Microsoft aims for larger slice of BI pie

Next SQL Server release aims for data-warehousing role

Microsoft will later today [10 may] fill in plans to extend the realm of its software empire to business intelligence (BI) via the next release of SQL Server, scheduled for next year.

At its first BI conference in Seattle, Microsoft will detail the next version of the database, codenamed Katmai. The release is intended to provide a central store for all relevant enterprise data - including unstructured documents, XML files and
geo-spatial information - that can then be queried and collaborated on using Excel, Excel Services, SharePoint Server and PerformancePoint Server, the performance management product that is due for commercial availability this year.

New features will include Analysis Services to deliver key performance indicators to users, Integration Services to integrate data, and tools to suck real-time data into the warehouse, Microsoft said.

The move to target BI via the database revisits the theme of the 1998 release of SQL Server 7.0 where Microsoft changed the sector’s pricing and usage patterns by building in support for Olap-based analytics.

However, whereas with SQL Server 7.0, Microsoft made basic BI capabilities broadly available, with Katmai, the company is promising to introduce the ability to handle large-scale data warehousing via Office.

Microsoft will lean on consulting partners Accenture, Avanade, Capgemini and TCS to provide assistance.