Microsoft® SQL Server™ 2008 All-In-One Desk Reference For Dummies®

I.2.1. Relational Databases: The Heart of Modern Computing Solutions

Relational database management systems, which date back to the 1970s, show no signs of yielding their central role in most of today's data processing applications. In fact, the quantities and complexity of information entrusted to these technologies is expanding rapidly. Modern applications are voracious consumers of storage space. Users view relational databases as the repository of record for data that by its very nature requires high throughput combined with reliability and security guarantees. Video, music, geospatial, and information represented in other data formats all place enormous demands on any information-processing infrastructure.

As if this exponential growth in stored information wasn't enough, today's computing solutions are pushing boundaries in other dimensions. Users have come to expect their data be available to them on any device, such as handheld computers and Web browsers via a host of new, innovative applications. These requirements have driven technology providers, such as Microsoft, to expand the functionality of their offerings to meet incipient market needs. SQL Server 2008 represents the next step in the evolution of Microsoft's flagship database product line. However, it's not alone — other Microsoft technologies seamlessly interact with this database engine. These offerings along with SQL Server's ever-expanding architecture are the focus of the next portion of this chapter.