In case you missed it, Microsoft announced SQL Server Data Services (SSDS) at MIX08, and you can sign up for a free beta.
It’s “a Web-facing utility-based services designed for businesses and developers that need scalable, highly available, secure and easily programmable on-demand data storage with robust database query capabilities.”
What SSDS offers:
- Virtually limitless, on-demand scalability. Customers pay only for the resources actually consumed
- Reduced costs. Customers use the service with minimal up-front infrastructure and operational cost. Businesses can minimize their initial investment in hardware and software and the on-going cost for storage administration, scale maintenance.
- Universal access. SSDS supports simple web-programming interfaces like SOAP and REST for quick provisioning of web applications. Primary wire format is XML for data interchange.These easy to use, standards-based interfaces enable developers to focus on innovating with data quickly.
Microsoft SSDS is built upon existing Microsoft SQL Server relational database technologies, and will include a strong service level agreement (SLA) for business continuity. This will cover high availability, performance, and protection against data loss.
BI 2.0 just came a litte closer, get your data straight from the source through webservices into your datawarehouse. But what about performance and security ? I plan to install it soon.
]]>