Happy New year – 2020 in review

No doubt we have had all an extraordinary and surreal year. You don’t have to look too far to see that this year has been harder for some than others. “We are all in the same boat” wasn’t entirely true. I preferred 

“I heard that we are all in the same boat, but it’s not like that. We are in the same storm, but not in the same boat. Your ship could be shipwrecked, and mine might not be.”

I think here at gethynellis.com we’d consider ourselves fortunate. Our boat was not shipped wrecked. We got slowed down a bit by the big waves at first, but we worked out how to ride them and carried on as best we could. 

Personal Stuff

For me, in particular, I look back at 2020 with some sad feelings but also a few rather happy memories. For that, I feel very fortunate. I turned 40. I got to spend some quality time with my family. I had time to do things that in years gone by, I might have struggled to fit in years past.

In “normal times” I drive 20,000 miles a year, take endless train and sometimes plane journeys, I have platinum status with the Radisson hotel chain, I stay about 60 nights a year in their hotels. I haven’t been on a train, plane or stayed in a hotel for work since early March. The lack of travel has given me time to reflect and think.

Thankfully all my family and friends are safe and well and long may that continue.  I have missed my Mum and Dad, but they are safe and well too so I can’t complain too much. Hopefully, with a vaccine and mass testing on the way, I’ll get to see them at some point in the not too distant future and celebrate being 40 all over again.

The business has had its ups and downs, well that’s to be expected, I don’t think there is business out there that hasn’t been impacted in some way by the events of 2020, and we’re coming out of the other side of it in a healthy position. 

Volunteering

Sabrina, My wife and business partner put in a considerable volunteering shift when the lockdown kicked in properly. She volunteered to be an NHS responder. Sabrina is the Director of Operations and Wellbeing here gethynellis.com but is also a Registered Mental Health Nurse, and during the first lockdown, she volunteered for the check-in and chat service.

She also volunteered with a couple of other organisations to help people with their mental health in what was no doubt a challenging time for everyone. Sabrina must have done an excellent job. She was interviewed by several Newspapers, TV and radio stations at the height of her volunteering and I know she was thrilled and very proud to be part of the Royal British Legion VE day celebrations.

DataWeekender

As lockdown kicked in back in March, I was thinking about what I could do to help the pandemic. I was on the schedule to speak at several SQL Saturdays throughout Spring, and obviously, these events got cancelled. I was putting the baby to bed and mulling over what I could do to help, and the idea of an online event entered my head, at least for a little while then I forgot about it.

The next night I was doing the same thing. As the baby dropped off to sleep, I checked my phone and Twitter, and I read a post by my good friend Kevin Chant that said: “I wonder how long it would be before someone set up a free virtual community conference to replace all the cancelled in March, April and May.” I replied, saying that I had been thinking along similar lines, and he should set something up. After some back and forth and chat. We thought we would try and put on an event. 

Within a week, we had a six-person organising team, and DataWeekender was born. Between the 27th March and the 2nd May when the event ran, we managed to put together a six-track event that had more than a 1000 people sign up. It was much more successful than we envisaged when we started. We learned that we could put on a successful event in 30 days.

The second event #DataWeekender 2 #TheSQL ran in October. We had a bit more planning time for the second edition but not too much more, we like the “pop-up” nature DataWeekender has become and the flexibility that brings. I would say that the second event was equally successful.

I know the team will be keen to arrange and organise more of these events as we move into 2021. So do follow the van on Twitter  @DataWeekender You can also check out the website www.dataweekender.com  which gets updated when a new pop-event is being planned.

Other stuff

There have been some other cool things that I have been involved with too, like Business Network Wales, I have learned a lot about social media and LinkedIn in particular.

We started a POD to help SQL Server bloggers and content producers share their material on Linkedin and help them reach as much of their network as possible. You produce high-quality content, this is the really important part. Then with your quality content, we will help you reach more people in your Linkedin Network by engaging with what you have written and your social media post. You can read all about the Linkedin POD, its rules and how it works by reading this post. If you are interested and would like to get involved to promote your SQL Server/ Data platform content there is instructions on how to get involved in that post too.

Crown Commercial Services Supplier

We have been part of the DOS framework and later in the year. We have been accepted in on to the GCLOUD framework too. If you work in the public sector and you think our services may help you, please do contact us.

I co-invented skype darts with good pal Mark Hawkins, and I started a Sunday night quiz that was borne out of my Mate Neil’s Stag do and the subsequent wedding cancellation. So we have a Sunday Zoom quiz that usually involves far too much beer for a school night, but it is a lot of fun.

You can read about what we did to help during the pandemic here. 

Client Work

We have had a pretty busy year despite the disruption.

Data Platform Migrations

 We have had lots of client work this year too, from upgrades on-premises to, moves from on-premises to managed instances and maybe some Azure SQL Database moves in the new year also. If you need help migrating and managing your SQL Server, do contact us.

Performance Tune-Up

We have completed several performance tune-ups for customers throughout 2020, and I can’t see that changing in 2021 so if you need to make your SQL Server database run faster, contact us here.

Practice Management Power App

We have teamed up with the good people at Wyeden and Joel at xrmconsultant.co.uk to develop some practice management software on the Power Platform. Our software is still a work in progress but is something we are very excited about going into 2021, so watch this space for more details to follow and if you think our application can help you contact us.

What’s in store in 2021

What’s in store in the coming year, well I suspect that will warrant a post all of its own. Just one thing to mention quickly before I finish.

We have a recruitment webinar running on Thursday 28th January where we will look at the ways you can improve your recruitment process, its free so if you are going to be recruiting in the new year why not come along and learn how you can improve your recruitment process.

So, for now, have a very Happy and prosperous New Year!

If you need help with your SQL Server or Microsoft Data platform, please do get contact us.