Three things I always check in a Power BI environment and what they tell me
Whenever I step into a client's Power BI environment, there are three things I tend to look for almost immediately.
What I Learned at My First Data Conference
The European Microsoft Fabric + SQL Community Conference 2026, better known as FabCon + SQLCon Europe, took place from Monday 28 September to Thursday 1 October at the CCIB in Barcelona.
Bring your database into source control with Redgate Flyway
Application code has lived in Git for years. In many teams the database still has not. Getting it there is the first step towards automated database deployments, and it is smaller than most teams expect.
My notes from FabCon + SQLCon Barcelona
My notes from the European Microsoft Fabric + SQL Community Conference 2026
FinOps without a sales target: finding the 30% in your Azure bill
Most Azure bills carry more than they need to. We do not resell CSP subscriptions, licences or Azure consumption. In the environments we review, we often find around 30% that can go, partly straight away and partly for good.
Azure Sovereign Control Panel: From Controls to Evidence
Putting sovereignty controls in place in Azure is no longer the hard part. Proving they are there is. The Sovereign Control Panel is Microsoft's attempt to close that gap.
Cortex Is Live: A Decade of Data, Analytics and Cloud Work in One View
Cortex is live. Ten years of running data platforms, analytics estates and cloud environments, turned into one place that shows you what is actually happening across all three.
Why database delays reduce the return on automation
Before hiring more developers or buying another delivery platform, look at how long completed work waits to reach customers. When database changes need a separate process, more capacity may not bring launch dates forward.
Your Team Is Already Using AI. Put It Under Your Control with Azure AI Foundry
Banning ChatGPT does not stop AI use. It moves it out of sight. Azure AI Foundry gives European companies a way to put it back inside the controls they already trust.
AI in the Build and Release Pipeline: More Releases, Fewer Rollbacks
A team wanted faster releases. When we mapped where a change actually spent its life, most of it was waiting. So that's where the AI went, and the merge stayed human.
You Don't Need Half the Products You're Paying For
Around your core platforms sits a ring of specialist subscriptions whose whole job is connecting them. The platforms grew. AI covers what's left. The case for turning the renewals into capability you own.
Sovereign Landing Zones in 2026: When Data Residency Is No Longer Enough
The strategy conversation is largely settled. The question now is how you actually build it.
AI Agents Done Right: From Experiment to Enterprise-Ready Platform
Most agents start in the portal. Fine in Dev. Slightly different in Test. We treat them as real infrastructure from day one.
Azure Sovereign Solutions: Europe’s Turning Point in Cloud Control
Data residency was the beginning. Sovereignty is now about who can operate, access and support the systems - and under which law.
GitHub Enterprise Local: DevOps That Never Leaves Your Perimeter
GitHub just moved inside your perimeter...
Enterprise Live Migrations: Moving from Azure DevOps to GitHub with minimal disruption
ELM supports migrations to GitHub Enterprise Cloud with data residency...
Database DevOps Lands in SQL Server Management Studio
Your database schema is now something you can diff like code, right inside SSMS...
AI Agents Are Accessing Your Data. Did You Actually Scope Their Permissions?
Never trust, always verify. Easier said than done when AI is acting on your behalf...
SQL Server 2016 Reaches End of Life on July 14, 2026
SQL Server 2016 Reaches End of Life on July 14, 2026.....
Representation matters
It's Pride month, a time where a lot of companies throw up a rainbow logo and talk about why having a diverse team matters to them...
Mission-Critical Workloads on Azure: The Blueprint for Systems That Run Your Business
Stop hoping and start engineering...
Using dbatools for native backups/restores to/from S3 storage
Native SQL Server database backup to a URL pointed at Azure Blob Storage (Azure storage) has been available since SQL Server 2012 SP1 CU2/SQL Server 2014...
Beyond SSO: Automate User Provisioning With SCIM and Entra ID
SSO handles authentication. SCIM handles the rest. Here is how...
With Azure DevOps Server GA, Microsoft is doubling down on on-prem
Azure DevOps Server moved to the Modern Lifecycle, and the signal to on-prem customers is clear..
Notes from the field: The Silent CPU Trap for your Azure SQL Servers
Your Azure VM shows the right size, but only uses 2 vCPUs. This is what’s happening...
Azure now lets you see the carbon cost of your workloads
See where that carbon impact actually comes from. And what you can do about it...
Why Data Mesh fails when copied instead of adapted
I’ve been pretty opinionated with customers, colleagues, and attendees to my various conference se ...
SQL Server 2025 - Changes and New Features
SQL Server 2025 is now generally available (GA), bringing significant enhancements across performanc ...
Indispensable Azure Tools: Maester, Automating Entra ID and M365 Security Validation
Maester continuously tests Entra ID and Conditional Access, catching drift early with actionable rep ...
Fabric February 2026 - here’s what mattered
There is a distinct move away from the “How do I get started..” and “What tool can I use to do ...
A decade of climbing: Introducing the Masterminds Group
It has been almost over a decade since we started our journey as Data Masterminds. What began as a d ...
