About the Authors

Dejan Sarka, MCT and SQL Server MVP, is an independent trainer and consultant who focuses on the development of database and business intelligence applications, located in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Besides his projects, he spends around half of his time on training and mentoring. He is the founder of the Slovenian SQL Server and .NET Users Group. Dejan is the main author and co-author of many books and courses about databases and SQL Server. He is a frequent speaker at many worldwide events.

I would like to thank everybody involved in this book, especially to my co-authors, Miloš and William, to the content development editor, Aishwarya, and to the technical editor, Vivek.

Miloš Rapojević is a database consultant in Vienna, Austria. He is a Data Platform MVP and specializes in SQL Server for application developers and performance and query tuning. Currently, he works as a principal database consultant in bwin (GVC Holdings)—the largest regulated online gaming company in the world. Miloš is a co-founder of PASS Austria. He is also a speaker at international conferences and speaks regularly at SQL Saturday events and PASS Austria meetings.

I would like to thank my co-authors, Dejan Sarka and William Durkin. It has been a pleasure and privilege working with you guys! It was also a pleasure to work with editors, Aishwarya Pandere and Vivek Arora, in the production of this book. I'd also like to thank, Tomaž Kaštrun, for his prompt and helpful review. Finally, I would like to thank my wife, Nataša, my daughter, Mila, and my son, Vasilije, for all their sacrifice, patience, and understanding while I worked on this book.

  William Durkin is a DBA and data platform architect for CloudDBA. He uses his decade of experience with SQL Server to help multinational corporations achieve their data management goals. Born in the UK and now based in Germany, he has worked as a database developer and DBA on projects ranging from single-server installations, up to environments spanning five continents using a range of high-availability solutions. William is a regular speaker at conferences around the globe, a Data Platform MVP and is the chapter leader of a German PASS chapter.

I would like to thank, Dejan and Miloš, for involving me in this book, it has been a challenge but a lot of fun! I would also like to thank Aishwarya and Vivek, for their editorial support. Last but certainly not least, thanks to my wife, Birgit, and son Liam, for your support and patience.