SQL Server Roundup: SQL Server 2014 Adoption, Business Intelligence Tools

A recap of this week's news on SQL Server Pro, including insights on SQL Server 2014 adoption, Microsoft's new Analytics Platform System that's bringing a data culture to every organization, and new third-party business intelligence solutions.

Moving to SQL Server 2014?

On the SQL Server Pro homepage, we conducted a poll to see if our readers are thinking about upgrading to SQL Server 2014. What we found is that a whopping 65 percent of readers had no immediate plans to upgrade to the latest version of SQL Server. Be sure to read the article for our take on potential barriers of adoption!

What We Know About Microsoft's New Analytics Platform System

At a customer event held in San Francisco, Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella announced its new Analytics Platform System, which is described by the company as "big data in a box." See our article for more information on how the new platform falls in line with Microsoft's effort to bring a data culture to every organization.

SQL Server Expert Spotlight: Jason Carlson

I had time this past week to sit down with Jason Carlson, CEO and founder of Forerunner Software. Jason had previously worked with Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) team for eight years, and he some very interesting insights into Microsoft's present-day strategy for SQL Server, along with insights into where the company is headed in the future.

Business Intelligence Third-Party Tools

This past week, we've covered some new and interesting tools that SQL Server professionals should find useful. One tool is Forerunner Software's Gain Insights Mobilizer 2.0 solution, which leverages SSRS to see into the health and status of your databases on any browser or device. Another tool that we covered this week is Espresso Logic's Live Browser tool, which lets users create a data-driven app in seconds without any required programming experience. The tool also has some nice security and access control functionality, simplifying the process it takes to deploy an app to different members of your organization.