Move from ClickOps to Automated Azure Deployments
Many organizations started their cloud journey in the Azure portal, a powerful and user friendly way ...
Indispensable Azure Tools: Redgate Flyway, Take Control of Your Database Through DevOps
Welcome back to our Indispensable Azure Tools series. This time, we’re exploring Redgate Flyway Co ...
Orphaned Resources in Azure: Discover the Hidden Costs in Your Environment
The waste you cannot see on the invoice In most Azure environments we audit, the same pattern shows ...
The Azure Well-Architected Framework: Design workloads that deliver business value over time
The Azure Well-Architected Framework (WAF) is Microsoft’s blueprint for building high-quality ...
Indispensable Azure Tools: Health models in Azure Monitor. Structuring what "healthy" really means for a Cloud workload
Welcome back to our Indispensable Azure Tools series. This time, we’re exploring the Health models ...
The Hidden Risk Inside Every Software Project: Why Recent NPM Attacks Should Concern Every Organisation
Modern software is built on countless small building blocks such as NPM packages. Most of them come ...
Indispensable Azure Tools: Azure Developer CLI. Accelerating your path from a local development environment to Azure
Welcome back to our Indispensable Azure Tools series. This time, we’re exploring the Azure Develop ...
Indispensable Azure Tools: Azure Verified Modules. Secure, Scalable Infrastructure by Design
Welcome back to our Indispensable Azure Tools series. This time, we’re exploring Azure Verified Mo ...
GreenOps: Take Control of Your Impact
Sustainability is a cornerstone of modern cloud operations, and GreenOps, optimizing cloud environme ...
Application Landing Zones: Secure Spaces for High-Value Workloads
A structured approach to sensitive and high-value tasks We have all seen how challenging it can be t ...
Cloud Cost Management - not all you can pay
Cloud cost optimization isn’t about cutting costs at the expense of performance, it’s about gett ...
From VM Basics to AI Infrastructure: The Expanding Role of Azure Compute
Beyond Lift and Shift Azure Virtual Machines have long been the foundation for cloud adoption. They ...
Indispensable Azure Tools: Azure Compute Fleet, scale across regions
Welcome back to our Indispensable Azure Tools series. This time, we’re exploring Azure Compute Fle ...
Shifting Left: From ClickOps to DevOps - The evolution of Cloud Management
Shifting Left: From ClickOps to DevOps In today’s cloud-first world, managing resources eff ...
Indispensable Azure Tools: Pester, the PowerShell Testing Framework That Powers Our Pipelines
Welcome back to our Indispensable Azure Tools series. This time, we’re diving into Pester, a tool ...
Landing Zones De-mystified
“Start small, scale smart; Landing Zones grow with your cloud ambitions.” Azure Landing ...
Indispensable Azure Tools: Rewind - SaaS Backup for Azure DevOps, GitHub, and beyond
Welcome back to our Indispensable Azure Tools series. This time, we’re diving into Rewind, a SaaS ...
Unified Monitoring Across SQL and Cloud with Redgate Monitor
Monitoring database platforms across both on-premises and cloud environments is a growing challenge ...
Indispensable Azure Tools: The Open-Source Microsoft FinOps Toolkit
Welcome back to our Indispensable Azure Tools series. This time, we’re diving into the Microsoft F ...
Seamlessly Integrate Azure and On-Prem for DevOps Success
Ever wondered how to get the cloud’s flexibility without losing grip of your own datacenter? How t ...
Securing Azure Compliance with the EU Data Boundary
As digital sovereignty shapes the EU’s cloud landscape, organizations are navigating a critical ch ...
Indispensable Azure Tools: Desired State Configuration v3 in Your DevOps Pipeline
Welcome back to our Indispensable Azure Tools series! This time, we’re diving into Desired State C ...
Indispensable Azure Tools: Navigating Azure, AWS, and GCP with Cloud-Product-Mapping
Welcome back to another edition of the Indispensable Azure Tools series, your guide for tools that h ...
A Comprehensive Guide to Azure Resource Lifecycle Management
Resources in Azure have a lifecycle. Cool new cloud features often start as (private) preview, givin ...
Indispensable Azure Tools: Azure Governance Visualizer (AzGovViz) for Governance Excellence
Welcome back to our Indispensable Azure Tools series. This time, we’re exploring Azure Governance ...
Keeping Your Cloud Healthy: A Masterminds Approach
Modern Hyper clouds like Azure (and AWS!) are incredible, running your business with advanced servic ...
Indispensable Azure Tools: KubeDeck for Kubernetes Management
Welcome back to our Indispensable Azure Tools series. This time, we’re exploring the KubeDeck suit ...
Indispensable Azure Tools: Azure Charts - Mapping Azure’s Cloud Ecosystem
Welcome back to the Indispensable Azure Tools series! So far, we’ve tackled tools that solve speci ...
Cloud Monitoring: Trust Is Good, but Control Is Better
“The real question is not, ‘What do we do with the cloud?’ but rather, “What ...
Indispensable Azure Tools: Azure Monitor Baseline Alerts (AMBA)
Welcome back to our series exploring must-have tools for mastering Azure! The Indispensable Azure To ...
