|
AN
executive from software giant Microsoft said that a new
version of its SQL Server would be easier to use,
scalable and affordable as it focuses on features that
would delight customers, particularly business users.
In an
interview with information technology reporters late
Monday in Makati City, Donald Farmer, program manager
for Microsoft SQL Server Data Mining, said that
scalability, affordability, and ease of use are among
the qualities underscored in the Microsoft SQL Server
2008, due for release in the Philippines later this
year.
“We
focused on features, on ‘customer delight’ experiences.
What we did was to make something technical into
something simple. We gave executives the chance to
explore more data and make their decision-making much
easier,” Farmer explained in response to a question from
BusinessMirror.
Microsoft SQL Server provides an intelligent data
platform that could run mission-critical applications
for more enhanced business operations.
Farmer
said that SQL Server 2008, aside from usability, is also
focused on pervasiveness throughout the enterprise,
particularly on the “Business Intelligence” side of the
software. “That was our ‘pervasive’ insight. We want to
empower everybody by means of making technology smarter
and applicable to every business size.”
He said
that Philippine businesses need to get the right tools,
software applications where scaling up, scaling down, or
even scaling out—which means sharing of different
databases—should not be a problem.
“That’s
what’s great about… products like the SQL Server. It
works regardless of language or even geographical
considerations. It’s also unique since it is also an
application that grows with the company in the future,”
he adds.
Overall,
Farmer said that SQL Server is easy to use but is
enterprise class as well, and even easier to administer,
bringing total cost of ownership to acceptable levels.
“The software can run even on lightweight hardware that
contributes to lower power consumption and cooling
needs, thus bringing a lower ‘power-to-price ratio.’”
Businesses are now slowly recognizing the benefits of
SQL Server to their operations, starting since its 2005
version, said Liezl Milan, Microsoft Philippines product
manager for SQL. The software has captured around
36-percent market share. “…The reason for the uptake to
SQL is affordability.”
Milan said the National Statistics Office (NSO) is one of
the earliest adopters of SQL, using the 2005 version
since its launch in 2005. Another user is TV network
ABS-CBN. Globally, the biggest user is the Nasdaq, the
world’s first electronic stock market.
“Current
users of SQL Server 2005 are very much excited with the
upcoming version because of the improvements undertaken,
especially in the analysis services,” Milan said.
As
regards business intelligence, which SQL Server 2008
provides, she said that the local market is now
maturing, particularly since they get a lot of inquiries
from banks. “Regulatory and compliance issues are
getting a lot of attention. Right now, they see business
intelligence as an important tool to achieve compliance,
particularly BASEL II and Sarbanes-Oxley.” |
