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TechNet Flash, Volume 15, Issue 3 - February 6, 2013
TechNet Flash editor's note from Mitch Irsfeld
Another look at Microsoft's Big Data strategy
For a couple reasons, it's time for another look at Microsoft's Big Data strategy: The Cumulative Update 2 for SQL Server 2012 SP1 was just released with new functionality that simplifies the backup and restore capability of an on-premises SQL Server database to Windows Azure; and Microsoft's enterprise-ready Hadoop service, HDInsight, is now available on Windows Server or as a Windows Azure service.
HDInsight is built on the Hortonworks Data Platform (HDP) which is 100 percent compatible with Apache Hadoop, allows users to gain business insights from structured and unstructured data of virtually any size, and activate new types of data irrespective of their locations. Such insights can also be combined with the Microsoft BI platform to give users the ability to enrich their models with publicly available data and services using familiar tools like Office and SharePoint.
Key to HDInsight is its deep integration with other enterprise components. For instance, Hadoop connectors for SQL Server and Parallel Data Warehouse appliance enable easy integration of Hadoop with Microsoft Enterprise Data Warehouses and BI solutions. HDInsight also offers integration with System Center to simplify provisioning and management of Hadoop clusters, and integration with Active Directory to secure Hadoop clusters based on security policies.
For an overview of Microsoft's Big Data solution, check out these two white papers:
Last week we featured on TechNet the new Windows Azure Media Services, with everything you need to quickly build scalable, end-to-end media solutions for streaming on-demand video to HTML5, Flash, Silverlight, Windows 8, iPad, iPhone, Android, Xbox, Windows Phone, and other clients using a wide variety of streaming formats. To experience the new features, download the Windows Azure 90-day trial and then open the Getting started with Media Services and How to use Media Services guides.
Thanks for reading,
Mitch Irsfeld
Editor, TechNet Flash
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