Exploring the 5 Azure Migration Offerings
If you’re planning a move to Microsoft Azure, or looking to optimize your existing cloud setup, Az ...
Indispensable Azure Tools: Kick Off with the Azure Naming Tool
Welcome to our new series exploring must-have tools for mastering Azure! We’re kicking things off ...
DevOps Masterminds: Empowering Your Journey to DevOps Excellence
Meeting you where you are - Take control of your Microsoft Platform with the DevOps Mastermind ...
The Azure SLA and what that means for your you
The Azure SLA is a critical concept for organizations using Azure to build applications. When you ar ...
Understanding Partner Admin Link (PAL): A Simple Step for Better Azure Partnership
As your trusted Partner, we’re committed to delivering excellent service while growing our experti ...
Learn how SQL Server performance tune-up revolutionised ReviMedia’s data systems.
ReviMedia suspected their database was causing problems, but didn’t have an in-house DBA. Learn how a Data Masterminds' Health Check helped.
Manufacturers, It’s Time to Modernize Your SQL Server Databases
Manufacturers need to realize that can become MORE efficient when you modernize your SQL Server and prepare it to scale. Here's our advice.
Think Your SQL Backups Have You Covered? Think Again - It’s Only Part of a Good Disaster Recovery Strategy
Relying solely on your SQL backups is not an adequate disaster recovery plan. Here’s how to restore as painlessly as possible.
How Getting Ready to Migrate Your SQL Servers to the Cloud is like Prepping for a Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic sparked a sudden urgency for organizations who had been considering data modernization and cloud migration.
Facing Performance Issues? Here are the Top Five Culprits
Discover the common causes behind performance issues in your SQL Server database and learn effective tuning tactics.
Starting from a database emergency: how you can get your server strategy back on track.
Every second counts, but the problems can become so critical and anxiety so overwhelming that getting to a proactive state feels impossible.
Meet Chris Taylor, Head of the UK Data Masterminds Office
We couldn’t be more pleased to have Chris on the Data Masterminds team - get to know him a bit better in this interview with our new head of our UK office!
RPO & RTO - What do they mean to my business?
RTO and RPO are two little acronyms that make a big difference in your business. Here’s what they mean, and why you need to consider them.
Facing a Full TempDB? Here’s What Happened - and How to Prevent It From Happening Again
Restarting is a common solution to a full TempDB, but it erases the records that tell you why it happened. Here’s how to track - and prevent - this issue.
You Asked: We Answered!
You Asked, We Answered! Find expert solutions to your burning data questions and gain valuable guidance from our experienced team at Data Masterminds.
You Asked: Is Our Data/Database Secure?
A healthy foundation is required to run a healthy database and this foundation is critical to allowing an application or database to scale - are you ready?
You Asked: Will Our Application/Database Scale?
A healthy foundation is required to run a healthy database and this foundation is critical to allowing an application/database to scale - are you prepared?
Data Masterminds is expanding again!
Data Masterminds is proud to announce the opening of its UK office, led by Microsoft Data Platform expert Chris Taylor.
You Asked: Is the DBA dead?
When discussing the cloud, it inevitably raises the question, “Is the role of the DBA dead?” We did into the meat of this question with expert advice.
You Asked: Will the Cloud Save Me Money?
Discover how the flexibility of the cloud and reduced IT maintenance can free up resources for business expansion.
You Asked: Why Do I Need a New Version of SQL Server?
We encounter a lot of companies that have let their SQL (and Windows) estate get a little old. We explain when you need to upgrade to a new version and why.
How to Move Thousands of Database Files with Minimal Downtime
Database file migration is rarely as easy as we want it to be. Here’s how I migrated TBs of database files in a set SQL Server Availability Groups.
Why Data Masterminds loves dbatools!
dbatools has hundreds of commands that let you to create robust automated processes for any project - here’s why you should support it.
Expertise connected around your priorities
DevOps, Data and Analytics specialists work as one team to strengthen the platforms your organisation relies on.
Cortex
Your data landscape at a glance. One view of the servers, databases and workspaces you already run, with early warnings before small issues become big problems.
Data Managed Services
Keep SQL Server reliable, current and ready for what comes next, with monitoring, lifecycle planning, migration and performance expertise.
Cloud Cost Optimisation
An independent look at your Azure bill. We resell no CSP, licences or consumption, and often find around 30% that can go.
Azure Platform Engineering
Landing zones, Infrastructure as Code and AI-assisted pipeline checks that make Azure delivery repeatable, transparent and easier to review.
Microsoft Fabric
Connect the Power BI reports people rely on to governed data, clear ownership and a Microsoft Fabric platform your team can operate and extend.
Analytics Health Check
A read-only review of your Power BI and Fabric estate, with clear priorities and a practical plan for what to fix first.
Database Automation
Redgate Flyway integrated into delivery, with versioned database changes and a working pipeline built alongside your team.
Application Performance Monitoring
Monitoring built around what your users do, on Application Insights, New Relic or our own tooling, with alerts that point to the cause.