Microsoft Preps SQL Server for Phones

Speaking in San Francisco Thursday, Microsoft's senior vice president of server applications Paul Flessner outlined the company's future vision for its SQL Server database in order to meet the needs of an increasingly mobile lifestyle. As part of that effort, Microsoft announced SQL Server Everywhere Edition for smartphones and other embedded devices.

Microsoft released SQL Server 2005 in November, and since that time has counted two million downloads of the free Express Edition. Flessner said sales of the database to businesses even surprised company executives and have led to 20 percent revenue growth in the past two quarters.

Service Pack 1 for SQL Server 2005 is expected to ship later this month, just four months after the product's launch. "Your active and collaborative input throughout our CTP process has enabled us to move quickly in continuing the momentum and innovation," said Flessner.

SP1 brings with it SQL Server AlwaysOn Technologies, which include database mirroring, failover clustering, database snapshots, and enhanced online operations. Flessner added that Microsoft will expand its arsenal of tools to enable 100 percent availability throughout future releases of SQL Server slated for every 24 to 36 months.

Later this summer, Microsoft will additionally debut a community technology preview (CTP) of SQL Server Everywhere Edition. A final version is expected to be complete by the end of the year, although the Redmond company did not offer any specific release details.

The product will serve as a lightweight, compact database that contains a single user store. Microsoft hopes to promote the building of rich applications that can take advantage of the database on mobile phones and smaller portable devices that don't have the memory or storage capacity of a traditional desktop or server.

"SQL Server Everywhere Edition also shares a common programming model with the other SQL Server editions, enabling developers to transfer skills and knowledge quickly and easily," added Flessner. "As we face the coming data explosion, the age of the personal petabyte, of new devices, data types, and application architectures, we believe we have the right vision to meet your requirements."