jkli,

That's ok for small, static, narrowly targeted applications. That has been Microsoft's heritage and there will continue to be such applications.

However, Microsoft is targeting larger, more complex applications that serve broader audiences in large enterprises. Corporations are demanding such applications be hosted on Microsoft technology for cost reasons. The DBAs and developers that can step up to these will be much more successful than those working on small systems.

Databases are not just for data anymore.