It’s been an incredible year for the data business at Microsoft and an incredible year for data across the industry. This Thursday at our Data Driven event in New York, we will kick off a wave of launch activities for SQL Server 2016 with general availability later this year. This is the most significant release of SQL Server that we have ever done, and brings with it some fantastic new capabilities. SQL Server 2016 delivers:
Groundbreaking security encryption capabilities that enable data to always be encrypted at rest, in motion and in-memory to deliver maximum security protection
In-memory database support for every workload with performance increases up to 30-100x
Incredible Data Warehousing performance with the #1, #2 and #3 TPC-H 10 Terabyte benchmarks for non-clustered performance, and as of March 7, the #1 SAP SD Two-Tier performance benchmark on Windows1
Business Intelligence for every employee on every device – including new mobile BI support for iOS, Android and Windows Phone devices
Advanced analytics using our new R support that enables customers to do real-time predictive analytics on both operational and analytic data
Unique cloud capabilities that enable customers to deploy hybrid architectures that partition data workloads across on-premises and cloud based systems to save costs and increase agility
These improvements, and many more, are all built into SQL Server and bring you not just a new database but a complete platform for data management, business analytics and intelligent apps – one that can be used in a consistent way across both on-premises and the cloud. In fact, over the last year we’ve been using the SQL Server 2016 code-base to run in production more than 1.4 million SQL Databases in the cloud using our Azure SQL Database as a Service offering, and this real-world experience has made SQL Server 2016 an incredibly robust and battle-hardened data platform.
Gartner recently named Microsoft as leading the industry in their Magic Quadrant for Operational Database Management Systems in both execution and vision. We’re also a leader in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Data Warehouse and Data Management Solutions for Analytics, and Magic Quadrant for Business Intelligence and Analytics Platforms, as well as leading in vision in the Magic Quadrant for Advanced Analytics Platforms.
Gartner MQs
Extending SQL Server to Also Now Run on Linux
Today I’m excited to announce our plans to bring SQL Server to Linux as well. This will enable SQL Server to deliver a consistent data platform across Windows Server and Linux, as well as on-premises and cloud. We are bringing the core relational database capabilities to preview today, and are targeting availability in mid-2017.
SQL Server on Linux will provide customers with even more flexibility in their data solution. One with mission-critical performance, industry-leading TCO, best-in-class security, and hybrid cloud innovations – like Stretch Database which lets customers access their data on-premises and in the cloud whenever they want at low cost – all built in.
“This is an enormously important decision for Microsoft, allowing it to offer its well-known and trusted database to an expanded set of customers”, said Al Gillen, group vice president, enterprise infrastructure, at IDC. “By taking this key product to Linux Microsoft is proving its commitment to being a cross platform solution provider. This gives customers choice and reduces the concerns for lock-in. We would expect this will also accelerate the overall adoption of SQL Server.”
“SQL Server’s proven enterprise experience and capabilities offer a valuable asset to enterprise Linux customers around the world,” said Paul Cormier, President, Products and Technologies, Red Hat. “We believe our customers will welcome this news and are happy to see Microsoft further increasing its investment in Linux. As we build upon our deep hybrid cloud partnership, spanning not only Linux, but also middleware, and PaaS, we’re excited to now extend that collaboration to SQL Server on Red Hat Enterprise Linux, bringing enterprise customers increased database choice.”
“We are delighted to be working with Microsoft as it brings SQL Server to Linux,” said Mark Shuttleworth, founder of Canonical. “Customers are already taking advantage of Azure Data Lake services on Ubuntu, and now developers will be able to build modern applications that utilize SQL Server’s enterprise capabilities.”
Bringing SQL Server to Linux is another way we are making our products and new innovations more accessible to a broader set of users and meeting them where they are. Just last week, we announced our agreement to acquire Xamarin. Recently, we also announced Microsoft R Server , our technologies based on our acquisition of Revolution Analytics, with support for Hadoop and Teradata.
Source: https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2016/03/07/announcing-sql-server-on-linux/
Saturday, March 12, 2016
Friday, March 4, 2016
Microsoft expands Cortana support, features in new Windows 10 'Redstone' build
Cortana's language support is expanding with this test build to include Spanish (Mexico), Portuguese (Brazil) and French Canadian. Cortana also is now able to save new reminder information, such as the name of a book and to-do items without specific due dates (like "remind me to wash the car").
