In my August 2007 editorial “Too Soon for
SQL Server 2008?” (InstantDoc ID 96028), I
claimed that many businesses running SQL Server as
their database platform wouldn’t be ready to migrate
to SQL Server 2008. I still think that Microsoft’s SQL
Server release schedule isn’t giving its customers time
to catch up, but I have to admit that I haven’t found
anything negative about the upcoming release. In fact,
SQL Server 2008 is the destination that previous SQL
Server versions have been working toward.
At the 2007 Professional Association for SQL Server
(PASS) conference, I spoke with Francois Ajenstat,
the director of product management for SQL Server at
Microsoft, about the release of SQL Server 2008. Francois
explained that Microsoft’s vision for SQL Server
2008 is bigger than just a relational database system. Instead,
Microsoft sees SQL Server 2008 as an enterprise
data platform. Although the relational database engine
is still at the heart of SQL Server 2008, the breadth of
services that SQL Server 2008 provides goes well beyond
simple relational database storage. Continuing in
the direction set by SQL Server 7.0, SQL Server 2008
provides an end-to-end information platform.
SQL Server 7.0’s inclusion of OLAP Services and
business intelligence (BI) technologies marked the
beginning of the transformation of SQL Server from
a standard relational database server to a data platform. SQL Server 2000 added enhanced scalability
and data-mining capabilities. And SQL Server 2005
extended SQL Server’s value with the inclusion of
SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS).
SQL Server 2008 builds on this base and finally
makes the vision of SQL Server as a data platform
a reality. The four pillars of functionality that Microsoft
sees for SQL Server 2008 are mission-critical
platform, dynamic development, beyond relational
data, and pervasive business insight. As a missioncritical
data platform, SQL Server 2008 is enhanced
with built-in transparent database encryption as well
as policy-based management via the new Declarative
Management Framework (DMF). In the area of
dynamic development, Microsoft has added the new
Language-Integrated Query (LINQ) extensions to the
.NET Framework—revolutionizing database application
development. New date, file stream, and geospatial
data types extend SQL Server’s data storage capabilities
beyond traditional relational data. And SQL
Server 2008’s SSRS scalability, report design enhancements,
and Microsoft Office integration help deliver
information to users—fulfilling Microsoft’s goal of
providing pervasive business insight.
Being a data platform sets SQL Server 2008 apart
from the competing database products and further
establishes the new version as the innovative leader in a
highly competitive enterprise database market. And unlike
the competing enterprise database platforms,
Microsoft will continue to bundle BI capabilities into its
SQL Server releases with no additional licensing costs.
SQL Server 2008 serves both business needs and
infrastructure needs. Not only are custom business applications
and Web sites built to access SQL Server databases
but an ever-growing number of Microsoft and
third-party products are built on top of SQL Server as
well. It seems to me that the only problem with SQL
Server 2008 would be migrating to it and not taking advantage
of its increased capabilities—that is, of course,
if you’re even ready to migrate to it.