SSW TV – Learn from Professional Software Developers

SQL, MCP, JSON, and Vector Search Explained with Jerry Nixon | Adam Cogan | NDC Sydney 2026

Bahjat Alaadel — Fri, 10 Jul 2026 21:00:00 +0000

Contact us: https://bit.ly/4fAFrVx

In this interview from NDC, Adam Cogan sits down with Jerry Nixon to talk about the future of SQL Server and why it remains such a powerful platform for modern applications. Jerry explains how the SQL MCP Server helps AI agents securely connect to databases without developers needing to build and maintain custom APIs for every table and operation. They also explore how SQL Server is evolving with smarter search capabilities, including fuzzy search, regex, full text, and semantic vector search.

Jerry shares how developers can now store vectors directly in SQL, run similarity searches, and keep structured, document, and semantic data in one place instead of spreading it across multiple platforms. The conversation also covers JSON vs XML, document database trade-offs, business logic in the database, and why SQL Server still competes strongly with Postgres. It’s a practical discussion for developers and architects who want to simplify their stack while taking advantage of modern AI and data features.

00:00 | Introduction
00:30 | Jerry Nixon on SQL and MCP Server
01:18 | Why MCP replaces custom database APIs
02:10 | One MCP for SQL, Postgres, Cosmos, and MySQL
02:35 | Token usage and why SQL MCP uses only seven tools
05:03 | Replacing CRUD code with Data API Builder
07:46 | Business logic in the database
09:24 | Fuzzy search, regex, full text, and semantic search
12:00 | Vector data type and semantic similarity in SQL
15:29 | JSON vs XML and SQL Server vs Postgres

About SSW: https://linktr.ee/SSWTV

Links:
LinkedIn:   / ssw
Twitter:   / ssw_tv
Facebook:   / ssw.page
Instagram:   / ssw_tv
Tiktok:   / ssw_tv

Get in touch:
Adam Cogan – SSW Chief Architect + Microsoft Regional Director
About: https://www.ssw.com.au/people/adam-co…
LinkedIn:   / adamcogan

#SQLServer #JerryNixon #AdamCogan #MCP #AIAgents #VectorSearch #SemanticSearch #JSON #Postgres #SSWTV

V2 – Bahjat

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Chris Auld on Smarter AI Agents, Ontologies, and Governance | Adam Cogan | NDC Sydney 2026

Bahjat Alaadel — Fri, 10 Jul 2026 04:09:21 +0000

Contact us: https://bit.ly/4fAFrVx

In this interview from NDC Sydney 2026, Adam Cogan chats with keynote speaker Chris Auld about why AI agents perform better when they have access to structured business data instead of relying purely on unstructured documents. Chris explains how ontologies and semantic models can help organizations improve agent reasoning, reduce ambiguity, and create more reliable AI systems. They discuss practical ways businesses can start small, especially in large enterprises with older systems and messy data, by modeling one part of a business process at a time.

Chris also shares why technologies like Microsoft Fabric can help bring structured information together so agents can reason over it more effectively. The conversation finishes with an important reminder about governance, trust, and maintaining a social license as technologists. As AI accelerates software delivery, Chris argues that responsible systems, customer trust, and regulatory awareness are becoming more important than ever.

00:00 | Introduction
00:17 | Chris Auld’s keynote theme
00:31 | What ontologies mean for AI agents
01:07 | Why structured business rules matter
01:31 | The problem with messy enterprise data
02:02 | Stop stuffing docs into prompts
02:28 | Advice for manufacturers with legacy systems
02:57 | Start small and model one process first
03:47 | Why structured data beats unstructured documents
04:44 | Governance, KYC, and maintaining trust in AI

#AI #AIAgents #ArtificialIntelligence #DataModeling #Ontology #SemanticModel #MicrosoftFabric #Governance #NDCSydney #ChrisAuld #AdamCogan #SSWTV

V2 – Bahjat

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3 Tips for Better Video Recordings | Adam Cogan

Pam Pan — Thu, 09 Jul 2026 09:41:23 +0000

SSW Rule : https://www.ssw.com.au/rules/video-recordings

Join the discussion in the comments on the rule above

Great coaching can dramatically improve how you present, communicate, and learn. In this video, Adam Cogan shares 3 practical coaching tips that SSW uses every day—from onboarding and role plays to improving video delivery. He explains why having a coach matters, why immediate interruption beats delayed feedback, and how repeating corrections helps lock in better habits.

