"With just 12 months on the market, we've been humbled by the industry momentum for SQL Server 2005. Customer and independent software vendor adoption of our data platform has resulted in more than 30 percent year-over- year revenue growth in the last quarter alone," Flessner said. "The innovation, tools and guidance we're announcing today are designed to help customers as they continue to build the next generation of business solutions on the SQL Server platform."

he availability of the community technology preview (CTP) of SP2 for SQL Server 2005 delivers key updates, including data compression, increased business intelligence functionality, security updates relating to Common Criteria, manageability enhancements, support for Windows Vista and optimization for the 2007 Microsoft Office system environment. More details about SP2 are available at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=71711 . The SP2 November CTP can be downloaded immediately at http://www.microsoft.com/sql/ctp.mspx .

The RC of SQL Server 2005 Compact Edition is a new offering for essential relational database functionality in a compact footprint. By sharing a familiar SQL syntax and common ADO.NET programming model with other SQL Server editions, SQL Server Compact Edition allows developers and administrators to apply their existing skills and be immediately productive while building and supporting the next generation of applications. The RC is available via Web download at http://www.microsoft.com/SQL/Compact .

The release to manufacture date for Visual Studio Team Edition for Database Professionals has been set for Nov. 30, 2006. Visual Studio Team Edition for Database Professionals provides a foundation for change management, development, testing and deployment of databases through integrated functionality that enables database developers and administrators to be more productive, reduce risk and drive quality. More information can be found at http://www.msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/teamsystem/products/dbpro/default.aspx .