I have been made a friend of Redgate for 2021

community
2021-03-01
3 minutes to read

This post is over 24 months old, that is an lifetime in tech! Please be mindful of that when reading this post as it could be outdated. I try to keep on top of changes where possible. I try to keep things up to date, but if you think something needs updating, please let me know in the comments.

I am still friends with Redgate

At the beginning of the year, Redgate graciously agreed to retain me on their Friend of Redgate program for a second year. This is despite a quiet year where we have not kept in touch as much as I’d have liked, I have been distant, we have liked each others tweets on Twitter and I managed just one FoRG meetup at the beginning of 2021. Nevertheless, we did get up to some stuff…

Coding Club

I have introduced my daughter to Redgate’s coding club. This is a great idea by Redgate! Various Redgate devs attend the sessions with their own children helping with the coaching, this is such a nice idea and my daughter has been found these sessions really enjoyable.

Image is of a tweet by justinjbird7 click on the image to see the original tweet

If you’d like to get your child involved, you can read more about it here , and all past videos are on their YouTube channel .

Redgate Streamed Global

Redgate ran a full day of live educational content, the day was split to accommodate different times zones. It was an interesting event with a heavy focus on DevOps this year. They also ran a pub quiz…

Pub Quiz Winner

I WON THE PUB QUIZ!!! I have no idea how, it was largely down to a very lucky history of SQL Server round and a serious knowledge of films! Redgate were kind enough to donate to my chosen charity.

Product research

That was an experience! Having hardly spoken to anyone for the best part of 12 months I attended a session with multiple devs discussing a specific product and enhancements they are trialling in a product research type setting. I felt like I was doing an aptitude test! Was pretty cool to get to see new ideas in their infancy and get to provide feedback.

What is the FoRG program?

The Friends of Redgate program is a group of influential and active community members, such as popular blog writers, speakers, consultants, as well as Microsoft Data Platform MVPs. The Friends of Redgate program is an exclusive group of influential and active community members, such as popular blog writers, speakers, consultants, as well as Microsoft Data Platform MVPs. We help our Friends to support the community by providing opportunities to collaborate on content such as articles, webinars and speaking sessions. We also connect them with our development teams, so they can get the inside scoop on our products and share their insights and ideas.

I have the opportunity to collaborate with the wider FoRG community and participate in research calls and early access programs allowing me to contribute to the shaping of their future products. This is a great way for developers to get access to users with real-world experiences and insights. Redgate has always been pretty awesome at this if you’ve ever been to a SQL in the City and seen their incubator sessions.