00:00 | Introduction

00:13 | Why coaching matters at SSW

00:22 | Tip 1: Get a coach

00:37 | Choose the right kind of coach

00:51 | Remote coaching works too

01:09 | Tip 2: Get interrupted immediately

01:24 | Fix mistakes on the spot

01:38 | Repeat it until it sticks

01:55 | Tip 3: Clap, restart, and keep going

02:21 | Final thoughts and viewer callout

About SSW: https://linktr.ee/SSWTV

Links:

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/ssw

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ssw_tv

Facebook: https://facebook.com/SSW.page

Instagram: https://instagram.com/ssw_tv

Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ssw_tv

Get in touch:

Adam Cogan – SSW Chief Architect + Microsoft Regional Director

About: https://www.ssw.com.au/people/adam-cogan

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamcogan/

#ssw #sswtv #adamcogan #coaching #presentationtips #communicationskills #publicspeaking #leadership #mentoring #feedback

V7 – Pam

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TinaCMS + Fumadocs: Bring Visual Editing to Your Docs | Hark Singh

Pam Pan — Thu, 09 Jul 2026 09:34:37 +0000

The package (TinaCMS + Fumadocs) https://github.com/0xharkirat/tinacms-fumadocs-pkg

Tools

Fumadocs: https://www.fumadocs.dev/

TinaCMS: https://tina.io/

Roadmap: https://tina.io/roadmap

Discussions

TinaCMS + Fumadocs : https://github.com/tinacms/tinacms/discussions/6973

Editing docs directly in Markdown is great for developers, but not so great for non-technical team members who just want to update content without living in VS Code.

In this video, Hark Singh shows how he added TinaCMS-powered visual editing to a Fumadocs site, making it easier to edit Markdown, add images, create new pages, insert UI components, reorder navigation, and even make live changes through Tina Cloud.

He walks through the old manual workflow, then shows the visual editing experience in action, including saving changes back to the file system, committing updates to GitHub, and triggering Vercel deployments from the CMS.

The package is currently a preview, but it points to an exciting future for developer-friendly docs that are also friendly for the rest of the team.

00:00 | Introduction

00:27 | What Fumadocs is used for

00:53 | The manual Markdown editing workflow

01:24 | Creating and ordering pages manually

02:19 | Visual editing with TinaCMS

02:41 | Editing Markdown and adding images

03:31 | Creating a new page visually

04:00 | Adding Fumadocs UI components

04:25 | Reordering navigation with drag and drop

05:15 | Live editing with Tina Cloud, GitHub, and Vercel

About SSW: https://linktr.ee/SSWTV

Links:

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/ssw

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ssw_tv

Facebook: https://facebook.com/SSW.page

Instagram: https://instagram.com/ssw_tv

Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ssw_tv

Get in touch:

Hark Singh – SSW Software Engineer I

About: https://www.ssw.com.au/people/hark-singh

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/talesofhark

#TinaCMS #Fumadocs #CMS #VisualEditing #Markdown #Documentation #MDX #Vercel #GitHub #WebDevelopment #DeveloperTools #SSWTV

V4 – Pam

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Stop Using 👍 Wrong in Teams | Adam Cogan

Pam Pan — Mon, 06 Jul 2026 08:11:39 +0000

SSW Rule : https://www.ssw.com.au/rules/meaningful-chat-reactions
Join the discussion in the comments on the rule above

A quick communication tip from Adam Cogan: don’t use as a catch-all response when someone assigns you a task in Teams, Slack, or Google Chat. In the example Adam gives, if a task will take about five minutes, a thumbs up is too ambiguous because it does not clearly say whether you’ve read it, agree with it, are doing it now, or will do it later. Instead, use for agreement, to show you’ve seen the task and are actively working on it, and then replace with once the task is done. It is a small change, but it removes ambiguity and cuts down unnecessary follow-up messages.

