Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Gets Boost

Aiming to streamline and accelerate customer adoption of SQL Server 2005, and to build upon the level of interoperability with the SAP business Suite, Microsoft has announced that it's extending the existing partnership with SAP. As an integer part of the agreement, the two companies have revealed that Walldorf, Germany will be the location for a joint lab focused on optimizing SAP Business Suite on SQL Server 2005.

"Microsoft and SAP have long shared a commitment to delivering value through our enterprise-class software and solutions," said Bob Muglia, senior vice president of the Server and Tools Business at Microsoft. "The benefits of running SAP solutions on Microsoft SQL Server are clear, and with this joint offering enterprise customers will be able to even more efficiently deploy and operate their SAP environment on SQL Server 2005 while realizing a lower total cost of ownership."

SAP and Microsoft made public their decision to continue building and expanding their existing collaboration at SAPPHIRE '07, SAP's international customer conference, in Vienna, Austria. The agreement focused on SAP Business Suite and SQL Server 2005 comes on the heels of the Duet software announcements at SAPPHIRE Atlanta.

SAP and Microsoft are long time partners, and their collaboration stretches back over 15 years. In the early stages of the partnership, Microsoft SQL Server delivered support for SAP R/3 in 1995. Since that point, the duo has continually increased support for one another, and today a large set of SAP deployments are integrated with Microsoft Windows and SQL Server.

"Our relationship with Microsoft is the model for successful co-innovation in one of the most dynamic industries, and today is yet another milestone in that relationship," said Klaus Kreplin, corporate officer and member of the Executive Council, head of SAP NetWeaver Technology, SAP AG. "By developing an offering that will optimize our customers to deploy Microsoft SQL Server 2005 for SAP NetWeaver and the SAP Business Suite, SAP and Microsoft are pushing enterprise solutions forward in exciting new ways, enabling customers to harness the power and flexibility of enterprise SOA."