8 top Artificial Intelligence and Analytics Trends for 2019

Artificial intelligence will deliver approximately $2 trillion worth of business value worldwide over the next year through the use of advanced computing algorithms that identify and optimize business insights that humans cannot spot. Companies that fail to adopt AI will lose out. Some industries may even be wiped out.

As identified main trends are,

AI and Analytics Merger: 
Decision Automation
Digital Twins
Edge Computing
Mixed Reality
Blockchain Boom
Cloud Maturity
Full-Stack Engineers

Read more at https://www.information-management.com/opinion/8-top-artificial-intelligence-and-analytics-trends-for-2019 

Magic Quadrant for Data Management Solutions for Analytics

Microsoft was leading in the Gartner quarter for while and Oracle was not promising in this. However, with the 2017 results, landscape has changed.



You can read the details at https://www.gartner.com/doc/reprints?id=1-3T5J67S&ct=170209&st=sb

The Future of Managing Databases in a Hybrid IT World

When you work in information technology long enough, you get to see how people react when something new comes along. Some people embrace change, even to the point of being an early adopter. Others might use a wait-and-see approach. And then there is the group of people who are afraid of change in any form. 

Read more at http://sqlmag.com/sql-server/future-managing-databases-hybrid-it-world

DB-Engines Ranking

It is very common to compare the databases for marketing or for fun. http://db-engines.com/en/ranking has done the ranking for the database engine.

SQL Server has the major gain while Oracle has the major slip though it is still gaining the number one position. Following is the trend for the ranking of Database Engine. 

Big Announcements in SQL Server 2016

As of SQL Server 2016 SP1, which was shipped this month, from a programmability perspective there is no difference between the editions anymore. All programmability features will be available in all editions from LocalDB to Enterprise edition.

Read more at http://itknowledgeexchange.techtarget.com/sql-server/big-announcements-in-sql-server-2016/

New age computing could make a difference at Rio 2016 Olympics

Artificial intelligence and machine learning could make the difference where winning margins are just hundredths of a second at Rio 2016.

Already there are reports of Britain’s rowing team and Brazil’s canoeists turning to analytics at Rio with IBM, SAS and GE among companies offering it.

While in Australia the technology is in pilot phase, Microsoft, BizData and The Australian Institute of Sport have taken giant strides in that direction by using machine learning to crunch three years of solid data to predict when an Australian athlete might suffer injuries and illness induced by factors in their body.

Microsoft Australia Director, Cloud & Enterprise Business Group Toby Bowers said machine analysis could make a huge difference in Olympic competition. “The solution that they’ve built with our technology using predictive analytics predicts when an athlete’s going to be injured three days before it happens,” Mr Bowers said.

Read more at http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/technology/supercomputers-could-make-a-difference-at-rio-2016-olympics/news-story/b259219b5ed86ebf5d7798d476bb74f5

Free ebook: Introducing Microsoft Power BI

Get started quickly with Microsoft Power BI! Experts Alberto Ferrari and Marco Russo will help you bring your data to life, transforming your company’s data into rich visuals for you to collect and organize, allowing you to focus on what matters most to you. Stay in the know, spot trends as they happen, and push your business to new limits.
This free ebook introduces Microsoft Power BI basics through a practical, scenario-based guided tour of the tool, showing you how to build analytical solutions using Power BI. Read the ebook to get an overview of Power BI, or dig deeper and follow along on your PC using the book’s examples.

Download the book from here.

Demand for SQL Server Skills in India

India’s Information Technology sector is regarded as the biggest private sector employer, with over 10 million employees across India. Talent assessment platform Youth4work has announced its findings about the top five desired skill sets in the Indian IT sector. ASP.net is the most in-demand skill set in the IT sector followed by SQL Server, PHP, Advance Java and JavaScript.

Here are the salary comparison for SQL Server in India. 

Here are the more details about this http://yourstory.com/2016/06/in-demand-it-skill-sets-india/

SQL Server 2016 First Installation is in 2015

Would you believe that first SQL Server 2016 production installation done in 2015. Yes it is. The first customer adopted SQL Server 2016 in production a couple days after it was released CTP2.  CTP2 is the first production-ready build for SQL Server 2016 not just a beta version.

If you have not yet installed SQL Server 2016, it is good time now.

Read more about SQL Server 2016 here

Microsoft Readies Big Data Service That Includes New U-SQL Language

Earlier this year, Microsoft revealed plans to offer a new HDFS-compatible Hadoop File System data store that could run large analytics workloads called Azure Data Lake. So far, the technical preview hasn't appeared but the company today reiterated that the service, which it will actually call Azure Data Lake Store, will be available later this year and also announced some new services planned for its Azure-based Big Data portfolio.

