Sheffield Data Analytics User Group - Meeting #8 - Paul Andrew & Braden Millward

Meetup #8 at Electric Works (in front of the coach station and just up the road from the central train station).
Doors open from 5:30 to give you time to grab a drink and chat to fellow attendees. Talks running from 6 with food provided after the sessions provided by sponsors Simpsons Associates.

Session 1: Paul Andrew - Building Near Real-time Data Solutions in Microsoft Azure & Fabric
The velocity of data is getting faster across many industries, fuelled by the business demand to gain insights and value from sources in near real-time. This necessity is then allowing decision makers to pivot and ultimately stay ahead of the competition. Furthermore, the growth of the internet of things and ‘smart’ devices now means the volume of that high velocity data has exploded. Meeting this demand requires new concepts and new designs for data/solution architects, with high throughput ingestion endpoints and query stream tools that can perform aggregations ‘on the fly’.

In this session, we will address the above head on. Discussing and designing architectures that can scale and burst for high throughput events. Querying using both SQL and KQL to blend stream and batch data feeds for downstream reporting.

As a platform, in Azure we’ll explore Event Hub and Stream Analytics to ingest and handle that initial data stream. Before applying the same patterns to other resources in Microsoft Fabric with and Event Handler and Real-time Dashboards through the Event House. Understanding the patterns to apply as an architect vs the tooling available for delivery.

Session 2: Branden Millward - Unlocking The Value Of AI For Your Business - Where To Start
The session will cover the fundamentals of AI and its key terminology. It will explore various business applications and discuss when and why to use different techniques. The focus will be on providing attendees with essential knowledge, enabling them to engage effectively with this sector.

Close by 8:30 with a chance to continue conversations at the Sheffield Tap by the train station.