Just got back from presenting at the SLC SQL Server Users Group. Was a lot of fun. Thanks Pat Wright for letting me come and blab for two hours about Integration Services. It's always enjoyable to get out and meet customers and hear about their pain points and get a little positive feedback as well.
For many of the attendees, not only had they never used or seen integration services but they'd never even used DTS. So, as the presentation proceeded, it was interesting to watch as the light came on and people started to understand what SSIS was all about. Most were DBAs and several commented that they could see many applications for using IS in their day to day work simply for the workflow features.
A friend came along and noted the interesting phenomenon that can only happen at a meeting like that. I brought a long a few Microsoft Reporting Services Beta T-Shirts to give away. One of the other participants happens to work for a very nice ski resort and brought two lift passes as prizes. So, I did the honors of picking the business cards out of the hat to pick who get's to choose one of the prizes.
Guess which prize lasted the longest... :)
Yep, the ski tickets worth $150 were the last to go!
Thanks again Pat, it was fun.