Microsoft releases goals for updated SQL Server

Microsoft disclosed on Wednesday the main design goals for the "Katmai" edition of its SQL Server database, which is due next year.

At a business intelligence conference in Seattle, Microsoft executives said the company intends to improve the data management and analysis capabilities in its flagship database.

Specifically, it intends to improve integration with Microsoft Office System 2007 applications, including Excel and SharePoint, in order to make report generation and data analysis accessible to a wide range of users.

It will also introduce tools to synchronize data from central data stores to different devices and improve on existing administrative tools.

In addition, Katmai will be able to manage different data types including documents, geographic information and XML.

Microsoft is trying to provide business intelligence tools to companies of all sizes, Ted Kummert, corporate vice president of the Data and Storage Platform Division, said in a statement.