Data Engineers in Toronto

Data Engineers in Toronto March 2026 Semimonthly Meeting

Topic: Making AI Work: Aligning Data, Teams, and Business Goals

Abstract:
AI adoption often stalls not due to a lack of tools, but because of what I call “frozen yoghurt syndrome”—an overwhelming number of choices that leads to confusion, misalignment, and stalled progress. This session offers a pragmatic framework for building a scalable data strategy that cuts through the noise and focuses on delivering business value.

We’ll explore four key pillars:

1. Identify the Problem and Bigger Picture – Start with the business need. AI isn’t always the right answer; sometimes automation or simpler analytics are more effective.
2. Design the Strategy Around Data, AI, and the Use Case Together – Align initiatives with clear business goals and define success metrics that matter to both technical and non-technical teams.
3. Build the Foundation – Encourage cross-functional collaboration, select scalable tools, and document everything from data sources to model assumptions.
4. Create a Positive Feedback Loop Between Tech and Non-Tech Teams – Foster a shared product language, enable self-service access to data, and build trust through transparency and iteration.

Attendees will leave with practical frameworks to ensure AI efforts are not just technically sound — but strategically aligned, collaborative, and sustainable.

Speaker: Nirmayee Dighe, Data & AI Strategist

Speaker Profile:
Nirmayee is an Associate Director of Business Intelligence with a deep passion for data and AI, and leads amazing teams through the entire journey of deploying transformative AI solutions. From the initial data strategy to full-scale deployment, she gets to be part of every step, solving real-world problems and making a tangible impact on businesses.

Nirmayee is driven by the power of data to tell stories, and the way AI can take those stories and turn them into actionable, strategic decisions. Her focus is on helping organizations leverage data in smarter ways to increase efficiency, innovate, and stay ahead in today’s fast-paced world.

Data Engineers in Toronto April 2026 Semimonthly Meeting

Topic: SQL Supercharged: Azure, Fabric & Copilot in Action

Abstract:
This session explores the latest innovations in Azure SQL and the brand new SQL on Fabric, with new possibilities for mirroring and intelligent analytics. We’ll also unpack what’s coming in the next version of SQL Server, from performance enhancements to security features. Finally, discover how Copilot can help us to interact and manage data to enhance productivity for data professionals.

Speaker: Javier Villegas, Mediterranean Shipping Company, IT Director - Microsoft MVP Data Platform

Speaker Profile:
Javier Villegas is IT Director (DBA & BI Services) at Mediterranean Shipping Company with 30 years of experience working with SQL Server, Including Azure SQL.

His specialization is Administration, Performance Tuning, High Availability and Disaster Recovery.
Javier is a Microsoft MVP Data Platform since 2016 and MCT
He is a frequent speaker in technical conferences and events such as SQL Saturdays, PASS Virtual Groups, PASS Marathons, 24 Hours SQL PASS , vOpen , GroupBy , Data Saturdays and Azure Global Bootcamps.
He is one of the group leaders of SQL Argentina Community and former Microsoft Azure Data Advisory Board Member

Data Engineers in Toronto April 2026 Semimonthly Meeting

Topic: All About Data Retention: Tactics for optimizing computing resources

Abstract:
How long should data be kept for? How should it be handled as it moves from actively used hot data to seldom used cool data? What tactics can be used to optimize computing resources when handling data of different types, from different systems, and of different ages.

Retention is a seldom-discussed topic, but one that can be used to reduce cloud hosting bills, improve performance, improve predictability, and ensure that an application remains in compliance with legal and contractual obligations,

This session dives into data retention from all angles and provides a wide variety of tactics for creating retention policies and implementing technical solutions.

Speaker: Edward Pollack, Data Architect & Microsoft Data Platform MVP

Speaker Profile:
Ed Pollack is a Microsoft Data Platform MVP with a passion for learning how Data Platforms work and sharing that knowledge with the community. His experiences in data architecture, database design, performance optimization, and data security are motivation for public speaking, writing, coding, and other community activities.

Ed has spoken at SQL Saturday events, SQL Bits, PASS Summit, EightKB, and many other regional and international events. Ed is the organizer of the Capital Area SQL Server Group and SQL Saturday Albany, as well as a co-organizer of SQL Saturday New York City, and Future Data Driven. He has published a number of books, including "Dynamic SQL: Applications, Performance, and Security in Microsoft SQL Server", "Expert Performance Indexing in Azure SQL and SQL Server 2022", and "Analytics Optimization with Columnstore Indexes in Microsoft SQL Server: Optimizing OLAP Workloads". Ed is also an active contributor of content to SimpleTalk.

In his free time, Ed enjoys video games, traveling, cooking exceptionally spicy foods, and hanging out with his amazing wife and sons.

Data Engineers in Toronto May 2026 Semimonthly Meeting

Topic: Maximize SQL Server Performance with Read Committed Snapshot Isolation

Abstract:
Are your read operations frequently blocked by write operations? Do you want to retrieve data without relying on NOLOCK?

Then it's time to switch to Read Committed Snapshot Isolation (RCSI).

In this session, I’ll explain what RCSI is, how it works, and how it differs from the default Read Committed Isolation level. I’ll demonstrate how version store comes into play with this isolation level and when it can overwhelm TempDB if not managed properly. Finally, I’ll discuss how to manage the implications of enabling RCSI.

By the end of this session, you'll have a clear understanding of RCSI and when to implement it in your environment for improved concurrency and performance.

Speaker: Haripriya Naidu, Lead SQL Server Database Administrator

Speaker Profile:
Haripriya Naidu has been working as a SQL Server Database Administrator for 11 years in Boston, MA. She is passionate about databases and enjoys diving into SQL Server engine internals and optimizing performance. She is an AWS Certified Solutions Associate and won "Rookie of the Year" Award at work in 2024 for outstanding performance and "Bookworm of the Year" Award at work in 2025 for continuously learning and sharing knowledge with the team.
She recently started her speaking journey with New Stars of Data and spoke at SQL Saturdays Boston, Albany and San Diego and PASS Summit 2024.