Server and Tools Business News Bytes blog : SharePoint

PowerPivot downloads for Excel and SharePoint now available

grantkd — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 22:49:00 GMT

Last week, we announced the availability of the SQL Server 2008 R2 November CTP on the Data Platform Insider blog. 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 PowerPivot for Excel and SharePoint, please go here:

http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/2008/en/us/R2Downloads.aspx

PowerPivot for Excel delivers unmatched computational power directly within the application they know and love—Excel. Leveraging familiar Excel features, users can transform enormous quantities of data from virtually any source with incredible speed into meaningful information. Combined with PowerPivot for SharePoint, users can also securely share their findings seamlessly in the browser through Excel Services. For more information, please visit the Data Platform Insider Blog here.

For additional resources, visit www.powerpivot.com and please let us know what you think: connect with the SQL Server 2008 R2 Development Team and provide feedback on the November CTP.

Project “Gemini” Name Revealed

mdingle — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:29:00 GMT

At the Microsoft SharePoint Conference in Las Vegas today, Microsoft announced the official name of Project “Gemini,” now Microsoft SQL Server PowerPivot for Excel. PowerPivot for Excel helps drive timely and informed business decisions by empowering end users to access, integrate and analyze massive amounts of data on the desktop and share information using the familiar Microsoft Excel tools.

In addition, PowerPivot provides IT departments the ability to monitor and manage user generated solutions by integrating seamlessly with Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 and Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2. With PowerPivot for Excel, users and IT departments can:

· Integrate massive amounts of data on the desktop from virtually any source

· Perform lightning-fast calculations and analysis on large data volumes

· Share and collaborate on user generated analysis through integration with SharePoint

· Monitor and manage user generated applications

With powerful analysis capabilities delivered through agile and familiar tools like Excel and SharePoint, organizations can expect faster end-user adoption, lower training time and reduced costs. For more information on PowerPivot for Excel, visit http://www.powerpivot.com.

PDC 2008- Microsoft announces its Azure Services Platform

grantkd — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 19:00:00 GMT

Today, during a keynote at the Microsoft Professional Developers Conference 2008 (PDC 2008), Ray Ozzie, Microsoft Corp.'s chief software architect, announced Windows Azure, the cloud-based service foundation underlying its Azure Services Platform, and highlighted this platform's role in delivering a software plus services approach to computing. The Azure Services Platform is an industry-leading move by Microsoft to help developers build the next generation of applications that will span from the cloud to the enterprise datacenter and deliver compelling new experiences across the PC, Web and phone.

Key components of the Azure Services Platform include the following:

Windows Azure for service hosting and management, low-level scalable storage, computation and networking
Microsoft SQL Data Services for a wide range of database services and reporting
Microsoft .NET Services which are service-based implementations of familiar .NET Framework concepts such as workflow and access control
Live Services for a consistent way for users to store, share and synchronize documents, photos, files and information across their PCs, phones, PC applications and Web sites
Microsoft SharePoint and Microsoft Dynamics CRM Services for business content, collaboration and rapid solution development in the cloud.

For more information about today's news check out the below resources: