Welcome

Ronald Bradford has 30 years of experience in large-scale data systems, specializing in designing automated, resilient, and scalable data solutions. His hands-on approach transforms complex challenges into measurable business success.

As an Enterprise Data Architect and Principal Data Strategist, Ronald is a recognized MySQL Subject Matter Expert, published author, and conference speaker with AWS certifications. He has delivered 180+ presentations across 22 countries and authored multiple books in the Effective MySQL series.

Explore below to learn more about his published works, speaking engagements, and professional achievements.

Books

Published Titles:

Effective MySQL: Replication Techniques in Depth
Effective MySQL: Backup and Recovery
Effective MySQL: Optimizing SQL Statements
Expert PHP and MySQL

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Presentations

Recent Highlights:

180+ presentations across 22 countries
2025: MySQL BR Conference, São Paulo
2025: MySQL Heatwave Summit, San Francisco
Expertise in MySQL, AWS, and Cloud Computing

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Awards & Recognition

Awards:

MySQL Rockstars Hall of Fame - Legend - 2025
Oracle MySQL ACE Director - 2010 - 2018
MySQL Community Contributor of the Year - 2013
MySQL Community Member of the Year - 2009
All-time top blogger at Planet MySQL - 2011

Certifications:

AWS Certified Database Specialty
AWS Certified Solutions Architect
Oracle Certified Professional, MySQL 5.6

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Recent Blog Posts

Improving your MySQL Security Posture Presentation

Ronald Bradford
October 5, 2025

At the MySQL BR Conference 2025 I had the opportunity to speak about Improving Your MySQL Security Posture. You can find a copy of my slides on my Presentations , and a Portugese (Brazil) translation.

MySQL and Heatwave Summit Presentation

Ronald Bradford
April 30, 2025

Last week I had the opportunity to speak at the MySQL and Heatwave Summit in San Francisco. I discussed the impact of the new MySQL 8.0 default caching_sha2_password authentication, replacing the mysql_native_password authentication that was the default for approximately 20 of the 30 years that MySQL has existed.

Readyset QueryPilot Announcement

Ronald Bradford
April 22, 2025

At the MySQL and Heatwave Summit 2025 today, Readyset announced a new data systems architecture pattern named Readyset QueryPilot . This architecture which can front a MySQL or PostgreSQL database infrastructure, combines the enterprise-grade ProxySQL and Readyset caching with intelligent query monitoring and routing to help support applications scale and produce more predictable results with varied workloads.

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