About the Authors
Randolph West (they/them) lives in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, with a husband and two dogs. After being a consultant for millennia, Randolph now writes full-time at Microsoft Docs, still yelling at the screen. Occasional voice actor. Occasional blogger at bornsql.ca. Not to be trusted around chocolate. Yes, this is a short bio.
William Assaf (he/him) is a senior content developer for Microsoft, writing Learn content for SQL Server, Azure SQL Database, Azure Synapse Analytics, and more. A long-time Baton Rougean, William and his adventure buddy Christine moved to Seattle during the pandemic. They love their new home but are still New Orleans Saints fans. Before joining Microsoft, William was a Data Platform MVP, SQL Saturday and SQL community organizer, and a long-time DBA and data consultant. As a consultant for 13 years, he worked with clients across the U.S. on SQL Server and Azure SQL platform optimization, management, data integration, disaster recovery, and high availability, and led a multi-city team of senior consulting SQL DBAs. William has written for Microsoft SQL certification exams since 2011 and was the team lead author of the 2017 and 2019 editions of SQL Server Administration Inside Out by Microsoft Press.
Elizabeth Noble is a Director of Database Development, the author of Pro T-SQL 2019, and a Microsoft Data Platform MVP. Ze has spoken at several SQL Saturdays across the United States and at PASS Summit. Most of zir topics focus on DevOps, collaboration with other IT departments, and automated database deployments. Zir passion is to help others improve the quality and speed of deploying database changes through automation. When ze is not trying to automate all things, ze can be found spending time with zir dogs, playing disc golf, or paddleboarding (if the weather is right).
Meagan Longoria is a Microsoft Data Platform MVP living in Denver, Colorado. She is an experienced consultant and trainer who has worked with the Microsoft Data Platform for over 15 years. She enjoys creating solutions in Azure, SQL Server, and Power BI that make data useful for decision makers and make the lives of information workers a little bit easier. Meagan enjoys sharing her knowledge with the technical community by speaking at conferences, blogging (DataSavvy.me), and sharing tips and helpful links on Twitter (@mmarie).
Joseph D’Antoni is a Principal Consultant at Denny Cherry & Associates Consulting. He is recognized as a VMWare vExpert and a Microsoft Data Platform MVP, and has over 20 years of experience working in both Fortune 500 and smaller firms. He has worked extensively on database platforms and cloud technologies and has specific expertise in performance tuning, infrastructure, and disaster recovery.
Louis Davidson has over 20 years as a data architect and technical writer. Recently he joined Redgate as the editor of the Simple Talk website after 20-plus years working for a nonprofit, where he was the lead SQL Server architect and programmer. Louis has been the principal author on many technical books about SQL Server, including six editions of a book on database design. Louis’ blog, located at simple-talk.com for many years, provides information about technical issues and upcoming presentations, including previewing the thought process that goes into writing presentations, books, and blogs.
Melody Zacharias is a Microsoft MVP for the data platform and Microsoft Regional Director. She has co-written several books on data, including SQL Server 2019 Administration Inside Out by Microsoft Press. She speaks at conferences on data, technology, women in Tech, professional development, and more. You can find her on her blog at sqlmelody.com, on Twitter @SQLMelody, and as /melodyzacharias on LinkedIn.
William F. Carter (he/him) is a technologist and Microsoft SQL Server consultant with 25 years of experience dating back to SQL Server 6.5. Bill is passionate about helping individuals and organizations use technology and data to drive change and bring about successful outcomes. When not managing data and architecting solutions, he loves to model and 3D print props for the local high school’s theater department. You can connect with him on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/william-f-carter/.
Josh Smith has held several titles over the last 20 years, including Stage Manager, Art Director, Teacher, Case Manager, and—for the last 10 years—Database Administrator. They currently infrequently write at accitentionaldba.com and post more often but with much less focus on Twitter as @sqldeployhelmet. They are team pineapple on pizza, have a completely reasonable fear of spiders, and are the current president of the Inland Northwest Data Professionals Association in Spokane, Washington.