoft’s SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) to implement a Total Data Quality strategy needed for successful MDM, data warehousing and data quality projects. This white paper describes a six-step plan to managing data quality using […]

As soon as you have data stored for later reference, you are faced with the challenge of protecting that data. This essentially includes every piece of information – certainly those that are personally identifiable or relate to activities that require compliance and protection of information. That’s quite a wide array of information, and it’s important to make sure you’re doing […]

ORGANIZATIONS CONTINUE TO EXPERIENCE DAMAGING LOSSES DUE to data breaches. These losses include legal costs, costs to reimburse customers and employees, lost stakeholder value, and reduction of goodwill. The estimate of these financial losses range into the billions of dollars every year. This paper discusses compliance regulations, standards for protecting data with encryption, and how Microsoft provides for the encryption […]

DATA SECURITY HAS COME A LONG WAY within just the past few years. Organizations no longer have to continue to maintain current patchwork methods because there are no available, cost-effective, or interoperable solutions that easily solve their problems. Encryption and encryption key management are now industry standards and work across both legacy and newer business systems, multi-platform and multi-tenant networks, […]

Applying security in a virtualized environment introduces some unique challenges for key management, from managing to compliance regulations and other considerations. When systems are no longer dedicated and share a common physical architecture, the issues of access and encryption controls is critical. In this paper, we’ll look into some of these challenges and address some of the things you can […]

Protecting your information when using cloud-based services can be very challenging. The need to encrypt and protect information includes many variables and considerations. When you add compliance, best practices and various regulations into the mix, the overall goals and requirements are substantial. This whitepaper explores the practical needs, the items that require evaluation and different approaches to best practices to […]

Your data is radioactive – just as a chunk of plutonium will break down in measured time (its half-life) – so does your data. We developed a formula to determine the actual half-life of data and analyzed thousands of customers’ databases. The results are eye-opening. Also, if you deal with contact data in a SQL Server environment, this new magazine […]

If you became a SQL Server database administrator by way of another job, it can be overwhelming to learn what you need to know to keep your SQL Server database instances running well. These 12 simple yet powerful tips are based years of experiences and lessons learned on the front lines of database administration. Following these tips can help transform […]