About
Brian Knight is the Founder and CEO of Pragmatic Works, where he has spent his career helping organizations accelerate technology adoption and turn innovation into measurable business results. A successful entrepreneur, author, and business leader, Brian has built multiple companies and has become a trusted advisor to organizations seeking to modernize their operations through data, analytics, cloud technologies, and artificial intelligence.
Known for his ability to bridge the gap between emerging technology and practical business value, Brian is passionate about democratizing technology and making complex concepts accessible to a broader audience. His work has helped thousands of professionals and organizations successfully adopt new technologies, develop modern data cultures, and create lasting competitive advantages through innovation.
Brian is the author of 20 technical books and has delivered presentations at hundreds of business and technology conferences around the world. Through his writing, speaking, and leadership, he advocates for expanding access to technology education and helping organizations build the skills needed to thrive in a rapidly changing digital landscape.
Beyond his professional accomplishments, Brian is deeply committed to philanthropy and community impact, investing his time and resources in initiatives that support education, workforce development, and charitable causes. His leadership philosophy centers on empowering people through knowledge, creating opportunities for growth, and ensuring that technology serves as an enabler of positive change for individuals, organizations, and communities.
Brian's contributions to business and technology have earned numerous recognitions, including honors from state leadership, industry organizations, and the press, such as the Business Ambassador Award and recognition as a Top CEO. Today, he continues to guide Pragmatic Works' mission of helping organizations successfully adopt emerging technologies while making those technologies more accessible, understandable, and impactful for everyone.
Specialties
- SQL Server
- SSIS
- SSAS
- BI
- Data Mining
- high availability
- security
- clustering
- performance tuning
- community website development
Speaker
- PASS (8 years)
- SQL Connections
- TechEd (4 years)
- Dozens of Code Camps
- 2 SQL Server Launch Events
- SQL Saturday many times
- Many SQL Server local user group meetings
- Backoffice Conference
- Wrox Conference
Publications
- Professional SQL Server 2014 SSIS
- Professional SQL Server 2012 SSIS
- Professional SQL Server 2008 SSIS
- Professional SQL Server 2005 SSIS
- Professional SQL Server 2012 Administration
- Professional SQL Server 2014 Administration
- Problem Design Solution : SSIS
- Professional SQL Server 2008 Administration
- Professional SQL Server 2005 Administration
- Professional SQL Server 2000 DTS
- Expert SQL Server 2005 Integration Services
- SQL Server 2000 for the Experienced DBA
- Admin911: SQL Server
Certifications
Microsoft Certified Trainer
Microsoft
PL-600: Power Platform Solution Architect Expert
Microsoft
PL-200: Power Platform Functional Consultant Associate
Microsoft
PL-400: Power Platform Developer Associate
Microsoft
Course
Introduction to Power Pages
Unlock the potential of Power Pages to create dynamic, data-driven web applications with ease. This course is designed for beginners and intermediate users who want to leverage Power Pages to build robust web solutions without extensive coding knowledge.
Course
Learn with the Nerds - Building Your First Canvas Power App (Recorded Live Event)
Learn how to build your first Canvas Power Apps with low-code knowledge, the common functions that all developers must know in Power Apps and how to share the application after construction. In this video, you'll see a start to finish lesson on building your first Power Apps.
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After you finish this course:
📄 If you have completed this class and would like a certificate, fill out this form - https://share.hsforms.com/1noEXJbAlSVuV3L-UNoU3_g8xue
🖋️Power Apps Cheat Sheet: https://pragmaticworks.com/resources/cheat-sheets/power-apps-cheat-sheet-page/
Power Apps Free Course for Life - https://learning.pragmaticworkstraining.com/freeTrial/AIAD%20Trial
- 0:00 - Intro
- 3:30 - Features of Power Apps
- 16:40 - Types of Power Apps
- 28:00 - Power Apps Cheatsheet
- 30:25 - Community Plan
- 32:00 - Environments
- 35:11 - Licensing Power Apps
- 37:45 - Where to store your data
- 42:10 - Creating the connection to SQL Server
- 47:25 - Creating a Power App from Data wizard
- 49:50 - Saving, version control, and publishing the app
- 1:03:55 - Creating an app from scratch
- 1:06:14 - Creating the connections
- 1:08:10 - Creating global variables for theming
- 1:15:34 - Creating the app title
- 1:17:24 - Creating the first gallery
- 1:22:12 - Creating the second gallery
- 1:46:19 - Using Filter on the second gallery
- 1:53:40 - Using Search on the first gallery
- 1:59:06 - Creating the second screen and form
- 2:17:07 - Coding the Submit button to insert data
- 2:28:34 - Editing data in Power Apps
- 2:36:50 - Deleting data
- 2:39:26 - Final touches
- 2:49:45 - Q&A
Overview:
Power Apps is quickly becoming a go-to low-code platform for building applications for small companies and enterprises around the world. In this interactive session, you'll learn how to design and build an application from the ground up. You'll also learn the common functions that all developers must know in Power Apps and how to share the application after construction.
- What You'll Learn:
- ✔️ How Power Apps is licensed
- ✔️ Where is the best place to store your data
- ✔️Best practices when creating your screens
- ✔️ User interface tips
- ✔️ Using variables
- ✔️ The 7 key must-know functions in Power Apps
- ✔️ Deploying and sharing your app
Course
Learn with The Nerds - Power Apps Live Hackathon (Recorded Live Event)
Whether you’re building a budget request, a travel request, or a literature request the concepts are all very similar in Power Apps. In this event, we’ll be building an application together using Dataverse and Power Apps. We’ll start by designing our tables to store the data for our requests. Then, we’ll create a model-driven app to administer the requests coming in and finally a canvas app for the requests to come in.
