Microsoft launches new products

Microsoft announced today that new versions of its SQL Server and Visual Studio products are available, and a new version of BizTalk Server is in beta testing and set for release in early 2006.

The three products -- SQL Server 2005, Visual Studio 2005 and BizTalk Server 2006 -- are more tightly integrated than they have been in the past, according to the company.

Steve Martin, director of Microsoft's Connected Systems Division, said the new releases will make the company more competitive against integration solutions that agencies and companies develop internally. BizTalk Server facilitates the integration of systems.

“As the product continues to mature, we can take on more complex scenarios," he said.

SQL Server is aimed at three audiences, said David Brown, Microsoft’s architect evangelist: developers, administrators and business intelligence experts.

“There’s a number of new capabilities inside of SQL Server 2005 that these customers are finding attractive," he said. The product includes an advanced version of a tool to bring together data from different sources into a single report.

Microsoft plans to follow today's worldwide product launch with a special launch event for federal customers in Washington, D.C., in January 2006, said Darryl Schaffer, developer and platform evangelism director of the Microsoft Federal Application Platform and Developer Team.

“In the interim, we continue to educate folks on the value of these technologies," he said.