00:00 | Introduction

00:08 | The problem with using for everything

00:23 | Why thumbs up is too ambiguous

00:34 | When actually makes sense

00:46 | Use when you are working on the task

00:58 | Replace with when finished

01:08 | Why this improves clarity

01:14 | Reduce extra back-and-forth

01:17 | Invite viewers to share their own tips

01:20 | Outro

About SSW: https://linktr.ee/SSWTV

Links: LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/ssw

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ssw_tv

Facebook: https://facebook.com/SSW.page

Instagram: https://instagram.com/ssw_tv

Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ssw_tv

Get in touch: Adam Cogan – SSW Chief Architect + Microsoft Regional Director

About: https://www.ssw.com.au/people/adam-cogan/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamcogan/

#MicrosoftTeams #Slack #GoogleChat #CommunicationTips #Productivity #RemoteWork #TeamCommunication #WorkplaceCommunication #AdamCogan #SSWTV

V2 – Pam

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AI: It’s a Skill Issue | Building AI Systems with Skills | Calum Simpson | User Group

Bahjat Alaadel — Wed, 24 Jun 2026 03:44:53 +0000

Contact us: https://bit.ly/4fAFrVx

In this SSW User Group, Calum Simpson explores why the next leap in AI-assisted development is not just better prompts, but better skills. He explains skills as a cleaner alternative to stuffing context windows with MCP tool definitions, shows how progressive disclosure improves agent performance, and argues that the real goal is to move from manually reviewing AI-generated code to building reliable systems that generate code for us. Along the way, he demos skill creation in Claude Code, compares skills with MCP, shares practical SSW examples like Yak Shaver, Tiger, Cheetah, and Armada, and closes with the human skills that still matter most in an AI-first world.

00:00 | Introduction to “AI: It’s a Skill Issue”
08:54 | From reviewing code to trusting AI systems
09:19 | MCP explained and why context overload matters
13:09 | How skills work with progressive disclosure
14:19 | Live demo: creating a joke skill in Claude Code
23:14 | Skills vs MCP and life before/after skills
28:51 | The vision: autonomous agents working backlog items
41:15 | How to create, improve, and compose skills
57:19 | Fun demo: the “Sealed Room” murder mystery skill game
01:05:24 | Real SSW examples, Armada, and the human skills that still matter

About SSW: https://linktr.ee/SSWTV
Links:
LinkedIn:   / ssw
Twitter:   / ssw_tv
Facebook:   / ssw.page
Instagram:   / ssw_tv
Tiktok:   / ssw_tv

Get in touch:
Calum Simpson – SSW VP of AI
About: https://www.ssw.com.au/people/calum-s…
LinkedIn:   / calum-simpson-2171bb120

#AI #AISkills #ClaudeCode #MCP #AgenticAI #SoftwareDevelopment #DeveloperTools #PromptEngineering #Automation #SSWTV #CalumSimpson #TechTalk

V2 – Bahjat

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How to record a done video in SSW | Sylvia Huang | SSW Rules

Pam Pan — Wed, 03 Jun 2026 07:45:09 +0000

https://www.ssw.com.au/rules/done-video

Need to show your product owner or team that a task is actually finished? A ‘Done Video’ is the perfect way to demo your work. In this video, Sylvia Huang shows you how to easily set up, record, and check your video using OBS Studio.

00:00 | Intro

00:08 | Step 1: Plug in your laptop and monitor

00:20 | Step 2: Check your camera settings

00:26 | Step 3: Turn on the front light

00:33 | Step 4: Start recording in OBS

00:51 | Step 5: Check your recorded video

01:06 | Outro

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/ssw/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ssw_tv

Facebook: https://facebook.com/SSW.page

Instagram: https://instagram.com/ssw_tv

Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ssw_tv

For more information about SSW’s consulting services, please visit https://ssw.com.au/

Get in touch: Sylvia Huang – Senior Software Engineer

About: https://www.ssw.com.au/people/sylvia-huang

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sylvia-huang-265872119

#OBSStudio #VideoRecording #DoneVideo #SSWRules #SoftwareEngineering #TechTips

V4 – Pam

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Stop Rebuilding UI: The Real Power of Design Systems Explained | Alex Blum | SSW Rules

Bahjat Alaadel — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 02:39:31 +0000

https://www.ssw.com.au/rules/design-s…
https://www.ssw.com.au/rules/ai-with-…
Contact us: https://bit.ly/4fAFrVx

Most design systems fail because they stop at documentation instead of becoming part of the development workflow. In this video, Alex Blum explains why inconsistent UI patterns create technical debt, how small design changes can spiral into massive refactors, and how Storybook-powered design systems solve the problem. Learn how SSW uses Storybook as a single source of truth for developers and designers, enabling reusable components, accessibility audits, visual regression testing, and AI-assisted development through MCP integration. If you’re building scalable products with modern frontend tooling and AI coding agents, this video is for you.

