If you have ever taken any training modules or learned something new by going through the official documentation, the material you used was probably written or co-authored by one or many contributors. These individuals often are volunteers who offer their time and expertise to cover knowledge gaps in our portfolio or to keep the existing content current.
In this series, we’ll be interviewing repeat contributors to the Microsoft Learn platform to get to know them better and to learn what motivates them to keep contributing.
Today we are interviewing Taiob Ali, a Microsoft Data Platform Most Valuable Professional (MVP). During the last 17 years, he has worked with the Microsoft Data Platform and MongoDB, both on-premises and cloud. Taiob currently works as a Database Solutions Manager at GMO LLC, focusing on cloud migration, automation, and streamlining the operational workflow.
He is a regular speaker at local and virtual chapters, Data Saturdays, and Azure conferences. He also is a board member of the New England SQL Server User Group, founder of Database Professionals Virtual Meetup Group, and organizer of Boston SQL Saturday.
Taiob was nominated for his valuable, frequent contributions to SQL Docs. Some of his recent Microsoft Learn contributions are:
- sys.dm_database_backups (Azure SQL Database)
- Migration overview: SQL Server to Azure SQL Database
- sys.dm_geo_replication_link_status (Azure SQL Database and Azure SQL Managed Instance)
Taiob Ali - Database Solutions Manager at GMO LLC
Meet Taiob Ali
sherry: Hi, Taiob. Thanks so much for joining us today. I know it’s sometimes hard to find time to talk about your work when you’re so busy. You obviously are very engaged in the SQL community and one of the top contributors in SQL docs. What inspired you to start contributing, and what motivates you to keep contributing?
Taiob: One time, I tweeted something inaccurate in SQL Docs. Someone said to fix it by sending a pull request. That was my start. I strongly believe in community, and keeping documentation up to date helps all of us, that includes myself and my team at work.
Sherry: It’s great to hear how you see the benefits for a community. That’s definitely something we see a lot too. Has contributing to the Microsoft Learn platform helped you advance your career or gain new skills?
Taiob: Yes, it has, especially when I worked with Dimitri Furman and his team on some of the Azure SQL databases topics. One example is the documentation we did for GracePeriodWithDataLossHours for auto-failover groups. I documented all my lessons learned in this blog post.
Sherry: Thanks for sharing. What advice would you give to people who want to start contributing to open-source content?
Taiob: You cannot go wrong. People at Microsoft are super helpful regarding this, and they do appreciate it. One time I had an issue with resolving a conflict with merge, and Randolph West did it for me.
Sherry: One purpose of this interview is to highlight the person behind the contributions, so tell us something about yourself aside from work. What do you do with your free time?
Taiob: If I am not working, you will see me running, walking, or biking. Maybe shuttling my children to their sports. I also take long flights to see my extended family whenever I can.
Sherry: That sounds like a good place to stop for today. Thanks again for joining us and for being such a valuable contributor, Taiob.
To keep up with Taiob:
- Learn more about him at his website: https://sqlworldwide.com/
- Follow him on Twitter: https://twitter.com/SqlWorldWide
- Connect with him on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sqlworldwide/
- Watch his contributions on StackExchange: https://dba.stackexchange.com/users/48093/sqlworldwide
- View his awards on Credly: https://www.credly.com/users/taiob-ali/badges
To learn more about contributing to Microsoft Learn, visit the Microsoft Learn documentation contributor guide.
Thanks to Melia Hughes from Contributor Success for putting these spotlight stories together.
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