Who am I?

Hi! I’m Jason Thomas aka SqlJason, a passionate data analytics geek who likes solving real world business problems using data and technology. And this is where I jot down my experiences and observations, mostly involving Microsoft BI tools. I work for Microsoft as a Business Intelligence Technology Solutions Professional. What I write here are my personal views and may or may not reflect the views of my company.

How did I get here?

It all started way back in 2006, when I joined as a new data analytics consultant in MindTree. Even though I was trained on other ETL tools like Informatica, Sunopsis, etc. and reporting tools like BO, Crystal, Cognos, etc., I was hooked onto the Microsoft BI tool set - SSIS, SSAS and SSRS. Days were spent working in regular projects and nights were spent reading blogs and books, basically anything I could get my hands on. I started getting involved in MSDN forums around 2009, and by mid 2010 I was one of the top answerers in the SSRS/SSAS forums (as well as a moderator). Around that time, I noticed that I was repeating the same answers multiple times in the forums and decided to start this blog so that I could just paste the links, instead of typing the answers. The more I blogged, the more confident I got and with some motivation from Chris Webb, I did my first speaking gig for the London BI User Group in 2011. 6 years (and 3 companies - MindTree, Mariner, BlueGranite) later, I have spoken in 40+ events including PASS Summit (2013-2016), PASS BA Conference, SQLBits, SQL Saturdays, 24 Hours of PASS and Local User Groups. I also started the Charlotte BI User Group in 2012 along with 3 of my friends, and have organized the annual Charlotte SQL Saturday since 2012.

What am I doing nowadays?

Being the father to the world's most beautiful toddler has certainly taken a toll on the time that I spend on blogging. However, I am still involved with the community and totally in love with Power BI (as evident from my winning entries for the Power BI Contests - here and here). I honestly feel that Power BI is the next best thing after sliced bread and maybe bacon, and will be a huge game changer for businesses worldwide. And in my new role as a BI TSP for Microsoft, I guess it might be fair to expect an increase in blogging activities here.