After you finish this course:
📄 [Certification](https://prag.works/mini-hackathon-completion-form)
Course
Learn with the Nerds - Power Platform Copilot and AI Builder (Recorded Live Event)
Do you want to learn how to create and interact with apps using natural language? This course will show you how Power Platform co-pilot and AI Builder can help you transform low-code development and data analysis with conversational AI. You will see how you can:
* Build apps by describing your needs with Copilot in Power Apps.
* Add conversational insights to your apps.
* Automate smarter with AI Builder in Power Automate.
* Generate text with Azure OpenAI in AI Builder.
Course
Learn With The Nerds - Power Platform for Teams (Recorded Live Event)
Did you know that your Teams license gives you 2GB of Dataverse space per team? In this session, we’ll explore the Power Platform for Teams platform, which you already own as part of your Teams license. Brian Knight will teach how to build an end-to-end solution with Power Apps and Power Automate from the ground-up. Optionally, bring your own Team for this interactive session.
✔ What You’ll Learn:
- Building and loading a data model using Dataverse In Teams
- Building a Power Apps Application in Teams
- Building a Power Automate Approval in Teams
After you finish this course:
📄 If you have completed this class and would like a certificate, fill out this form - https://tinyurl.com/yckhn994
Course
Learn with the Nerds - Power Apps Beginner to Pro (Recorded Live Event)
Learn how to use Microsoft Power Apps, a powerful tool that lets you create apps without coding. You will start by creating a dataverse table, which is a cloud-based database that stores your app data. Then, you will build a canvas app, which is a custom app that you can design with drag-and-drop elements and formulas. Next, you will create a model-driven app, which is a data-centric app that automatically generates a user interface based on your dataverse table. By the end of this video, you will have a solid understanding of the different types of Power Apps and how to use them to solve real-world problems. Join us on this hands-on journey to build an end-to-end solution in Power Apps.
Course
Power Platform Administration
Brian Knight from Pragmatic Works, a Power Apps MVP with 19 years of experience, introduces a class aimed at new Power Platform administrators, covering essential administration topics to help them manage their environments effectively. The class guides participants through tuning environments before opening them up to their entire company, addressing licensing, app development, data storage, environmental strategy, solutioning, security deployments, data loss prevention, and monitoring of Power Platform solutions. Additionally, it highlights the importance of the Center of Excellence toolkit for managing large or medium-sized ecosystems, aiming to equip administrators with the knowledge to secure, govern, and guide their internal customers towards making better decisions within their Power Platform environments.
Course
Learn with the Nerds - End to End Solution to Learn Power Apps and Dataverse
Learn to develop a complete real-world solution using Dataverse and Power Apps while we develop a tool that will help a non-profit in Guatemala make a difference in the lives of children. You'll learn how to engineer a real-world project in Dataverse, building a canvas and model-driven app from the ground up. If you're a beginner, this video is for you!
You’ll learn how to:
✅ Create a set of tables in Dataverse
✅ Develop an app for manage your data
✅ Build an app to data entry and tracking progress
✅ Add business rules in model-driven and canvas apps
Course
Implementing Dynamics 365 Sales
This course provides a thorough guide to implementing Dynamics 365 Sales, from initial setup to advanced sales automation. Led by Brian Knight, you’ll learn how to configure and customize Dynamics 365 for efficient lead management, product catalog creation, and integration with Microsoft tools like Outlook, Teams, and Power BI. Through practical steps, you’ll explore everything from creating business rules and customizing views to enhancing workflows with AI-driven Sales Insights and Sales Accelerator. With a focus on data integrity, security, and actionable insights, this course equips you to build a streamlined sales environment that bridges gaps between sales and customer service for maximum productivity and effectiveness.
By the end, you’ll be able to manage complex sales processes within Dynamics 365 confidently, harnessing tools for data visualization, security, and automation that drive sales success.
Course
Pragmatic Guides - Power FX
Power FX Guides is a comprehensive course designed to help you master Power FX, the low-code formula language used across the Microsoft Power Platform. Each module breaks down a specific Power FX function, explaining its purpose, syntax, and practical applications with real-world examples. Whether you're building apps in Power Apps, automating tasks in Power Automate, or working with data in Dataverse, this course will equip you with the skills needed to write efficient formulas and enhance your solutions. Perfect for beginners and experienced users alike, Power FX Guides offers a structured approach to learning one function at a time, empowering you to create more dynamic and powerful applications.
Course
Intergalactic Learn With The Nerds Day - Designing Canvas Apps for Project Management
Join us for an hands-on session where you'll learn to build a canvas app in Power Apps from start to finish! 🚀 This tutorial is designed especially for beginners, building one of the most common use-cases for Power Apps. You'll gain practical skills and insights to track projects and work items. Don't miss out on this opportunity to enhance your app-building expertise!
Course
Learn With The Nerds - Dynamics 365 Sales Beginner to Pro
Join us for a fast-paced, hands-on Dynamics 365 Sales workshop that takes you from installation to real selling experiences using the Sales Accelerator. In just one hour, you’ll build a working environment, customize it for your team, and practice the full lead-to-opportunity process with guided labs.
This session is designed for executives, admins, and sellers who want to quickly modernize sales processes and get more value out of Dynamics.
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