SQL Server Migration (from Oracle and DB2) Assistant - Beta Program
Microsoft is a pretty big place, so no matter how hard I try to keep up with everything, I still end up missing a bit of important news from time to time. But by following the blogs on MSDN and TechNet, I don't miss anything important for very long. I wasn't particularly excited when I saw Eric Nelson's post about a new tool for migrating databases from Oracle and DB2 to SQL Server because I knew that a very good migration tool had been around for years from DB Best. Well, to my pleasant surprise, I learned that Microsoft actually acquired DB Best just last Friday and has made DB Best's tools available as SQL Server Migration Assistant, whose home page states:
DB Best tools have regularly achieved up to 99 percent conversion of database objects such as stored procedures, triggers, views, and functions. Additionally, DB Best tools provide detailed statistics necessary for project planning, including which manual conversion might be required.
Given the enterprise class BI and DW features of SQL Server 2005, many of my customers are (for the very first time) considering a switch from Oracle or DB2 to SQL Server for which I would've strongly recommended DB Best's tools. Now, with SQL Server Migration Assistant, I can confidently tell my customers, "Microsoft can take care of the migration." And when it comes to mission critical databases, that's the response that my customers demand. I look forward to a bang up year for SQL Server and to my first migration win from either Oracle or DB2!
