The Road To SQL Server 2008

The latest release of Microsoft's database software, SQL Server 2008, became generally available in August. The new database, which includes a number of enhanced features and capabilities, presents new opportunities for market growth for ISVs that write their applications to run on the software.

Microsoft SQL Server 2008 is the most recent version of the Redmond, Wash., company's data management and business intelligence platform. According to Microsoft, the version provides new capabilities such as support for policy-based management, auditing, large-scale data warehousing, geospatial data and advanced reporting and analysis services.

At the time of the product release, Microsoft reported that there had been more than 450,000 customer and partner downloads of SQL Server 2008's community technology previews (CTPs), more than 75 large-scale applications in production and more than 1,300 applications being developed on SQL Server 2008 by nearly 1,000 ISVs.

SQL Server is a major component of the Microsoft Application Platform, a suite of products designed to help organizations create, run and manage business applications.

SQL Server 2008 is available in multiple editions, including Enterprise, a data management and business intelligence platform that provides enterprise-class scalability, data warehousing, security, advanced analytics and reporting; Standard, aimed at supporting departmental applications; Workgroup, for running branch applications; Web, for Web-serving environments running on Windows Server; Developer, which allows developers to build and test any type of application with SQL Server; Express, a free edition designed for learning and building desktop and small server applications; and Compact, another free version designed for developers and suitable for building applications for mobile devices, desktops and Web clients.

ISVs see lots of opportunities with the new database and are busy preparing new applications to run on the software.

Kineticsware Inc., a Kirkland, Wash., provider of supply chain management applications that run on Microsoft technology, is developing the latest release of its Trade Promotion Management application for the database and plans to ship the product in the first quarter of 2009.

Consumer goods manufacturers use Trade Promotion Management, which is based on Microsoft's .Net framework, to track and store large volumes of order, shipment, pricing adjustments and point-of-sale data to monitor their trade promotion activity.

Kineticsware is excited about the performance improvements with large data sets in SQL Server 2008, according to Richard Barnett, co-founder and chief marketing officer. This will enable the company's customers to use the new version of Trade Promotion Management to more effectively leverage the information they gather.

"Our customers are consumer goods companies that supply [products] into retailers, and with our applications they're examining [many] types of data: sales history, pricing information, third-party market data," Barnett said. "They've got to pull data together from different sources [such as data warehouses from multiple vendors] and analyze it. For us, the Trade Promotion Management application is where we get the most advantage and differentiation."

Kineticsware was involved in the initial beta development program offered by Microsoft for SQL Server 2008 and performed testing to identify enhancements in the technology and how they can best benefit Kineticsware's application, Barnett said.

One of the areas the company reviewed is performance, and the database showed significant improvements in runtime efficiency, Barnett said. Kineticsware also explored the new version of SQL Server from a development standpoint and determined that the migration to SQL Server 2008 would be "relatively straightforward"—involving 100 to 200 hours of development work—because the company's products already run on SQL Server 2005 and are .Net-based, he said.

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