T-SQL Tuesday 138 – How I keep on top of technology changes

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My T-SQL Tuesday contribution for this month is about how I keep on top of technology changes. Which is hosted this month by Andy Leonard.

Andy has invited us all to talk about how we have responded, or plan to respond to, changes in technology. You can find out more about the invite by clicking here or on the image below.

In reality, this is something that keeps me busy these days. Especially with the rapid changes to cloud services.

Past examples of keeping on top of technology changes

For example, just over four years ago I set myself an ambitious challenge to gain the MCSD Azure Architect certification. Something I wrote about in a previous T-SQL Tuesday post here.

Whilst studying for the exam I found that some of the study material had changed a lot. So, as well as going through the material in the books I had purchased I had to look at a lot of information about Azure Resource Manager online.

Doing this allowed me to finish one of the biggest personal challenges that I had set myself.

Because this happened, I now keep an eye on the certification pages about exams a lot more in case they change. Like the DP-203 Azure Data Engineering exam that went GA last week, which I posted about here.

Keeping on top of Azure services

Because I work with Azure cloud services a lot more these days, I always keep an eye out for updates. Due to the rapid deployment of updates of some services.

Most of which are good. However, they can affect things that are currently being worked on as well as the terminology that you use.

For example, the evolution of Azure Synapse Analytics. Where it is gone from being viewed as a replacement for Azure SQL Datawarehouse to a fully integrated solution.

Of course, the longer a project runs for the higher the chance of technology changing underneath you during the course of the project becomes.

Which is one advantage of working in a DevOps related kind of way. Because you can deal with changes faster. Something you might want to keep in mind if you end up in discussions about the best way to work on a project.

Examples of how I keep on top of technology changes

One way I keep an eye on things is to keep an eye on social media like LinkedIn and Twitter for new announcements. Social media is very powerful way to keep yourself updated. To highlight this, most of you will probably read this post due to it appearing on social media.

It’s always worth keeping an eye on product update pages as well to be prepared for changes that may affect you. For example, you can view the official page for Azure updates here.

Balance

In reality, I do spend a reasonable amount of time keeping on top of things. It helps reduce the chance of technology changing underneath me whilst working on new things. Plus, it helps me check that any information I am sharing is current.

However, I do want to make it clear that I think a healthy work/life balance is good. Especially at the moment with everything that is happening in the world.

With this in mind, I suggest you find a smart way to keep on top of changes that works for you. To avoid feeling like you need to be online all the time to keep up with changes.

Final word

I hope you find my post about how I keep on top of technology changes a good read. In addition, I hope it gives some of you ideas on how to deal with change smarter.

Of course, if you have any comments or queries about this post feel free to reach out to me.