Microsoft Announces Updates to Data Platform at PASS 2012

  • Article

by STB Blogger

This morning, Microsoft Corporate Vice President, Ted Kummert, will take the stage at the Professional Association of SQL Server (PASS) Summit 2012 in Seattle to announce new capabilities for Microsoft’s data platform that will help businesses accelerate their time to insights with any type of data. Those include:

  • Project codenamed “Hekaton,” a new in-memory technology that will ship in the next major version of SQL Server. In-memory computing is a core element of Microsoft’s strategy to deliver a data platform that enables customers to analyze all types of data while also accelerating time to insight. Currently in private technology preview with a small set of customers, “Hekaton” will complete Microsoft’s portfolio of in-memory capabilities across analytics and transactional scenarios and offer customers performance gains of up to 50 times. Because Microsoft’s in-memory solutions are built into SQL Server, customers don’t need to buy specialized hardware or software and can easily migrate existing applications to benefit from the dramatic performance gains. Please visit the SQL Server website for more details.
  • SQL Server 2012 Parallel Data Warehouse (PDW) , the next version of Microsoft’s enterprise-class appliance, available in the first half of 2013. SQL Server 2012 PDW will include a new data processing engine called PolyBase, which will enable queries across relational data and non-relational Hadoop data to drastically reduce time to insight with any data. Built to tackle customers’ big data challenges, SQL Server 2012 PDW will offer next-generation performance at scale and a redesigned architecture to reduce hardware footprint, all at the lowest total cost in the industry. Visit the SQL Server website for more details.
  • SQL Server 2012 Service Pack 1 (SP1) , generally available today. SQL Server 2012 SP1 supports Office 2013 by offering business users enhanced, new capabilities for self-service business intelligence using familiar tools such as Excel and SharePoint.

For more information about today’s announcements, please visit the Servers and Infrastructure Virtual Pressroom and the SQL Server website to watch Ted Kummert’s keynote starting at 8:45 a.m. PT. And don’t forget to check the SQL Server website tomorrow at 8:45 a.m. PT for Microsoft Corporate Vice President, Quentin Clark’s keynote.