Redgate Software confirmed today it has acquired the assets of the Professional Association for SQL Server (PASS), which ended operations on January 15. Redgate said it plans to revive the Summit, continue SQLSaturdays, and make available the PASS library of content and training sessions.
In a letter in December 2020 on its website, the PASS board explained the situation, stating, "PASS could not have anticipated the impact COVID-19 would have on the world, and on our organization. We are all reeling from what this year has been and done, and it is with heavy hearts that we must share yet one more bit of bad news from the annus horribilis that was 2020."
As a longstanding Global Alliance Partner and a major supporter of PASS, Redgate said it had decided to step in to continue to make many of the opportunities offered by PASS available.
“Redgate started at about the same time as PASS and we’ve been on a journey together for two decades," said For Simon Galbraith, the co-founder and CEO of Redgate, "We’ve sponsored PASS conferences, Redgate experts have spoken many times at those conferences, and we’ve been big supporters of SQLSaturdays. PASS was a great organization that gave its members access to a wealth of technical content, and we want to serve the community in the same way.”
Redgate is drawing up plans for running a replacement for the Summit as a virtual event in 2021. With SQLSaturdays at the heart of the SQL Server community, these will be brought back so that data professionals from LA to London can continue to learn at local events.
Redgate also now has the PASS library of more than 3,000 presentations and training videos which was previously available through the PASS website, and is working out the best way to curate them and make them available.
Redgate said this move builds on its history of supporting the SQL Server community through websites such as SQLServerCentral.com and Simple Talk, and, most recently, the Community Circle initiative. Introduced by Redgate when the pandemic started last year, the Community Circle provides a huge range of free online learning content, support and advice to help IT professionals develop their skills and stay connected with one another.
“I’m really excited about Redgate taking this on because we’ve got the resources to do more, expand the community more vigorously outside of the USA, and do bigger and better things in the future," said Galbraith.
Existing PASS members, and others who want to follow future developments, can sign up to hear about the progress with Redgate by visiting www.red-gate.com/PASS.