A lot changed on the technology space this month. Today, I would write about a couple of these announcements that are bound to dominate the technology space in 2012. There are a lot of new announcements coming through, but below are the products that I would be watching out for.

New Server Systems!

SQL Server 2012

The much awaited SQL Server 2012 or “Denali” (aliased: “SQL 11” due to it’s build number) has been Released To Market (RTM). It would be available for General Release around April 01, 2012.

Quoting from the official Microsoft web-site: “As the foundation of the cloud-ready information platform, SQL Server 2012 will help organizations unlock breakthrough insights across the organization as well quickly build solutions and extend data across on-premises and public cloud backed by mission critical confidence.”

• You can read more about this announcement on the SQL Server team’s TechNet Blog here: http://blogs.technet.com/b/dataplatforminsider/archive/2012/03/06/sql-server-2012-released-to-manufacturing.aspx
• If you are interested in downloading SQL Server 2012 RTM (which would automatically expire after 6 months), you can do so from here: http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/en/us/get-sql-server/try-it.aspx

If you are an Independent Software Vendor (ISV), you would have already begun evaluating your product for compatibility (and ultimate certification) with the SQL Server 2012 release. If you have not done so yet, it’s not too late. Here are some resources that might be of help:

• Compare the editions: http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/en/us/future-editions/sql2012-editions.aspx
• Changes in licensing: http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/en/us/future-editions/sql2012-licensing.aspx
• Deprecated, Discontinued feature list; breaking and behavioural changes: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc707787(v=sql.110).aspx
• What’s new?: http://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/3783.what-s-new-in-sql-server-2012.aspx

A whitepaper on what’s new in SQL Server 2012 is also available at: http://download.microsoft.com/download/E/9/D/E9DBB1BB-89AE-4C70-AF02-AAFC29451A85/SQL_Server_Whats_New_Whitepaper_7_11.pdf

I believe that before you even begin evaluating SQL Server 2012, spend some time to read through the licensing changes. This time, the changes are severe enough that they need immediate attention. They may affect the overall cost of your product/solution.

The Windows Server 8 Operating System

With almost all products moving towards the cloud, it’s time that a dedicated cloud computing server platform be available. Geared towards optimizing virtualization and “delivering the most dynamic, available, and cost-effective server platform for the private cloud”, Windows Server 8 Operating system platform is now in the Beta phase, and is available for review at: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/server-cloud/windows-server/v8-default.aspx.

After Windows Server 2008 and 2008 R2, the name Windows Server 8 becomes a little confusing, but, it’s still in Beta, and we can hope that the name would change (maybe Windows Server 2012?).

Client System Announcements

3rd party controls

The product that I work upon uses the DevExpress (http://www.devexpress.com/) control suite. They look great, and have the unique “Wow!” factor that makes an application attractive and easy to use. While I spend most of my time within the SQL Server Management Studio, I hear from colleagues that DevExpress is perhaps one of the most popular control suites for WinForms based applications. After all, there has to be a reason why they have been awarded with tons of research & development awards (http://www.devexpress.com/Home/Awards.xml).

They recently announced the product roadmap for 2012: http://www.devexpress.com/Home/Announces/Roadmap-2012.xml.

I would quote the following lines from the roadmap, which essentially contains the gist of all that would shape the technology scene in 2012:

“Simply put: 2012 is going to be the year of Visual Studio 11 and Windows 8. I don’t see anything else on the horizon that is of such importance as these two technologies. Client development will evolve with WinRT, and ASP.NET (and MVC) will continue to grow in influence, especially with the tightening orbits around the whole HTML5/CSS3/JavaScript ecosystem.”

The Windows 8 Operating System – Aero is Out, Metro is In

The Aero interface is perhaps the most distinguishing feature and one of the most dramatic user experience change that Microsoft introduced with Windows Vista and matured with Windows 7. With Windows 8, things are going to be even more exciting:

• From the screenshots that I have seen, there’s NO “start” button!
• Pull-down menus are replaced with clear labels and “charms”
• The whole user experience is similar to the Windows phone – marking the start of an era where portable devices are now shaping the experience on a desktop/laptop
• The user experience now involves a new sense – touch!

Above all, this new user experience has a new name (which I like!): Metro.

Check out more details on this new kid on the block at: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/consumer-preview

I am all excited and can’t wait to get my hands on a copy of Windows 8 Consumer Preview edition.

Concluding…

Technologies change, but there are very few times wherein so many welcome and exciting changes are being announced from all quarters. The year 2012 is going to be fun!

Until we meet next time,

Be courteous. Drive responsibly.

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