More at https://redmondmag.com/blogs/the-schwartz-report/2015/09/microsoft-readies-new-big-data-services.aspx

Moving Your SQL Infrastructure to Microsoft Azure

Just Another Big Business (JABB) Systems International is a fictional, 2,400-employee business with global offices. It manufactures security equipment, such as surveillance systems, alarms, bulletproof glass and cars, safes and related technologies. Its IT team of 15 is responsible for the day-to-day running of its datacenters, as well as improving the business through innovative use of technology.

https://virtualizationreview.com/articles/2015/08/01/moving-your-sql-infrastructure.aspx

Dealing with an Inherited SQL Server

If you work with SQL Server you’ve most likely been there at one time or another. Maybe you’ve just started a new job, or you might be a Windows administrator who has been tasked to manage SQL Server, or you might be a consultant who has been brought in to deal with a specific problem.  The end result is that you wind up working with a SQL Server instance and one or more databases that you know nothing about.

More at http://sqlmag.com/sql-server/dealing-inherited-sql-server

Ex-Microsoft chief rolls elastic-SQL challenge to Amazon Redshift

SQL Server, with Windows and Office, helped make Microsoft. The database sits in a $13bn business unit and while Microsoft’s server products grew 11 per cent – $1.7bn last year – that was driven primarily by sales of SQL Server.

The man who paved the path was Bob Muglia. A 24-year Redmond veteran, he was SQL Server’s first product manager and led the server and tools business.

That was until 2011, when he was elbowed out by ex-CEO Steve Ballmer in a disagreement over strategy for the server and tools business.

Also, the 2008 DATAllegro acquisition, to build a Netezza-like appliance, had proved to little and too late for Microsoft as the market had moved.

Read http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/06/24/snowflake_muglia_elastic_sql/

Who is a DBA

WHO IS A DBA? A database administrator (DBA) directs or performs all activities related to maintaining a successful database environment. Responsibilities include designing, implementing, and maintaining the database system; establishing policies and procedures pertaining to the management, security, maintenance, and use of the database management system. To make long story short A DBA is the backbone of  any mission critical system.

check whether the list is correct.

http://sqlindia.com/who-is-a-dba/

We Need Only Three Hadoops, And Maybe Three Systems

Enterprises like choices, they abhor vendor lock in, and they like the options that open source gives. But at the same time, too many choices fragments markets and doesn’t allow for the cultivation of larger vendors that can afford to take on the big problems. You need a balance between large enough to scale and so large as to be too overbearing, or sometimes, in the antitrust sense, to be abusive.

With the Hadoop Summit sponsored by Hortonworks going on this week and some tectonic changes in the systems market that have been going on for some months now, we are pondering how this all fits together given the current state of both Hadoop and the systems markets.

Read more http://www.theplatform.net/2015/06/11/we-need-only-three-hadoops-and-maybe-three-systems/

Support for SQL Server 2005 Ends April 12, 2016

oduct expiration is a fact of life. And, no matter how much we love a product or no matter how long we cling to its familiar interface, we eventually have to give up on it.

Such is the case with SQL Server 2005. SQL Server 2005 is the next in a running lot of product expirations, with the end of support date being April 12, 2016.  Released 10 years ago, this version of Microsoft's database product is still in use in a huge number of implementations. So, it goes without saying that, just like we've seen with Windows XP and Windows Server 2003, some organizations will have a tough time letting go.

Read more at http://windowsitpro.com/sql-server-2005/reminder-support-sql-server-2005-ends-april-12-2016

Important Soft Skills for the Entry-Level Data Professional

Nice article about soft skills. Read more at http://sqlmag.com/database-administration/important-soft-skills-entry-level-data-professional

MSSQL Server 2016 coming with JSON Support

With over a thousand votes on the Microsoft Connect site, JSON support is the most requested feature for SQL Server 2016. This month, Microsoft announced that the upcoming release of SQL Server 2016 will fulfill that request. Sort of.

Microsoft will certainly be touting this feature as an additional reason to upgrade when the time comes. Natively supporting JSON helps bridge the gap between the desirable aspects of a NoSQL database and a relational database like SQL Server. The trouble is that with this current implementation, you're not really gaining anything over what's currently available. It's nothing like the native XML data type that became available starting with SQL Server 2005.

Read more at http://www.itworld.com/article/2925117/enterprise-software/mssql-server-2016-coming-with-json-support-not-really.html

Microsoft Releases New Version of SP1 for SQL Server 2014

The much-troubled Service Pack 1 for SQL Server 2014 has its latest revision, and allegedly resolves significant problems that made SQL stop working for numerous customers.

The service pack originally was originally released last month, but Microsoft pulled it on that same month because of an installation problem. The updated SP1 (build 12.0.4100.1) is now available at this download page, dated 5/14/2015.

More at https://virtualizationreview.com/articles/2015/05/18/microsoft-releases-new-version-of-sp1-for-sql-server-2014.aspx

Microsoft Halts SQL Server 2014 SP1 Downloads

 

A bug surfaces soon after the release of SQL Server 2014's first service pack, forcing Microsoft to temporarily disable downloads of the update.

Microsoft's attempt at squashing SQL Server 2014 bugs ran into a bug of its own.

The company released SQL Server Service Pack 1 (SP1) on the April 15 anniversary of the database software's launch. Today, Microsoft is hitting the pause button after a discovering an issue.

"The SQL SSIS team has found an issue with SP1 installation if SSIS.

http://www.eweek.com/database/microsoft-halts-sql-server-2014-sp1-downloads.html