{"id":1243,"date":"2014-04-09T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-04-09T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.technet.microsoft.com\/dataplatforminsider\/2014\/04\/09\/sql-server-2014-launch-a-community-affair\/"},"modified":"2024-01-22T22:48:58","modified_gmt":"2024-01-23T06:48:58","slug":"sql-server-2014-launch-a-community-affair","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/sql-server\/blog\/2014\/04\/09\/sql-server-2014-launch-a-community-affair\/","title":{"rendered":"SQL Server 2014 Launch \u2013 A Community Affair"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"<\/a>Guest blog post by:<\/strong> PASS President Thomas LaRock \u2013 a SQL Server MVP, MCM, and Head Geek at Solarwinds \u2013 is a seasoned IT professional with over a decade of technical and management experience. Author of DBA Survivor: Become a Rock Star DBA<\/a><\/em>, he holds an MS degree in Mathematics from Washington State University and is a Microsoft Certified Trainer and a VMware vExpert. You can read his blog at thomaslarock.com<\/a> and follow him on Twitter at @SQLRockstar<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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April opened with the general availability of SQL Server 2014<\/a>. But well before we could wrap our hands around the final bits of the new release, the SQL Server community has been getting an early taste of its exciting performance, availability, manageability, and cloud features, thanks to a grassroots launch and readiness program that has spread around the globe.<\/p>\n

The Professional Association for SQL Server (PASS) and hundreds of our volunteers around the world have joined with Microsoft to host free SQL Server 2014 launch events and technical sessions that focus on what matters most to data pros. These sessions explain the new features in the release, how the features work, and how we can use them to benefit our companies.<\/p>\n

From user group meetings<\/a> and PASS SQLSaturday<\/a> sessions to the ongoing SQL Server 2014 Countdown<\/a> webinars with PASS Virtual Chapters, the launch of SQL Server 2014 has truly been a community affair \u2013 and we’re just getting started. Whether you’re already on the path to early adoption, preparing to take advantage of the new release soon, or gathering information for the future, here’s how you can get involved and get the details you need to make smart decisions for your organization:<\/p>\n