Today's new Redstone 14279 test build also provides a merged logon experience, combining the lock screen background and the logon screen background into just one background. For those with custom lock screen backgrounds, the lock screen will now be used for both the lock screen and logon screen.
Build 14279 also includes fixes and known issues, as do all Insider builds. Among the fixes are remedies to the situation that caused the Edge browser and Cortana to crash for users with roaming profiles. Cortana also will no longer show reminders that have been completed. Microsoft also fixed issues causing certain drivers from Windows Update to cause some PCs to bluescreen, according to today's blog post.
In the known issues area, Microsoft is looking into an issue I've heard several users report: Their Surface Pro 3, Pro 4 and Surface Book devices can freeze or hang and prevent inputs including typing and touch from registering. Right now, the workaround is to hold the power button to force a hard reboot.
Users who have Kaspersky Anti-Virus, Internet Security or the Kaspersky Total Security Suite installed may also experience problems, which Microsoft and Kaspersky are working to fix.
Microsoft released a number of additional Windows 10 updates earlier this week for PC users, Windows 10 Mobile Insider testers and for Windows 10 IoT testers.
Source: http://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-expands-cortana-support-features-in-new-windows-10-redstone-build/
Today's new Redstone 14279 test build also provides a merged logon experience, combining the lock screen background and the logon screen background into just one background. For those with custom lock screen backgrounds, the lock screen will now be used for both the lock screen and logon screen.
Build 14279 also includes fixes and known issues, as do all Insider builds. Among the fixes are remedies to the situation that caused the Edge browser and Cortana to crash for users with roaming profiles. Cortana also will no longer show reminders that have been completed. Microsoft also fixed issues causing certain drivers from Windows Update to cause some PCs to bluescreen, according to today's blog post.
In the known issues area, Microsoft is looking into an issue I've heard several users report: Their Surface Pro 3, Pro 4 and Surface Book devices can freeze or hang and prevent inputs including typing and touch from registering. Right now, the workaround is to hold the power button to force a hard reboot.
Users who have Kaspersky Anti-Virus, Internet Security or the Kaspersky Total Security Suite installed may also experience problems, which Microsoft and Kaspersky are working to fix.
Microsoft released a number of additional Windows 10 updates earlier this week for PC users, Windows 10 Mobile Insider testers and for Windows 10 IoT testers.
Source: http://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-expands-cortana-support-features-in-new-windows-10-redstone-build/
Thursday, March 3, 2016
IoT Adoption Will Reach 43% In 2016
IoT is greatly used by heavy industries like utilities, oil, and gas and less by service-oriented industries, according to a new survey by Gartner. All told, about 43% of businesses are planning to adopt IoT technology by the end of the year.
10 IoT Development Best Practices For Success
10 IoT Development Best Practices For Success
(Click image for larger view and slideshow.)
Adoption of the Internet of Things is expected to reach 43% of enterprises by the end of this year, with the heaviest users including companies in the oil, gas, utilities, and manufacturing industries, according to a global survey released March 3 by Gartner.
The survey of 465 IT and business professionals in over a dozen industries around the globe found these results:
29% of survey participants are currently using IoT
14% plan to use IoT by the end of 2016
21% expect to implement IoT after 2016
That translates into 43% of enterprises and organizations planning to use IoT by the end of 2016 and 64% to eventually role it out. But for now, IoT is still in the minority when it comes to use.
"This is largely because of two reasons," Chet Geschickter, Gartner research director, wrote in a statement. "The first set of hurdles are business-related. Many organizations have yet to establish a clear picture of what benefits the IoT can deliver, or have not yet invested the time to develop ideas for how to apply IoT to their business. The second set of hurdles are the organizations themselves. Many of the survey participants have insufficient expertise and staffing for IoT and lack clear leadership."
Additionally, enterprises and organizations that are planning to implement IoT are concerned with figuring out ways to coordinate workflows and processes, while those that have hit the go button on IoT cite cyber-security and managing business requirements as their biggest challenges.
Who's Into IoT?
The industries that have glommed on or are planning to the use IoT are the so-called heavy industries of oil, gas, utilities, and manufacturing. According to the study, 56% of survey participants in the heavy industries are expected to implement IoT in 2016.
As for enterprises and organizations in service-oriented industries, only 36% are anticipated to use IoT by the end of the year.
