SQLBits XI has been announced for the 2-4th of May 2013. Having taken place in London this year, it is moving back North to the Midlands at the East Midlands Conference Centre. Apparently there are great transport links, and being smack in the centre of England I guess it makes it convenient for everyone to get to.

If you work with SQL Server in any way, and you’ve never been to SQLBits I’d highly recommend it, because

• it takes place over a weekend, so only requires one day away from the office
• it’s free! So aside from room and traveling expenses, it’s a very low cost conference.
• the quality of past speakers has been very high. SQL Experts such as Brent Ozar, Buck Woody, Ola Hallengren, Kevin Kline… the list goes on. I came away with a lot of ideas to try out at work, and certainly learnt of a few valuable resources out on the web.

Try and convince your boss that it is worth your while. Research the sessions that are taking place and outline the ones that are pertinent to your professional development; does attending help you achieve any of your objectives covered in your appraisal? If there are other people in your team who might also benefit from the knowledge learned, try to have a plan for how you intend to communicate what you have learnt to the team. At the moment they are not open for registration, they are just taking session submission, but keep checking back as registration fills up quick!

http://sqlbits.com/