Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Now Available

Microsoft Corporation India has announced the release to manufacturing of Microsoft SQL Server 2008, the new version of the company’s data management and business intelligence platform. This version of SQL Server provides new capabilities such as support for policy-based management, auditing, large-scale data warehousing, geospatial data, and advanced reporting and analysis services. With this, SQL Server 2008 will be available to ISVs and computer manufacturers for the product's final physical replication and distribution.
“Microsoft developed this release of SQL Server with the customer in mind,” said Ted Kummert, corporate vice president, data and storage platform division, Microsoft. “SQL Server 2008 is the only major database that includes comprehensive, tightly integrated functionality for data management as well as advanced business intelligence out of the box. By offering a complete solution, we save customers time and money and allow them to focus on deriving the most value from their data assets.”

"We have seen great success for SQL Server during our last financial year, with SQL Server revenue growing at an amazing 54 per cent - much faster than the market itself. This is testament to the fact that SQL Server is a mission-critical, enterprise-ready database solution that is seeing wide scale deployment across India and with the availability of SQL Server 2008, we expect to continue building on this great momentum," said Pallavi Kathuria, director, server business group, Microsoft India.

She further added, "Microsoft SQL Server 2008 is the only major database that includes comprehensive, tightly integrated functionality for data management as well as advanced business intelligence - all out-of-the-box. By offering a complete solution, we save customers time and money and allow them to focus on deriving the most value from their data assets."

SQL Server 2008 is available in six editions - SQL Server 2008 Enterprise, SQL Server 2008 Standard, SQL Server 2008 Workgroup, SQL Server 2008 Web, SQL Server 2008 Express and SQL Server Compact. The new version will allow users to store data from structured, semi-structured and unstructured documents (such as images and music) directly within the database.

SQL Server 2008 Enterprise is a comprehensive data management and business intelligence platform that provides enterprise-class scalability, data warehousing, security, advanced analytics and reporting support for running business-critical applications. With this edition, it is possible to consolidate servers and perform large-scale online transactional processing.

SQL Server 2008 Standard is a complete data management and business intelligence platform that provides ease of use and manageability for running departmental applications. SQL Server 2008 Workgroup is a reliable data management and reporting platform that delivers secure, remote synchronisation and management capabilities for running branch applications. This edition includes core database features and is easy to upgrade to the Standard or Enterprise edition.

SQL Server 2008 Web is designed for highly available, Internet-facing Web-serving environments running on Windows Server. SQL Server 2008 Web provides the tools necessary to support low-cost, large-scale, highly available Web applications or hosting solutions for customers. SQL Server 2008 Developer allows developers to build and test any type of application with SQL Server. This edition features all of the functionality of SQL Server Enterprise but is licenced only for development, test and demo use. Applications and databases developed on this edition can easily be upgraded to SQL Server 2008 Enterprise.

SQL Server 2008 Express is a free edition of SQL Server that features core database functionality including all of the new SQL Server 2008 data types, in a small footprint. This edition is ideal for learning and building desktop and small server applications, and for redistribution by ISVs. SQL Server Compact is a free embedded database designed for developers and is ideal for building stand-alone and occasionally connected applications for mobile devices, desktops and Web clients. SQL Server Compact runs on all Microsoft Windows platforms, including the Windows XP and Windows Vista operating systems, and on Pocket PC and smartphone devices.

SQL Server 2008 is now available to MSDN and TechNet subscribers and also for evaluation download. SQL Server 2008 Express and SQL Server Compact editions are available for free download. SQL Server 2008 will be offered for the same price as its predecessor.

Users looking to try out SQL Server 2008 can download a fully functional copy free of charge and run it for up to 180 days.