Gain insight into the latest threats and emerging best practices for managing them. Attend the Security Track at Interop Las Vegas, May 2-6. Register now!
Part of the reason heavy industry is embracing IoT may be partly attributed to the way the technologies are being used. More than half of the survey participants, 52%, note they use IoT internally to cut costs, improve efficiencies, and bolster the use of assets, whereas 40% of companies and organizations apply it to improving customer experiences or pumping up revenue.
That, however, is expected to change in the future, Jim Tully, a Gartner vice president and analyst, wrote in Thursday's report.
"The survey shows a dramatic jump in focus on customer experience, doubling in nominal terms from 18% to 34%. This indicates that we can expect a much higher IoT focus on end customers during the next 12 months," Tully said. "In effect, IoT programs and processes will become competitive marketplace weapons starting in 2016."
Whether IoT is used for service industries, heavy industries, or other industries, the companies and organizations that use IoT will need to show a return on their investment to justify a large-scale rollout, said Gartner's Geschickter.
Some of the tech titans that have already embraced IoT include IBM, which last year announced plans to create a $3 billion designed IoT business unit and Cisco Systems, which is acquiring IoT cloud-platform company Jasper Technologies for $1.4 billion. The return on their investments should become evident as the years progress.
Source: http://www.informationweek.com/iot/iot-adoption-will-reach-43--in-2016-gartner-finds/d/d-id/1324558?
10 IoT Development Best Practices For Success
10 IoT Development Best Practices For Success
(Click image for larger view and slideshow.)
Adoption of the Internet of Things is expected to reach 43% of enterprises by the end of this year, with the heaviest users including companies in the oil, gas, utilities, and manufacturing industries, according to a global survey released March 3 by Gartner.
The survey of 465 IT and business professionals in over a dozen industries around the globe found these results:
29% of survey participants are currently using IoT
14% plan to use IoT by the end of 2016
21% expect to implement IoT after 2016
That translates into 43% of enterprises and organizations planning to use IoT by the end of 2016 and 64% to eventually role it out. But for now, IoT is still in the minority when it comes to use.
"This is largely because of two reasons," Chet Geschickter, Gartner research director, wrote in a statement. "The first set of hurdles are business-related. Many organizations have yet to establish a clear picture of what benefits the IoT can deliver, or have not yet invested the time to develop ideas for how to apply IoT to their business. The second set of hurdles are the organizations themselves. Many of the survey participants have insufficient expertise and staffing for IoT and lack clear leadership."
Additionally, enterprises and organizations that are planning to implement IoT are concerned with figuring out ways to coordinate workflows and processes, while those that have hit the go button on IoT cite cyber-security and managing business requirements as their biggest challenges.
Who's Into IoT?
The industries that have glommed on or are planning to the use IoT are the so-called heavy industries of oil, gas, utilities, and manufacturing. According to the study, 56% of survey participants in the heavy industries are expected to implement IoT in 2016.
As for enterprises and organizations in service-oriented industries, only 36% are anticipated to use IoT by the end of the year.
Gain insight into the latest threats and emerging best practices for managing them. Attend the Security Track at Interop Las Vegas, May 2-6. Register now!
Part of the reason heavy industry is embracing IoT may be partly attributed to the way the technologies are being used. More than half of the survey participants, 52%, note they use IoT internally to cut costs, improve efficiencies, and bolster the use of assets, whereas 40% of companies and organizations apply it to improving customer experiences or pumping up revenue.
That, however, is expected to change in the future, Jim Tully, a Gartner vice president and analyst, wrote in Thursday's report.
"The survey shows a dramatic jump in focus on customer experience, doubling in nominal terms from 18% to 34%. This indicates that we can expect a much higher IoT focus on end customers during the next 12 months," Tully said. "In effect, IoT programs and processes will become competitive marketplace weapons starting in 2016."
Whether IoT is used for service industries, heavy industries, or other industries, the companies and organizations that use IoT will need to show a return on their investment to justify a large-scale rollout, said Gartner's Geschickter.
Some of the tech titans that have already embraced IoT include IBM, which last year announced plans to create a $3 billion designed IoT business unit and Cisco Systems, which is acquiring IoT cloud-platform company Jasper Technologies for $1.4 billion. The return on their investments should become evident as the years progress.
Source: http://www.informationweek.com/iot/iot-adoption-will-reach-43--in-2016-gartner-finds/d/d-id/1324558?
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