Microsoft boosts BI integration for SQL Server 2012 line

Microsoft has unveiled a series of updates to its SQL Server database platform to provide better integration with business intelligence tools and enterprise applications.

Among the updates announced the by the company include support for the Office 2013 platform. The company said that SQL Server 2012 would offer support the upcoming version of Office and integrate with the platform's new business intelligence components.

Additionally, the update will include the release of the first service pack (SP1) release for SQL Server 2012. The service pack will bring a cumulative bundle of previous security and stability fixes.

Microsoft also overhauled its big data platform. The company said it is moving forward with Project Hekaton, an in-memory database platform designed for analytics applications. The company estimates that in-memory platforms can speed performance between 10 and 50 times that of conventional platforms.

Additionally, Microsoft said that early next year it would be unveiling Parallel Data Warehouse, a Hadoop platform designed to provide analytics services for unstructured data.

Doug Leland, general manager of product marketing for Microsoft SQL Server, said in a company blog post that the releases would help to expand Microsoft's server platforms from the conventional database space into the emerging big data and analytics markets.

"The cost to store and process data is rapidly dropping. The scale and economics of cloud computing is enabling broader access to incredible levels of computing power for large and small organisations," Leland wrote.

"Combined, these trends underscore the importance and need to find the value in data."