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...

First the let’s talk about the great Microsoft breakout sessions at this year’s PASS Summit conference!  Some of the highlights from the 60+ Microsoft sessions include Liam Cavanagh (3 sessions on the upcoming SQL Azure Database solution), Buck Woody...

Today we have a guest post from SQL Server MVP Brian Knight. Brian is the owner and founder of Pragmatic Works and is also co-founder of SQLServerCentral.com, BIDN.com and SQLShare.com. He runs the local SQL Server users group in Jacksonville (JSSUG)...

There are some important support changes coming up for Microsoft SQL Server 2000 and SQL Server 2005. We want to make sure you know what’s happening so you can avoid the risk of running unsupported products and choose the right version of SQL Server for...

With the launch of SQL Server 2012, Microsoft is changing the game in the world of data management. The introduction of SQL Server 2012 AlwaysOn Availability Groups delivers a new replication mechanism that gives customers unprecedented confidence to...

In our continued commitment to interoperability, we would like to share what the SQL Server product team has been doing for Java and PHP developers. We understand that our customers have application development across all platforms, so providing consistent...

SQL Server 2008 R2 August CTP The wait is over – the Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 August Community Technology Preview (CTP) is available for public download and testing today. Building on the momentum of SQL Server 2008, “R2” improves IT efficiency by...

The RTM version of Service Pack 4 (SP4) for Microsoft SQL Server 2005 is now available for download, and includes SQL Server 2005 SP3 cumulative updates 1 to 11, customer requested fixes and the SQL Server 2005 SP4 database engine support for DAC operations...

Today, Microsoft shipped the final Technology Preview of SQL Server 2008 R2 Parallel Data Warehouse and announced the Technology Adoption Program (TAP). Customers interested in joining the Technology Preview or the TAP, that officially starts now, should...

At the 2011 Worldwide Partner Conference, the SQL Server team demoed SQL Server Project "Crescent." Here is a preview of what was showcased. Project "Crescent" is a new immersive ad-hoc visualization tool that is part of SQL Server Code Name "Denali...

With the data explosion continuing across every datacenter, desktop and device, it’s no secret that the world of technology has become a very heterogeneous place. Organizations have investments across varied platforms and technology infrastructure and...

What is SQL Server AlwaysOn? SQL Server AlwaysOn is the new high availability and disaster recovery solution for the next release of SQL Server. Using AlwaysOn businesses can achieve increased application availability for their mission critical applications...

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...

Back in November, the SQL Server team witnessed an outpouring of support for the #SQLFamily meme started by Thomas LaRock (aka @SQLRockstar ) and Karen Lopez ( @datachick ). For an installment of SQL Rockstar’s “Meme Monday,” they asked the SQL community...

Hello SQL Server community! My name is Eron Kelly and I recently took the role of General Manager of Product Marketing for the Data Platform at Microsoft. I’ve been at Microsoft for over 12 years in various product marketing roles on BizTalk, Exchange...

In the fast evolving new world of Big Data, you are being asked to answer a new set of questions that require immediate responses on data that has changed in volume, variety, complexity and velocity. A modern data platform must be able to answer these...

At TechEd 2009 in Los Angeles, Microsoft today announced new innovations from the SQL Server team. The next release, SQL Server 2008 R2 (formerly SQL Server ‘Kilimanjaro’), will include a new feature: Master Data Services (MDS). In addition to SQL Server...

Master Data Services has made great strides to further remove the barriers to implementing MDM technology and processes into all size of businesses.   New features such as the MDS Add-in for Excel and a re-architected process for loading data should...

Gartner’s annual Business Intelligence & Analytics Summit kicked off earlier today where we are focused on sharing our perspective and solutions with customers, partners and industry leaders interested in big data and business intelligence . Later...

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...

Ring in the cheer, the New Year is near! As the holidays approach and the shopping days grow short, we think we’ve got a one-stop shopping list to help you find the perfect gift for the extra special DBA in your life! The SQL Server Holiday Gift Giving...

SQL Server 2005 SP3 CTP is now available for public testing. Details SP3 CTP provides a roll-up of QFE work done since SP2, as well as addresses critical issues reported through the SQL Server community. Per revised servicing strategy for SQL Server releases...

Today we are happy to announce the availability of Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 for MSDN and TechNet subscribers. For subscribers, SQL Server 2008 R2 is now available in the following editions: Enterprise, Standard, Web, Workgroup and Developer (English...

Last week, we announced the availability of the SQL Server 2008 R2 November CTP. Today we are excited to share that the SQL Server 2008 R2 PowerPivot downloads for Microsoft Excel 2010 and Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 are now available! To download...

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...