Microsoft Certified Consultants

MS SQL Server 2008
SQL Server 2008 is built to represent the new benchmark for RDBM systems by delivering the highest degree of reliability, protection, speed, scalability, manageability, and capability. Significant innovations incorporated into MS SQL Server 2008 include transparent data encryption for preserving confidentiality, more reliable mirroring and hot processor plug in for zero-downtime, improved auditing for regulatory compliance, policy-based management to minimize management costs, unified synchronization to support occasionally connected devices, more complete report generation through closer interaction with Office Word, Excel, and SharePoint Server 2007, and native handling full-text search to increase speed and streamline management.

MS SQL Server 2008 is offered in editions to address the requirements of organizations from local to international for fast return on investment. SQL Server 2008 Enterprise is intended for demanding scenarios such as OLTP or advanced analytics. The Standard edition is geared for small organizations looking for a cost-effective database solution for online transaction processing or analytics. The Workgroup edition offers secure and reliable online synchronization capabilities for satellite offices.

Progent's Microsoft Gold certified SQL Server engineers offer a range of services to assist small companies to design, configure, administer, and troubleshoot Microsoft SQL Server 2008 solutions so that they gain the optimum competitive benefit from this advanced relational database technology. Also, Progent can provide consulting expertise for system infrastructure, enterprise-wide security, and custom software programming to optimize the strategic advantage of your computer investment.

Enhancements to SQL 2008
Microsoft SQL 2008 offers significant enhancements in vital areas including security, dependability, manageability, capability, business information, scalability, and performance.

• Security
  SQL Server 2008 introduces application-independent encryption of complete databases, files, or log files. This increases privacy without requiring modifying existing applications. Improved mechanisms for configuring and administering database audits enable organizations to meet regulatory mandates.
• Availabilityy
  Microsoft's Always On technology is engineered to provide minimal system downtime by improved reliability, non-intrusive reconfiguration, and faster restoration after an unplanned crash. Improved clustering mitigates the impact of hardware breakdowns, hot-add processor support and peer-to-peer replication can avoid routine offline maintenance, and backup compression speeds up recovery time.
• Manageability
  Microsoft SQL 2008 streamlines policy management and monitoring through automated functions in the Policy-Based Framework. This lowers maintenance costs by allowing administrators to automate policy checking. Automatic tuning and troubleshooting is enabled by Performance Studio. SQL 2008's Resource Governor enables administrators to control resources for various applications to deliver predictable response to SQL Server clients.
• Capability
  Microsoft SQL 2008 enables the next generation of business applications by recognizing multiple varieties of structured and semi-structured data like pictures, audio, video, date and time, and geospatial data. LINQ speeds up software development by allowing data queries from C# and Visual Basic .NET.
• Business Intelligence
  Microsoft SQL 2008 Reporting Services simplify report creation, administration, and distribution. SSRS enables you to create business reports based on a broad range of sources such as relational or multidimensional. Reports can be accessed on a web connection, Office Word and Excel, or an Office SharePoint site. SQL 2008 Analysis Services offer sophisticated data mining capabilities and new add-ins for Office 2007 make business information accessible at the desktop.
• Speed and Expandability
  Microsoft SQL Server 2008 supports 64-bit processors and multi-core and multi-processor. multi-core hardware and can address as much as 8 terabytes of RAM. For multi-CPU environments, SQL 2008 eliminates memory traffic jams by transparently supporting NUMA-based servers. By enabling hot expansion of CPUs and RAM, Microsoft SQL 2008 permits you to scale database services up without taking the server down. Microsoft SQL 2008 also enables additional database nodes to be added and connected live even during replication activity.

  SQL Server 2008 includes numerous isolation levels that support increased throughput through concurrency without losing read integrity. Speed and expandability are also enhanced by more efficient data compression, and managers are provided a powerful library of tools such as Performance Data Collector and Analysis Services to track and tune performance.

How Progent's Consultants Offer SQL 2008 Help
Progent's Microsoft-certified consultants can assist your company to select an edition of Microsoft SQL Server 2008 that makes sense for your company's goals. Progent's Cisco-certified CCIE network engineers and Microsoft Windows Server consultants can help you to create a high-availability, high-performance, and secure infrastructure by offering cluster technology expertise and server virtualization help. Progent's SQL engineers can help your company configures Microsoft SQL 2008 properly, and that your SQL-powered RDBM system is incorporated effectively with your application software. Progent offers automated server monitoring to make sure your corporate information system is working efficiently, and Progent's remote Help Desk Call Center is ready to provide fast remediation for SQL-related issues. Progent's certified data security consultants can evaluate your business-wide security policies and technologies and recommend improvements for better protection.

Progent's Microsoft-certified consultants can also design high-availability and high-performance backup and restore systems for SQL 2008 Server data with Microsoft Data Protection Manager. Progent's consultants can assist you to develop an effective business continuity strategy, design a cost-effective high-availability network infrastructure, configure a Data Protection Manager-powered backup and recovery system for SQL 2005 Server data, comprehensively validate your DPM system, train your administrative staff or regular service providers how to maintain DPM, or handle extensive IT outsourcing including off-site hosting of virtual or physical DPM machines in Progent's secure data center. For more information, go to System Center Data Protection Manager Consulting and Support Services.

Progent's SQL Server support professionals can also help you to prepare for and implement a smooth migration from Microsoft SQL Server 2K to Microsoft SQL 2008 and can help you to assess the business benefits and costs of a MS SQL 2005 upgrade to MS SQL 2008.

In order to get in touch with Progent about consulting support for Microsoft SQL Server environments, call 1-800-993-9400 or send email to sql-server-help@progent.com.

Progent's Consulting and Support Services for Microsoft .NET Server Technology
For small and mid-sized businesses in the San Francisco region, Northern California, or anywhere in the U.S., Progent's Microsoft-authorized experts offer network help and IT consulting support for the entire array of Microsoft .NET Enterprise Servers, Microsoft Windows Server 2008, and Windows 2003 Server. Progent's migration, integration, update, and support services cover system design, deployment, and management outsourcing for project management and documentation, local and off-site technical help and system troubleshooting, Help Desk Outsourcing Services, comprehensive security consulting, turn-key outsourcing, and application server hosting options.

In case your business requires urgent online help from a Microsoft certified engineer, go to Progent's Emergency Remote Computer Support.

Find out additional information about Progent's Support Services for Microsoft .NET Servers.