I will present a full-day pre-conference workshop focused on Cortana Intelligence Suite and SQL Server 2016 R Services on Sunday, September 25 at Microsoft Ignite 2016 in Georgia, Atlanta, USA. I will also deliver a breakout session Advanced Analytics in the Real World: Combining SQL Server, R and Cortana Intelligence Suite during the main conference.

Data science just became easier and more accessible to every organisation thanks to the inclusion of the R language inside Microsoft SQL Server 2016, which also happens to be the most popular commercial database platform amongst data scientists, according to O’Reilly Media 2015 Data Science Salary Survey. Coupling the power of R and the well-known enterprise scalability of SQL Server not only benefits on-premise analytics, but it also extends into the cloud, where the newly updated Cortana Intelligence Suite offers additional technologies, including Spark on Hadoop and a wide variety of NoSQL storage and analytics options, which I will discuss during this workshop.

Thanks to some ten years of experience in my day-to-day role as a real-world practitioner of data science you will get a clear idea of where and how to get started with this discipline. I will carefully explain the needs of those first projects you may want to consider—starting is never easy. At the end of the day you will have a good understanding of how to benefit from the current popularity, and even some hype surrounding data science, and you will know how to make the best use of the Cortana Intelligence and the Microsoft SQL Server R platforms.

Agenda of the Workshop

I plan on delivering four sessions, including one tutorial, during which you are going to build a machine learning experiment using your own laptop and your own Azure account (free or paid-for). If you are already more advanced, you are welcome to use the tutorial to ask me questions related to your own data, and to work on your own models during that time. 

1. Process of data science on the Microsoft platform: from a business need to an intelligent, predictive solution
2. Tutorial: Build your own experiment with Azure Machine Learning
3. Deep dive into SQL Server 2016 R Services for predictive modelling
4. Deep dive into Cortana Intelligence and R Server for big data analytics
5. Q&A and Close

If you are interested in what is new and powerful in SQL Server 2016 advanced analytics or if you would like to get a thorough introduction to Azure Machine Learning and Cortana Intelligence Suite, this pre-con will give you the best possible start this summer. And if you would like to learn it all in-depth, please consider attending my 5-day, hands-on class in Chicago, IL, on November 7, 2016.

Please note that the detailed agenda is subject to change, even at the last minute, without notice, as this allows me to make sure it is as up-to-date as possible when I present it. Register here, and see you in Atlanta!