SQL Server Magazine Hosts Another Great "Best of TechEd" Event

The fine folks at Penton Media, which includes our belovedSQL Server Magazine as well as Windows IT Pro and other great magazines/websites, put on a very special event every year at Microsoft TechEd.  (FYI, TechEd North America is Microsoft's biggest yearly conference.  This year, there were nearly 8,000 attendees).

This special event, known as The Best of TechEd, is as important to the Microsoft third-party ecosystem as the Oscars are to the film industry or the Grammies are to the recording industry.  The event usually happens on Wednesday evening during the week of Microsoft TechEd and is both an awards ceremony and a chance to catch up with old friends, like fellow SQLMag contributors Brian Moran and Itzik Ben-Gan.

You can find other great SQL Server product vendors in the awards event, like Red-Gate Software and Confio Software, as well as vendors in other categories of the Microsoft stack, such as email and systems management.  I'm always happy to see our ecosystem thrive and our SQL Server community prosper. Some of these vendors also won awards of their own. Read all about the other categories and award winners here.  Way to go, guys!  But the big news for me was...

Toad for SQL Server Wins in Database Development Category! 

Toad and I go way back.  I first started with Toad as a user on the Oracle DBMS back in the early 1990's.  When I started at Quest Software back on January 2nd of 2002, one of the first products I tackled as a SQL Server product architect was Toad.  How do we make this very popular Oracle product one that users in the SQL Server world will love too?  And this challenge was made that much harder by the fact that Microsoft SQL Server ships with fantastic tools right there in the box.  I haven't worked directly on Toad for years, but the tool marches on at each release with new features and capabilities that push the envelop with each new release. 

Toad Winners

Left to Right: (Background) Michele Crocket, publisher of SQL Server Magazine; Jason Hall, Quest's head of SC's; David Gugick, Quest's Director of Architecture; and Kevin Kline

I want to applaud the product manager, David Gugick, the developers and testers, and the active and supportive community who loves and embraces Toad.  It's always a thrill when your hard work and efforts are recognized.  The other product companies certainly had very fine tools to offer as well.  I'm sure that I'll see these worthy competitors next year.

And a big thanks to the fine folks at SQLMag and Windows ITPro Mag for making this happen!

Enjoy!

-Kevin