https://www.jaredrdavis.com/home daily 1.0 2021-05-21 https://www.jaredrdavis.com/about-me daily 0.75 2021-03-26 https://www.jaredrdavis.com/contact daily 0.75 2020-10-23 https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f914d4a3c1ef603bd8f69de/t/5f926a2b1e1d8b760bc11c38/1603431035323/Profile-Masked-Transparent.png Contact https://www.jaredrdavis.com/azure-sql daily 0.75 2020-10-23 https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f914d4a3c1ef603bd8f69de/t/5f9295ad1e1d8b760bc4563a/1603482816020/Azure+SQL+7.png Azure SQL https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f914d4a3c1ef603bd8f69de/t/5f93200f3055f966682e242d/1603482816047/early-guided-create.png Azure SQL - First steps Early on, I partnered with a small group of program managers working across the breadth of the team to explore some solutions. We began by taking a solutions-based approach to solving the problem. We tested, it failed. While the solutions fit our perspective of the utilization of our services, it didn’t map to customers’ perception of their businesses or operations. We then moved on to the idea of “best for” which would give a one-line practical description of the problem solved by the 5 distinct categories of services in the family. This tested better. We experimented with when to present this fork in the road to customers, with each successive study offering slightly better results. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f914d4a3c1ef603bd8f69de/t/5f93318430fbf55ce8963983/1603482816050/Azure+SQL+-+Guided+create+-+DB+details.png Azure SQL - A long road, with many stops Ultimately, we landed on a solution that was more modular, allowing each product team to independently improve their consistency by adopting the latest resource deployment patterns on their own timelines, freeing our central working group to focus on the core problem of refining an interstitial step we came to call the “guided create”. This solution focuses on presenting the family along a gradient of manageability, from the most system-managed option, Azure SQL Database to the most user-managed and customizable option, SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines. Ultimately we also grouped our products into sub-families, with one product taking the lead position for each as shown. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f914d4a3c1ef603bd8f69de/t/5f93323a93204f14d947a58b/1603482816053/Azure+SQL.png Azure SQL - A minor arrival While work in this area continues as Azure SQL expands to include hybrid data management capabilities and management consistency across the board, we already have a few major wins. “Azure SQL” has taken on its own life as the moniker for the family of offerings. Azure SQL resources can now be viewed in a “single pane of glass” within the Azure portal. It is also easy to create any resource from the family from a single entry point, with an appropriate level of context. The create and management experience continue to improve as wrinkles in the consistency are ironed out. Documentation, getting started and marketing content are also now marching to the beat of the same drum. It’s a great start and provides firm ground for the future of Azure SQL as a whole. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f914d4a3c1ef603bd8f69de/5f929099c2db361688b43498/5f92919dfe44af57cb122718/1603482816039/Azure+SQL+1.png Azure SQL Azure SQL Database https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f914d4a3c1ef603bd8f69de/5f93235cb0c00d36b28c1765/5f9332733dbd5d6c089adc0b/1603482816073/Azure+home+-+Azure+SQL.png Azure SQL Azure SQL on Azure portal home https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f914d4a3c1ef603bd8f69de/5f93235cb0c00d36b28c1765/5f9332733dbd5d6c089adc0a/1603482816076/Azure+SQL.png Azure SQL Azure SQL Browse https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f914d4a3c1ef603bd8f69de/5f929099c2db361688b43498/5f92919d4efd0e5a4f692fe4/1603482816036/Azure+SQL+2.png Azure SQL Azure SQL server https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f914d4a3c1ef603bd8f69de/5f93235cb0c00d36b28c1765/5f93327951078551ee625d1f/1603482816083/Azure+SQL+-+Guided+create+-+DB+details.png Azure SQL Azure SQL - Guided create - DB details https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f914d4a3c1ef603bd8f69de/5f929099c2db361688b43498/5f92919d2226271c5b66d395/1603482816023/Azure+SQL+3.png Azure SQL Azure SQL elastic pool https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f914d4a3c1ef603bd8f69de/5f93235cb0c00d36b28c1765/5f933273fe29a0170dee08f9/1603482816056/Azure+SQL+-+Create+-+DB+-+Basics.png Azure SQL Azure SQL - DB create - Basics https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f914d4a3c1ef603bd8f69de/5f929099c2db361688b43498/5f92919d4efd0e5a4f692fe5/1603482816033/Azure+SQL+4.png Azure SQL Azure SQL Managed Instance https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f914d4a3c1ef603bd8f69de/5f929099c2db361688b43498/5f9292166b423f1cda12449c/1603482816043/Azure+SQL+5.png Azure SQL Azure SQL Managed database https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f914d4a3c1ef603bd8f69de/5f93235cb0c00d36b28c1765/5f9332742c49843721f7a207/1603482816067/Azure+SQL+-+Create+-+DB+-+Addl.png