As the world is going green, Microsoft announced today that it is going “Blue”. Confused? I’ll explain all in a moment.
Back in April I wrote a post entitled “Microsoft let new SQL Server version name slip?”, in all honesty I wasn’t expecting an announcement on the new version of SQL Server quite so soon, the PASS summit seemed a more predictable choice. Instead on the first day of TechEd in North America Microsoft took the golden opportunity in front of a wide and varied tech savvy audience to announce a whole raft of server products including a new version our own favourite RDBMS platform SQL Server.
Why so blue?
Mary Jo Foley wrote on cnet that Microsoft not only announced SQL Server 2014, but were also launching:
- Windows Server 2012 R2 (Windows Server Blue)
- System Center 2012 (System Center Blue)
- Visual Studio 2013 (Visual Studio Blue)
Mary says that these three products will be out by the end of the calendar year with SQL Server 2014 coming shortly after. If I were a betting man I would put money (if I had some) on a date being announced at the PASS summit in Charlotte this October. Other rumours on Twitter predict that CTP1 for SQL Server 2014 will be available to download by the end of June.
As always Brent Ozar has managed to scoop up loads of information on SQL Server 2014, you can read his post here http://www.brentozar.com/archive/2013/06/almost-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-next-version-of-sql-server/
I for one am very excited by the prospect of some of these new features, not only in SQL Server but in Windows too. You could say that like Miles Davis I’m digging the Blue Moods. Together the new Windows and SQL Server platforms are going to be a real game changer not only on-premise but in the cloud as well, I suspect we will see a big shift moving from Oracle and possibly VMWare over to a more Microsoft centric environment.
How will this affect my career?
Nobody can predict the future with any great certainty, not even the Mayans. One thing that we can take from these announcements is that your SQL Server skills will be in great demand dear readers should this mass migration occur. So in true community spirit, here are some more resources on SQL Server 2014 for you to inwardly digest.
Further resources:
The main Microsoft page appears to be http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/sqlserver/sql-server-2014.aspx which I would recommend you bookmark.
You can register to receive email alerts for more info here (unless you are in the United Kingdom as that option appears to be missing from the country list) http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/dn205292.aspx
This page provides links to some great sessions at TechEd: http://blogs.technet.com/b/dataplatforminsider/archive/2013/06/03/teched-north-america-2013-editor-s-choice-sql-server.aspx
Click on the following link from the SQL Server blog to learn a little more about the new in memory OLTP feature: http://blogs.technet.com/b/dataplatforminsider/archive/2013/06/03/sql-server-2014-unlocking-real-time-insights.aspx
Hungry for more on Hekaton? Why not read this news article with insights from Microsoft certified Master Denny Cherry: http://searchsqlserver.techtarget.com/news/2240185188/SQL-Server-2014-due-out-in-late-2013-in-memory-OLTP-a-big-feature
Do you want to know more? Of course you do, follow the conversation on Twitter here #SQLServer2014
