By Steve Boyer
Q2 2010 marked the first pre-release of the next generation of Precision.BI software, code-named “Idaho,” to a select pilot group. The Idaho software is developed and tested on contemporary hardware and software – Windows Server 2008 x64 with SQL Server 2008 x64 and Microsoft Office 2007/2010. The Idaho software is not compatible with Windows Server 2000 or SQL Server 2000.
Deploying software upgrades and updates to your Microsoft infrastructure can be a difficult and lengthy task. With many of Microsoft’s systems getting close to the end of their life cycle and the pending release of Idaho, you may begin to consider the advantages of upgrading.
Microsoft Office 2000 is almost a year away from the end of its life cycle and there are numerous installs in production environments today. Once Microsoft stops releasing critical security updates, Office 2000 could potentially cause a serious security breach or create a hole for virus infection.
One of Microsoft’s operating systems that is nearing its end-of-life is Windows Server 2000. Its official Microsoft support ends in less than 60 days. Several organizations already began migrating to the Windows 2008 Server operating system to utilize newer hardware and 64-bit processors on the existing Precision.BI software.
It has been a decade since Microsoft released SQL Server 2000. Microsoft extended the end-of-life cycle for this product and has currently established the end-of-life time-frame of April 2013. When SQL Server 2005 was introduced, it added new T-SQL features, SSIS and enhanced indexing and query plan optimization. SQL 2008 enhanced these features and added transparent encryption capabilities and the ability to compress data in backups to their Enterprise edition. Microsoft has also released SQL 2008 R2 to include security patches and some additional enhancements. SQL Server 2008 x64 is the database engine of choice for new Precision.BI installations.
End-of-life of software is important to know for future planning. Upgrading these systems will help with future compatibility issues and should improve efficiency for your management.
If you are interested in working with Precision.BI staff to assist in upgrade efforts, please contact Karen Basham in our consulting department at kbasham@precisionbi.com.
