Yesterday afternoon I was invited over to Microsoft (Brisbane) for a function and I ran into Michael Redmond (Microsoft MCS). We got to chatting about the status of SQL Server and he mentioned that the February CTP had been announced for SQL Server 2008. Here is a link for those who are interested.
Since we were on the topic, I asked Michael what he felt were the three best new features or improvements in the upcoming version. He mentioned three things which I agree with entirely. The first is the new Resource Manager, which helps to expose more diagnostic information and control to SysAdmins, the second being the new Win 32 APIs for storage and retrieval of large binary objects (BLOBS) (which sounds, I suspect, a lot like the concept to BCP).
Lastly he mentioned the new scripting support for admins to batch their changes. Obviously, I prefer using SMO and a combination of either a C# console app or a mix of PowerShell and SMO. Anyhow, check it out!
P.S Did I mention that the Feb CTP is feature complete?