Azure SQL Azure SQL - DB create - Additional settings https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f914d4a3c1ef603bd8f69de/5f93235cb0c00d36b28c1765/5f9332794a80d50b249c6e9f/1603482816079/Azure+SQL+-+Guided+create+-+MI+details.png Azure SQL Azure SQL - Guided create - MI details https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f914d4a3c1ef603bd8f69de/5f93235cb0c00d36b28c1765/5f9332795bc0d12054bec393/1603482816086/Azure+SQL+-+Guided+create+-+VM+details.png Azure SQL Azure SQL - Guided create - VM details https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f914d4a3c1ef603bd8f69de/5f929099c2db361688b43498/5f92919dbb7aa672e98ba038/1603482816029/Azure+SQL+6.png Azure SQL SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f914d4a3c1ef603bd8f69de/5f93235cb0c00d36b28c1765/5f9332733dc3406f3a2a2667/1603482816062/Azure+SQL+-+Create+-+MI+-+Basics.png Azure SQL Azure SQL - MI create - Basics https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f914d4a3c1ef603bd8f69de/5f93235cb0c00d36b28c1765/5f933273351d4e0530f52f41/1603482816070/Azure+SQL+-+Create+-+MI+-+ComputeStorage.png Azure SQL Azure SQL - MI create - Compute + storage https://www.jaredrdavis.com/mtg daily 0.75 2020-10-23 https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f914d4a3c1ef603bd8f69de/t/5f93412e0608474f19ca4744/1603486007253/Daily-MTG-Magic-The-Gathering.jpg Magic The Gathering https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f914d4a3c1ef603bd8f69de/t/5f93414d04aa950c9c862e4d/1603486045848/6733087.png Magic The Gathering - Who & when This effort was not, and could not be a solo effort. At Wizards of the Coast, Magic: The Gathering drives and affects nearly everyone. This project involved input from countless stakeholders and inspired passionate feedback from across the organization. There were several phases of development that culminated in a Phase II completion in December, 2014. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f914d4a3c1ef603bd8f69de/t/5f9342130608474f19ca64e1/1603486235024/MTG150405_13.png Magic The Gathering - Where it was headed While project goals included zones focused on business and technical efficiencies, most efforts and strategies were focused on serving the fans & players. These goals included creating an enjoyable experience, clarifying the intention of core site content, providing improved search and ensuring that time spent using the site was rewarding enough to warrant regular return visits. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f914d4a3c1ef603bd8f69de/t/5f934263b8b55a2a65784646/1603486319246/MTG150405_03.png Magic The Gathering - Building blocks Initially, I identified a few content commonalities that seemed promising as a basis for a navigational structure. My recommendations centered around task-centric hubs and included Game, Story, Products, Events and Articles, in addition to some other utilities like our card database, account access, and term searches. In the end, marketing leadership identified an opportunity to merge key consumerist sections, making room for dedicated new player and community pages. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f914d4a3c1ef603bd8f69de/t/5f93448340d7887ef0f87182/1603486862482/17.jpg Magic The Gathering - For all sizes One element of providing an improved experience was moving from a static layout desktop site to a mobile-friendly responsive layout. While we settled somewhere between responsive and adaptive, the result is a site that works well and is intentionally designed to behave predictably on phones, tablets, and personal computers of many varieties. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f914d4a3c1ef603bd8f69de/t/5f93453ca0b2305883d78d3f/1603487043895/Wordmark_blue_RGB.png Magic The Gathering - Ongoing improvements Behind the scenes of many of our refreshed brand sites, Drupal is providing a foundation for iterative improvement. Using an open platform has provided a more diverse pool of vendors and a wider range of accessible technologies. While getting the front-end dialed in has had it’s challenges, it’s been good to be able to lean on a stable backend. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f914d4a3c1ef603bd8f69de/5f9334bf7e97a275c8fca651/5f933f4c7e97a275c8fec730/1603485603747/MTG150405_09.png Magic The Gathering https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f914d4a3c1ef603bd8f69de/5f9334bf7e97a275c8fca651/5f933f9b6b6000329065d8fe/1603485658155/MTG150405_11.png Magic The Gathering https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f914d4a3c1ef603bd8f69de/5f9334bf7e97a275c8fca651/5f933f910608474f19c9fc59/1603485656717/MTG150405_12.png Magic The Gathering https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f914d4a3c1ef603bd8f69de/5f9334bf7e97a275c8fca651/5f933f4b041085542be71685/1603485602367/MTG150405_18.png Magic The Gathering https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f914d4a3c1ef603bd8f69de/5f9334bf7e97a275c8fca651/5f933f4c7d19966cdeb4bb8d/1603486227316/MTG150405_13.png Magic The Gathering https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f914d4a3c1ef603bd8f69de/5f9334bf7e97a275c8fca651/5f933f4b1f37bd2d0267639e/1603486307883/MTG150405_03.png Magic The