A migration to SQL Server 2005 Beta 2 at Microsoft IT has (so far) been successful. Mike Hatch, senior technology architect of the Enterprise Application Services-SAP group within Microsoft's internal IT believes in "eating your own dog food" -- as a crucial and invaluable step in ensuring that the products are truly ready for customers prior to release. According to Mike “there haven't been any big surprises, which are largely due to the reliability of SQL Server 2005. The beta product ran on our production SAP R/3 system, with a database volume of 1.7 terabytes, for 33 days without needing to be shut down or showing any sign of unresponsiveness”.
We have high hopes for SQL Server 2005 and the official arrival of the XML era. In this age of information overload a few simple lines of XML can make all the difference between what we digest, store or delete.
In this next-generation of data management and analysis software we are looking to clear the fog of confusion and achieve the clarity that we have all imagined is possible.