Newport, Wales. Not quite Bristol, not quite Cardiff. If you squint at a map, it sits in a gap between two perfectly reasonable cities, almost daring you to find a direct route.
And yet, here we are. I’m heading back to SQLBits, and I wouldn’t miss it.
Getting there requires actual planning. Not “get off the plane and take the first train to the city” planning. Real planning. Trains with connections. Possibly pre-ordering taxicabs. Getting cash at an actual ATM. Wondering about mobile coverage somewhere between the M4 and the Welsh countryside.
Here’s the thing: we’ve gotten so used to seamless travel that the moment it requires effort, it feels strange. Ride-hailing apps, real-time navigation, contactless payments everywhere. We’ve built an infrastructure of convenience so comprehensive that navigating without it feels like a skill we never had to develop. It was all possible before. Just harder. Much harder.
Think about that.
Newport is a good reminder that the marvels of modern life are, in fact, marvels.
Turning insights into action #
I’m delivering Turning insights into action: The art of data communication again, co-delivered with the brilliant Valerie Junk. We’ve taken this workshop around the circuit a few times now, and thanks to all the feedback, it keeps getting better. The conversations it generates, the moments when someone realizes that communication isn’t decoration on top of analysis but is the analysis, those don’t get old.
We’re already deep into building the successor. But let’s finish this run strong first.
If you want to understand why sharp insights die quietly in boardrooms, and what to do about it, this is your session.
Making the most of your Microsoft Fabric investment #
I’m also running my Fabric FinOps session. The core argument: Capacity Units are a proxy for cost, not the definition of it. A process that burns a lot of CUs might still be the most economical path from end to end. A process that looks cheap on paper might be bleeding you dry in ways the metrics don’t surface.
The question isn’t what your workload costs per run. It’s what it costs per outcome.
Come find me in Newport. Bring sensible shoes. And if you’ve cracked the most efficient way to get there, I’d genuinely like to know.