data management

Readers interested in digital minimalism will find value in my journey from deactivating to finally deleting Facebook after three years. I explain how shifting to more controlled platforms like WhatsApp and Signal helped me reclaim my attention and data without losing essential connections.

If you conduct business in the EU or EFTA area, you need to understand how Microsoft’s newly announced EU Data Boundary affects your data residency and compliance. I explore what this commitment means for Azure, Dynamics 365, and other services, clarifying that it is a documented process rather than a new tool, and highlighting why your data may still leave the region despite specific configurations.

If you are planning to migrate legacy SQL Server databases to Azure, this post explores practical methods for anonymizing sensitive data within your on-premises infrastructure before moving it to the cloud. I walk through my experience setting up a local test environment with the AdventureWorks sample database and demonstrate how PowerShell can be used to effectively mask personally identifiable information while keeping costs in mind.

When a former colleague asked me to fix a decade-old backup script I wrote as an employee, I was reminded of the unrealistic expectations often placed on IT professionals regarding long-term maintenance. This experience highlights the importance of setting clear boundaries and understanding that true sustainability comes from proper system lifecycle management, not personal pride or unpaid warranty work.

If you need to understand the non-trivial process of securing PostgreSQL backups in Azure, this post details my journey from testing environments to critical production systems. I walk you through the necessary components like Backup and Key Vaults, along with the specific permission scripts and credential storage steps required to execute reliable backups.