Business today demands a different kind of data management solution — one that offers excellent performance, scalability and reliability, but is also easy to use and maintain. Your business now expects more from its key information technology investments. SQL Server 2008 exceeds expectations by delivering enterprise-class data management and business intelligence.
 
Your Data: Anyplace, Anytime
SQL Server 2008 delivers on Microsoft’s Data Platform vision by helping your organization manage any data, any place, any time. Store data from structured, semi-structured, and unstructured documents, such as images and rich media, directly within the database. This database solution delivers a potent set of integrated services that enable you to do more with your data such as query, search, synchronize, report, and analyze.
 
To take advantage of new opportunities in today's fast-moving business world, companies need the ability to create and deploy data-driven solutions quickly. SQL 2008 provides the highest levels of security, reliability, and scalability for your business-critical applications, and reduces time and cost of management and development of applications.
 
Access data from across your enterprise and provide control over your data no matter where it’s stored — from the largest servers within the data center to desktops to mobile devices. SQL 2008 provides a comprehensive platform that delivers intelligence where your users want it. Information workers can access data directly using the tools they use every day, such as the 2007 Microsoft Office system.
 
SQL Server 2008 enables data to be consumed from custom applications developed using Microsoft .NET and Visual Studio and from inside service-oriented architectures and business processes through Microsoft BizTalk Server.

Custom Reports 
Crystal Reports software enables you to easily design interactive reports and connect them to virtually any data source. Your users can benefit from on-report sorting and filtering — giving them the power to execute decisions instantly.   
 
Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services (SSRS) provides a complete, server-based platform designed to support a wide variety of reporting needs, enabling organizations to deliver relevant information where needed across the entire enterprise.
 
Browser Based Reporting : SSRS gives you the ability to extend access to your reports from a web browser. Users no longer have to log into the accounting application to see critical business data. The data is on demand and real time. Subscribe to your favorite reports and have them emailed to you or to others on a schedule you choose and in your favorite format (XLS, PDF, DOC, etc).
 
Browser Based Report Builder (the next step) : Give users the ability to build their own reports in an intuitive graphical user interface. Keep your reports private or publish them so that other users may view and subscribe to them.

 

What is Microsoft .NET?
Microsoft .NET (pronounced “dot net”) is a software component that runs on the Windows operating system. .NET provides tools and libraries that enable developers to create Windows software much faster and easier. .NET benefits end-users by providing applications of higher capability, quality and security. The .NET Framework must be installed on a user’s PC to run .NET applications.
 
This is how Microsoft describes it: “.NET is the Microsoft Web services strategy to connect information, people, systems, and devices through software. Integrated across the Microsoft platform, .NET technology provides the ability to quickly build, deploy, manage, and use connected, security-enhanced solutions with Web services. .NET-connected solutions enable businesses to integrate their systems more rapidly and in a more agile manner and help them realize the promise of information anytime, anywhere, on any device.” See Microsoft for more information.
 
What is Visual Basic?
It's a computer programming system developed and owned by Microsoft. Visual Basic was originally created to make it easier to write programs for the Windows computer operating system. The basis of Visual Basic is an earlier programming language called BASIC. Visual Basic is often referred to using just the initials, VB. Visual Basic is easily the most widely used computer programming system in the history of software.
 
Is Visual Basic just a programming language or is it more than that?
It's more. Visual Basic was one of the first systems that made it practical to write programs for the Windows operating system. This was possible because VB included software tools to automatically create the detailed programming required by Windows. These software tools not only create Windows programs, they also take full advantage of the graphical way that Windows works by letting programmers "draw" their systems with a mouse on the computer. This is why it's called "Visual" Basic.
 
Is Visual Basic .NET really an improvement?
Absolutely yes! All of .NET is truly revolutionary and gives programmers a much more capable, efficient and flexible way to write computer software. Visual Basic .NET is a key part of this revolution. At the same time, Visual Basic .NET is clearly more difficult to learn and use. The vastly improved capability does come at a fairly high cost of technical complexity. Microsoft helps to make up for this increased technical difficulty by providing even more software tools in .NET to help programmers. Most programmers agree that VB.NET is such a huge leap forward that it's worth it.