00:00 | Introduction
00:13 | Why most design systems fail
00:35 | The hidden cost of small UI changes
00:48 | How inconsistent components create technical debt
01:11 | Real-world example: delete button chaos
01:38 | Why design inconsistency frustrates users and developers
02:00 | Using Storybook as a single source of truth
02:27 | AI agents + MCP integration with Storybook
02:51 | Design systems as infrastructure
03:01 | Final thoughts and next steps

About SSW: https://linktr.ee/SSWTV

Links:
LinkedIn:   / ssw
Twitter:   / ssw_tv
Facebook:   / ssw.page
Instagram:   / ssw_tv
Tiktok:   / ssw_tv

Get in touch:
Alex Blum – UI/UX Designer
About: https://www.ssw.com.au/people/alex-blum

#designsystems #storybookjs #frontenddevelopment #webdevelopment #uidesign #uxdesign #reactjs #softwarearchitecture #accessibility #aiagents #mcp #sswrules

V5 – Bahjat

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4 Essential Sales Tips for Engineers | Adam Cogan

Pam Pan — Fri, 29 May 2026 06:52:29 +0000

https://www.ssw.com.au/rules/do-you-manage-clients-expectations

Not a salesman? No problem. Adam Cogan shares 4 practical tips to help engineers navigate sales meetings with confidence. Learn how to stop “selling” and start solving, how to talk numbers without the awkwardness, and why being transparent about your process wins more clients.

00:00 | Intro: Sales for engineers.
00:16 | Tip #1: Don’t sell—ask about the “pain.”
00:59 | Tip #2: Never leave without talking dollars.
01:26 | Tip #3: Explain your engagement process (Spec Review).
02:00 | Tip #4: Don’t be startled by tough questions.

About SSW: https://linktr.ee/SSWTV
Links:
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/ssw
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ssw_tv
Facebook: https://facebook.com/SSW.page
Instagram: https://instagram.com/ssw_tv
Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ssw_tv

Get in touch: Adam Cogan – SSW Chief Architect + Microsoft Regional Director About:https://www.ssw.com.au/people/adam-cogan/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamcogan/

#SalesTips #EngineerLife #BusinessStrategy #SSWTV #ProjectManagement #ConsultingTips

V5 – Pam

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Azure Bicep Explained | Build Repeatable Cloud Infrastructure | Ben Neoh & Rick Su | SSW User Group

Bahjat Alaadel — Fri, 22 May 2026 05:12:57 +0000

Contact us: https://bit.ly/4fAFrVx

In this beginner-friendly session, Ben Neoh and Rick Su introduce Infrastructure as Code (IaC) using Azure Bicep. Learn why manually deploying Azure resources through the portal becomes painful at scale, and how Bicep helps teams automate, standardize, and version-control cloud infrastructure deployments. Whether you’re new to Azure or looking to modernize your deployment workflow, this session provides a practical introduction to scalable and maintainable cloud infrastructure practices.

00:00 | Introduction and event welcome
00:00:57 | From Portal Panic to Pipeline Power
00:02:54 | The “localhost app” problem
00:06:09 | Deploy Infra from Azure Portal
00:15:29 | Why not manual deployment
00:19:01 | Introduction to Infrastructure as Code (IaC)
00:20:16 | What is Azure Bicep?
00:25:23 | Live demo: Building Azure infrastructure with Bicep
00:53:53 | CI/CD pipelines with GitHub Actions
01:06:02 | Key takeaways, workshop plans, and audience Q&A

About SSW: https://linktr.ee/SSWTV
Links:
LinkedIn:   / ssw
Twitter:   / ssw_tv
Facebook:   / ssw.page
Instagram:   / ssw_tv
Tiktok:   / ssw_tv

Get in touch: Ben Neoh – SSW Software Engineer I About: https://www.ssw.com.au/people/ben-neoh LinkedIn:   / benjaminneoh

Rick Su – SSW Senior Software Engineer II About: https://ssw.com.au/people/rick-su
LinkedIn:  / ricksu978

#azure #bicep #infrastructureascode #iac #devops #githubactions #azuredevops #cloudcomputing #cicd #softwareengineering #ssw #azurecloud #keyvault #armtemplates #cloudarchitecture V1 – Bahjat

The post Azure Bicep Explained | Build Repeatable Cloud Infrastructure | Ben Neoh & Rick Su | SSW User Group appeared first on SSW TV - Learn from Professional Software Developers.