Gathering https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f914d4a3c1ef603bd8f69de/5f9334bf7e97a275c8fca651/5f933f8df95e9217720c7032/1603485658215/MTG150405_08.png Magic The Gathering https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f914d4a3c1ef603bd8f69de/5f9334bf7e97a275c8fca651/5f933f92a04e831c1f95a48d/1603485656629/MTG150405_02.png Magic The Gathering https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f914d4a3c1ef603bd8f69de/5f9334bf7e97a275c8fca651/5f933f8bf52cb6316d1e1f7c/1603485648408/MTG150405_01.png Magic The Gathering https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f914d4a3c1ef603bd8f69de/5f9334bf7e97a275c8fca651/5f933f4be373d4031235f25d/1603485589212/MTG150405_14.png Magic The Gathering https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f914d4a3c1ef603bd8f69de/5f9334bf7e97a275c8fca651/5f933fc8c8c2514644cb3e84/1603485685121/MTG150405_16.png Magic The Gathering https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f914d4a3c1ef603bd8f69de/5f9334bf7e97a275c8fca651/5f933f4bb5e86470edaeb1d2/1603485587044/MTG150405_05.png Magic The Gathering https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f914d4a3c1ef603bd8f69de/5f9334bf7e97a275c8fca651/5f933f9ad8b4f821ef98d8a3/1603485662050/MTG150405_10.png Magic The Gathering https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f914d4a3c1ef603bd8f69de/5f9334bf7e97a275c8fca651/5f933fcf7e97a275c8fedf44/1603485677784/MTG150405_04.png Magic The Gathering https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f914d4a3c1ef603bd8f69de/5f9334bf7e97a275c8fca651/5f933fcccd99f5789ae36f7d/1603485683878/MTG150405_07.png Magic The Gathering https://www.jaredrdavis.com/postgresql-hyperscale daily 0.75 2020-10-23 https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f914d4a3c1ef603bd8f69de/t/5f934b26c89c063f24fb827f/1603489125296/PostgreSQLHSannounce.png PostgreSQL Hyperscale https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f914d4a3c1ef603bd8f69de/t/5f93503860f893490c9321d8/1603489860419/PG+-+Guided+create.png PostgreSQL Hyperscale - Two systems become one Alignment between Citus and Microsoft wasn’t fraught with insurmountable challenges, but working within the Azure Portal framework did present a need to change the way some settings were represented. It also required that the newest OSS offering on the block fit in comfortably with it’s peers. We adopted a card pattern that I piloted for Azure SQL, but adapted it to allow for a little more information required to differentiate Hyperscale from it’s single server siblings. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f914d4a3c1ef603bd8f69de/t/5f9350734dadfd30027fdd01/1603489914439/PG+-+Manage+-+Networking.png PostgreSQL Hyperscale - Feature expansion & hybrid data Networking updates across they entire family of services were driven initially by new requirements that having a multi-node instance required. Additional configuration options on top of those already present continue to pop up. The latest is the ability to deploy PostgreSQL Hyperscale server groups into your existing Kubernetes infrastructure via Azure Arc enabled PostgreSQL Hyperscale. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f914d4a3c1ef603bd8f69de/5f934a3e481a857ddccc6956/5f93509c3dfb1a40bbb8d46a/1603489958670/PG+-+Guided+create.png PostgreSQL Hyperscale https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f914d4a3c1ef603bd8f69de/5f934a3e481a857ddccc693e/5f934c00e158a14a4a74cb7a/1603488785546/PostgreSQL+1.png PostgreSQL Hyperscale https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f914d4a3c1ef603bd8f69de/5f934a3e481a857ddccc6956/5f93509b00c6d5535d019c0e/1603489954721/PG+-+Create+-+Basics.png PostgreSQL Hyperscale https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f914d4a3c1ef603bd8f69de/5f934a3e481a857ddccc693e/5f934c0019fb5176f40a0f85/1603488784243/PostgreSQL+2.png PostgreSQL Hyperscale https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f914d4a3c1ef603bd8f69de/5f934a3e481a857ddccc6956/5f93509b757dfe237fc2c124/1603489958654/PG+-+Create+-+Compute+Storage.png PostgreSQL Hyperscale https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f914d4a3c1ef603bd8f69de/5f934a3e481a857ddccc6956/5f93509b95d65c6000a8dea5/1603489955965/PG+-+Manage+-+Networking.png PostgreSQL Hyperscale https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f914d4a3c1ef603bd8f69de/5f934a3e481a857ddccc693e/5f934c00ea339e392d76a747/1603488780560/PostgreSQL+3.png PostgreSQL Hyperscale https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f914d4a3c1ef603bd8f69de/5f934a3e481a857ddccc693e/5f934c00e158a14a4a74cb7b/1603488787548/PostgreSQL+4.png PostgreSQL Hyperscale https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f914d4a3c1ef603bd8f69de/5f934a3e481a857ddccc6956/5f93509bf7e0865781d357e0/1603489957289/PG+-+Manage+-+Overview.png PostgreSQL Hyperscale https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f914d4a3c1ef603bd8f69de/5f934a3e481a857ddccc6956/5f93509bcb1ddd4db5b25e96/1603489956095/PG+-+Manage+-+Roles.png PostgreSQL Hyperscale https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f914d4a3c1ef603bd8f69de/5f934a3e481a857ddccc693e/5f934c00fc398d5489607cbe/1603488787111/PostgreSQL+5.png PostgreSQL Hyperscale