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SUBIC
BAY—A wave is coming in 2008 and if software development
giant Microsoft were to have its way, swimming gear would
not be mandatory.
To be
unleashed upon the public next month will be a slew of new
products including Microsoft’s flagship server line of
operating systems Windows Server 2008 (WS 2008), SQL
Server 2008 and Visual Studio 2008(VS 2008).
Tagged as
the largest enterprise launch in the company’s history,
the event is in tribute to the work of the industry’s IT
professionals and developers in their effort to bring
cutting-edge solutions to keep global commerce running.
With the
release of the new products, Microsoft seeks to correct
many of the industry’s inefficiencies caused by the
dissonance between innovation and maintenance.
Because of
the current systems in place, the IT environment is not
conducive to the development of new solutions, according
to Nicky Eala, business group head for servers and tools
at Microsoft Philippines.
“IT
professionals and developers tell us they spend too much
time and money managing existing systems instead of
investing in new capabilities that create strategic
advantage,” he said.
Citing
industry research, he said about 80 percent of IT efforts
are spent on maintenance, with only 20 percent spent on
real innovation.
To solve
these problems, Microsoft went back to the core needs of
businesses to flesh out the new principles behind their
products. These principles, dubbed the “four pillars” are
a secure and trusted platform, virtualization, web
developer productivity and business intelligence.
Security
and reliability
Building
on the reliability of its predecessor, Windows Server
2003, the WS 2008 is the next-generation server operating
system that is sure to power server systems for many years
to come.
A key
feature of WS 2008 would be its improved security and this
is achieved through a variation of installation called
“server core.” That’s to say the GUI (that’s the Start
Menu, taskbar to you and me) has been all but stripped,
thus leaving a relatively clean and minimalist user
interface.
The
advantage of this follows the rationale that to lessen
attacks— such as viruses— the attack surface itself must
be reduced as well. Microsoft believes that this system
can reduce attacks by 70 percent.
Another
advantage of this system is to optimize servers to
specific tasks. Without other unnecessary applications,
more efficiency can be achieved and thus, better results
as the workloads are more focused.
For
companies that process large quantities of data, instances
of failover (when a standby server takes the workload of a
failed server) can sometimes hurt business. With WS 2008,
system resources are automatically managed to ensure that
customers have uninterrupted and faster access to the
company’s network.
Virtualization
While the
concept of virtualization is far from new, introduced by
IBM in the 1960s, industry experts estimate that less than
10 percent of servers and less than 1 percent of desktops
are virtualized today.
Virtualization technology will allow multiple operating
systems—such as Windows and Linux—to operate on a single
physical piece of hardware without compromising
performance.
This can
have huge implications for cost-saving strategies for
large companies seeking to keep operational costs low, and
especially with the SME (small and medium enterprises)
trying to get more out of limited hardware.
Hyper V is
the hypervisor-based virtualization system for WS 2008.
The April launch will include a preview of hyper-V,
however, it will be officially made available by the end
of the third quarter of 2008.
Visual
Studio 2008
Any Web
designer knows the amount of effort it takes to set up a
proper web site, which nowadays demands intuitive design,
as well as the ability to a deliver rich web experience.
The close collaboration from several individuals, from the
designers themselves to the web artist and testers, is
also important in making this possible.
The
challenge would be how to reconcile all these roles into
an organized system and with the upcoming launch of VS
2008, Microsoft believes that it has in fact, achieved
this.
Key
feature is its rich CSS manager, an HTML designer,
intellisense, auto-complete features and simple data
extraction through the use of LINQ.
In
addition, VS 2008 also supports both source view and
design view but takes it a step further by offering
split-screen view allowing the designer to see both the
HTML source and design view at the same time thus allowing
the designer to make real-time changes.
Business
intelligence
Business
intelligence is a growing buzzword in the IT industry
today and with Microsoft at the helm of business
intelligence, according to Gartner Inc., the company is
poised to take maximum advantage of this technology.
Business
intelligence refers to application and practices for
collection, integration, analysis and presentation of
business information for the purpose of better
decision-making.
Used with
Microsoft’s relational database management system SQL
Server 2008, the tools at the hands of managers across all
sorts of business could prove to be very effective.
With more
comprehensive, relevant information at the hands of
employees and business managers more informed, decisions
could be made to advance the business.
This is
because SQL Server 2008 functions beyond that of an
ordinary database. Its three primary services are data
integration, recording and analysis.
Data
integration connects important aspects of the operation
for a more streamlined system. An example would be
integrating HR files to the financial aspect of payroll
for more efficiency in the system.
Recording
handles the many reports that a company must keep track
of, once again freeing up time for managers so they may
concentrate on the more important task of decision-making.
Finally,
analysis is a powerful tool that managers can use to make
meaningful and relevant reports out of the data gathered.
This has
important advantages for large companies that process
large amounts of data, losing time in doing so. Also
important is the aid that it can give SMEs in which
managers or owners can create their own reports, instead
of having to hire analysts, making this a very effective
cost-saving tool.
eTelecare
experience
Early
adopters as well are already benefiting from WS 2008 as
can be attested by eTelecare Global Solutions, a leading
outsourcing firm in the Philippines.
As a
business-outsourcing provider, it is essential that IT
systems operate with nearly continuous uptime.
Already
the benefits are starting to show with fast failover
performance occurring in only five to 10 seconds because
of Windows server clustering. Easier and quicker
application deployment with Windows Server 2008 taking
under a day as opposed to two days before. And finally, as
a reliable foundation for future improvements, including
the upcoming hyper-V virtualization to consolidate
hardware and reduce operating costs.
Windows
Server 2008, SQL Server 2008 and Visual Studio 2008 will
be launched on April 10 at the
SMX Convention Center. |
