Canadian Research in Motion DBA Joe Miller scoops $100,000 prize

MISSISSAUGA, Ontario, Canada, December 20, 2011 – Canadian database administrator (DBA) Joe Miller was announced today as the winner of Red Gate Software’s DBA in Space competition. Miller, who works for Research in Motion (RIM), beat 5,500 other entrants in the contest, winning the final round by gaining the highest number of votes both from the public and from an eminent judging panel.

As the competition winner, Miller had a choice between a ticket to space or a $100,000 cash prize. He chose the cash, which he will invest to buy a ticket in a few years’ time.  Miller is already speaking with a Space Adventures’ representative to plan his future reservations.

“I’m incredibly excited to have won such an amazing competition and I’m accepting the cash prize while maintaining my plan of traveling to space,” said Miller. “With money in the bank, I can make a decision when the time’s right for me or even my son Theo to go to space. Thanks to the DBA in Space campaign, and my supporters, for making the dream possible.”

Brought up in Toronto suburb Mississauga, Miller has been inspired by space for as long as he can remember. Now aged 36 he wants to inspire similar dreams in his young son Theo – and give him playground bragging rights. As he says “nothing is cooler than being an astronaut. Except maybe a spy astronaut.”

The competition saw DBAs compete in two stages. First, they had to answer 14 fiendish online video questions and provide a tiebreaker of what they’d tweet from space. This whittled the field down to 15 finalists who campaigned to win public votes and impress a judging panel. More than 12,000 votes were cast in the public poll.

“Many congratulations to Joe for winning DBA in Space’s out of this world prize,” said Neil Davidson, joint-CEO of Red Gate. “We completely understand his plan of banking the cash and assessing the options out there – after all, one of a DBA’s core skills is having a rock-solid backup strategy in place!”

To view Miller’s acceptance speech and hear him describe his space plans, visit www.dbainspace.com.

About the sponsor

Red Gate creates ingeniously simple software tools used by more than 500,000 IT professionals worldwide.  The company works to uplift the market it serves through free web community sites, technical publications and conference sponsorships that reach millions annually.  For four years, Red Gate has sponsored the Exceptional DBA of the Year award, honoring the DBA who exemplifies the virtues of knowledge, sharing and dedicated service.

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Media contact: Bob Cramblitt, Cramblitt & Company

919-481-4599; info@cramco.com