Microsoft MVP 2026: Ten Years on the Data Platform

I’m honored to announce that I’ve been renewed as a Microsoft MVP for the tenth consecutive year, recognized in the Azure SQL and SQL Server technical areas under Data Platform. Ten years. I honestly didn’t see that coming when I set a five-year goal back in 2016.

Ten Years

I want to stop and acknowledge that milestone for a moment. When I first earned this award in 2017, I was deep in Availability Groups and SQL Server internals. Since then, the journey has taken me through SQL Server on Linux, containers, Kubernetes, storage integrations, and now AI-integrated SQL Server 2025. The platform has transformed dramatically, and I’ve had a front-row seat for all of it.

What hasn’t changed is the community. The SQL Server and data platform community is genuinely one of the best in tech, and being part of it for a decade has been a privilege I don’t take lightly.

Thank You

I want to thank Microsoft for this continued recognition. The MVP program gives me access to product teams and engineering conversations that make it possible to do better work and share more useful content. That access directly shapes what I write, what I speak about, and what I test in my lab.

More importantly, I want to thank everyone who reads these posts, watches the courses, shows up to talks, and reaches out with questions and feedback. You’re the reason this is worth doing.

Wrapping Up

Here’s to year ten, and to whatever comes next for the data platform. If you’ve been following along, you know that things are moving faster than ever right now. There’s no shortage of things to test, learn, and share.

Let me know what you’d like to see covered this year. Get out in your lab and keep experimenting, I certainly will be.