Microsoft SQL Server 2014 arrives with in-memory technology

Microsoft has unveiled a handful of business intelligence products at its customer event in San Francisco.

Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, took the stage to announce SQL Server 2014, the Analytics Platform System (APS) and Azure Intelligent Systems Service.

SQL Server 2014

This is the 12th edition of the world's most used database. It marks the first time Microsoft has built in-memory technology into every workload for faster processing. This follows in the footsteps of SAP's HANA platform.

Nadella was keen to play up the importance of in-memory, claiming that features such as Online Transaction Processing (OLTP) can take advantage of the technology without firms needing to change existing applications.

"We now have the technology in SQL server, which accelerates every workload by significant throughput," he told attendees.

Analytics Platform System (APS)

This creates a bridge between the the SQL database and the Hadoop platform allowing businesses to use one appliance to process queries across both.

"Imagine the scenarios - having data from your transactional systems, your log information from servers and websites as well as social streams," Nadella continued.

Microsoft Azure Intelligent Systems Service

Finally, Microsoft has released a limited preview of its latest Azure service. This allows businesses to collect and manage data from all sensors, devices and servers.

This data can be shared through the cloud and analysed as Microsoft aims to capitalise on the Internet of Things trend and help businesses generate more revenue from their data.