In October at the PASS Summit 2011, Microsoft announced expanded investments in “Big Data”, including a new Apache Hadoop™ based distribution for Windows Server and service for Windows Azure. In doing so, we extended Microsoft’s leadership in BI and Data...

We are pleased to announce that SQL Server 2012 Express LocalDB Release Candidate 0 is now available for download. Try it here today! LocalDB is a new version of Express created specifically for developers. It is very easy to install and requires no management...

The SQL Server 2012 Virtual Launch Event kicks off on March 7, 2012 starting at 8:00AM Pacific (-8:00 GMT) with keynotes from Microsoft Executives including: Ted Kummert, Corporate Vice President, Business Platform Division and Quentin Clark, Corporate...

For the past couple of weeks we’ve been asking you to submit stories about how the #SQLFamily gives back to you. In exchange for each submission we’ve received, we’ll be donating $50 to the Pragmatic Works Foundation to provide SQL training to veterans...

SQL Server Migration Assistant (SSMA) v5.2 is now available. SSMA simplifies database migration process from Oracle/Sybase/MySQL and Microsoft Access to SQL Server and SQL Azure. SSMA automates all aspects of migration including migration assessment analysis...

We are very proud to announce our Data Platform Partner of the year as HP! This marks a large milestone in HP’s partnership with Microsoft in the Application Platform area with the significant joint investment of $250MM in the HP-Microsoft Infrastructure...

With Microsoft StreamInsight in SQL Server 2008 R2, we started to make Complex Event Processing capabilities available in Microsoft’s data platform. We are excited that the upcoming SQL Server Code Name “Denali” release will include key improvements for...

Over the last couple of months the SQL engineering team has been busy preparing SQL Server Code Name “Denali” CTP3 . As part of that effort, I have been driving the Beyond Relational scenario, that is adding some useful, cool and in some cases...

In Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 we introduced PowerPivot: A self-service Business Intelligence experience that enables information workers to create their own self-service BI solutions and facilitating sharing and collaboration within the familiar environment...

Hi! I’m Roman and I been working on a really cool piece of technology in SQL Server 2008 R2. Maybe you have heard of it? It has generated a lot of buzz and interest during its CTP phase. It’s called StreamInsight , Microsoft’s platform for Complex Event...

We are very excited to share that today, Microsoft released SQL Server 2008 R2 to manufacturing! Customers can expect availability in the next few weeks through Microsoft’s distribution channels. For more information, visit www.sqlserverlaunch.com . SQL...

Microsoft has recently released a new Silverlight control called PivotViewer. This new control helps us to make better use of the growing amounts of information around us by visualizing thousands of things at once in a way that reveals the relationships...

Guest blogger: John S. Parker – NetApp Microsoft Alliance Engineering Team With Microsoft’s new release of SQL Server, there are a couple of things that I feel would be great to talk about. The main topic that I want to discuss is SYSPREP...

Today, Microsoft is announcing the launch of Windows Azure Marketplace (formerly codenamed “Dallas”). The Windows Azure Marketplace is an online marketplace to find, share, advertise, buy and sell building block components, premium data sets and finished...

Written by Zane Adam from the SQL Azure Team As part of our continued commitment to provide regular and frequent updates to SQL Azure, I am pleased to announce Service Update 4 (SU4). SU4 is now live with three new updates - database copy, improved help...

Hot on the heels of our big data announcements at the O’Reilly Strata + Hadoop World conference last month, my colleague, Ted Kummert, will take the stage at the Professional Association of SQL Server (PASS) Summit 2012 today in Seattle and make...

Guest Blog Authors: Buck Woody , Senior Technical Professional, Windows Azure and Cloud Computing at Microsoft, http://buckwoody.com/   boB Taylor , Principal Content Publishing Manager MCSM at Microsoft, boB ‘The Tool Man’ Taylor Blog When we put...

Delivering a Complete Data Platform for the Modern Datacenter with Cloud OS Today’s organizations need the ability to seamlessly build, deploy and manage applications and services across on-premise and cloud computing environments. The Cloud OS platform...

Recently I posted a video about how the SQL Server Community was looking into emerging trends in BI and Database technologies - one of the key technologies mentioned in that video was in-memory. Many Microsoft customers have been using in-memory technologies...

Last week marked the completion of a great week at PASS Summit 2012 , the world’s largest technical training conference for SQL Server professionals and BI experts alike. During this year’s 3-day conference, nearly 4,000 attendees heard firsthand about...

Guest Blog Post by Chris Shaw, Xtivia. Chris is an MVP Award Recipient, the author of Pro SQL Server Practices 2012 , and he can be reached at CShaw@xtivia.com or thought his blog .. At this time of year, I look forward to long visits with the relatives...

Ideally the holidays are a time to catch up with friends, family and food. But end-of-year deadlines and work emergencies can also make it a stressful time. Between the festivities, you may face some tough choices. Do I go to John’s holiday beer bash...

On Thursday, Microsoft is releasing SQL Server 2012 SP1 Cumulative Update 2 and new ODBC drivers.  The key benefits of the cumulative update include simplifying backup of SQL Server databases to Windows Azure storage and also improving SQL VHDs for...

In February 2013 Microsoft received the Common Criteria (CC) certificate for SQL Server 2012 SP1 Enterprise Edition (English) x64 (Version 11.0.3000.0) at EAL4+ and compliant with U.S. Government Protection Profile for Database Management Systems, Version...

Today at the PASS Business Analytics Conference , Microsoft technical fellow Amir Netz and partner manager Kamal Hathi took to the stage to demonstrate how people experience insights. As mentioned in yesterday’s blog post , understanding how people experience...