Now that we have RTM...
(This is a mirror from my post on http://blogs.msdn.com/kamalh )
It is hard to believe that SQL Server 2005 (aka Yukon) has finally been released to manufacturing. That happened last week, but it is still sinking in. Real proof comes in the form of http://www.sqlserverdatamining.com (run by Jamie and the rest of the DM crew) now running on the RTM build of SQL Server 2005 ! Check out the "The Art of Clustering" (http://www.sqlserverdatamining.com/ArtOfClustering/).
I have been roped into writing the foreword for a couple of books and as I step back and reflect on the development cycle for Yukon, the magnitude of this product is finally hitting me. In the two areas that I have been most involved with - Integration Services and Analysis Services, the changes have been nothing short of revolutionary. Integration Services (SSIS) is a new product (evolved from DTS, but not DTS) and Analysis Services is pretty much a re-write and it too is in many ways a new product.
Next week I am off to Europe to participate in the SQL Server 2005 launch activities and I guess when I see the product "unveiled" on stage it will hit me some more ...