SQL Server Reporting Services is a comprehensive, server-based solution that enables the creation, management, and delivery of both traditional, paper-oriented reports and interactive, Web-based reports. An integrated part of the Microsoft business intelligence framework, Reporting Services combines the data management capabilities of SQL Server with familiar and powerful Microsoft Office System applications to deliver real-time information to support daily operations and drive decisions. Reporting Services provides an embeddable and extensible framework that enables customers and partners to build custom business intelligence applications. Developers can use any developer tool or platform that works with Web services. This flexibility and interoperability makes it easier to create reports that leverage packaged or custom applications in almost any environment. Wh... (more)

db4o in the Mirror of JPA/EJB and Hibernate

db4o, an open source object database system with broad industry applicability, belongs to a popular database management systems that has close to 2 million downloads to date. Here we'll illustrate the features and application areas of such a database and compare db4o against relational DBMS/object relational (OR) mappers. It seems as if object databases are enjoying a rebirth. After the disastrous but probably quite purifying hype of the '90s, many providers now offer sophisticated products. Besides db4o, the products by Intersystems, Objectivity, Gemstone, and Versant deserve to be mentioned. At this point the most important question is: When or why should I use an object database? There are many studies available that compare the benefits of object database management systems (ODBMS) and relational database management systems (RDBMS): Because of their independen... (more)

In 2014 Big Data Investments Will Account for Nearly $30 Billion - Eventually Accounting for $76 Billion by 2020 End

DALLAS, Aug. 21, 2014 /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- Amid the proliferation of real time data from sources such as mobile devices, web, social media, sensors, log files and transactional applications, Big Data has found a host of vertical market applications, ranging from fraud detection to R&D.; Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140821/138541 "Big Data Market: 2014 – 2020 – Opportunities, Challenges, Strategies, Industry Verticals & Forecasts" Key Findings: In 2014 Big Data vendors will pocket nearly $30 Billion from hardware, software and professional services revenues Big Data investments are further expected to grow at a CAGR of nearly 17% over the next 6 years, eventually accounting for $76 Billion by the end of 2020 The market is ripe for acquisitions of pure-play Big Data startups, as competition heats up between IT incumbents Nearly every large scale IT ven... (more)

ASP.NET - Introducing the "DotNetNuke" Web Application Framework

Over the past few years, a paradigm shift of monumental proportions has been quietly occurring on the World Wide Web. The traditional "brand-builder" Web site whose sole purpose was the delivery of static marketing information to potential customers has finally lost its appeal. Fuelled by the demands of Web-savvy business owners and consumers, a new breed of highly functional Web applications has emerged; these applications deliver dynamic content, community collaboration, interactive behavior, and real-time communication. A Web Application Framework is a robust software library used as the basis for building advanced Web applications. A Web Application Framework typically contains a well-defined architecture and an abstract set of reusable components that are specifically designed to simplify development, enforce consistency, increase productivity, and improve appli... (more)

Microsoft Named “Gold Sponsor” of Cloud Expo 2010 April 19-21 Javits Center

Microsoft Session at Cloud Expo SYS-CON Events announced today that Microsoft has been named "Gold Sponsor" of SYS-CON's 5th International (www.CloudComputingExpo.com), which will take place on April 19-21, 2010, at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York City. Register Today and Save $800 ! Explore Sponsorship Opportunities ! Cloud Expo is the world's leading Cloud-focused event since 2007, and is held five times a year, in New York City, Silicon Valley, Prague, Tokyo and Hong Kong. Microsoft cloud services mean freedom for businesses. The freedom to access the technology you want, where and when you want it. The freedom to take advantage of the latest technology as a capital expense, or an operational one. The freedom to focus on running your business - not running IT systems. Microsoft cloud services are Microsoft by extension: Giving you the ability to m... (more)

Microsoft "Deeply Saddened," Pledges $1M In Cash and Encourages Giving at MSN.com

'Every one of us at Microsoft is deeply saddened by the destruction of property and personal lives in the wake of Hurricane Katrina,' says a statement on the Microsoft web site, 'and our hearts go out to the hundreds of thousands of people who have been affected by the storm and its aftermath.' As reported earlier at SYS-CON.com, Microsoft has pledged $1 million in cash to relief organizations, including the American Red Cross. Microsoft and its employees are contributing to the relief efforts in a variety of additional ways. Its business teams are working with local and state governments, businesses, and educational institutions to help them repair their information technology systems as quickly as possible; the company is matching employee donations to nonprofit organizations; three of Microsoft's senior technologists have been deployed to Red Cross operations in ... (more)

Google Hasn't Put Microsoft Out of Business Yet

Well, Google hasn’t put Microsoft out of business yet. Redmond is still a money machine.  It posted record profits up 65% to $4.93 billion, or 50 cents a share, Thursday on revenues up 32% to $14 billion for the March quarter, its might-as-well-call-it Vista quarter when the software finally came out.  Microsoft’s operating profits came to a staggering $6.59 billion. The numbers beat the Street. Contrary to all the badmouthing of Vista, it seems to be delivering for Microsoft. Now if only its stock would stop being a dog. Microsoft said the results reflected $1.67 billion in revenue and operating income and $1.41 billion, 12 cents a share, in net income that were deferred because of its coupons programs for Vista and Office 2007 instituted after the software slipped into January – okay, way into January – to get them to buy PCs during the hol... (more)

Discussion: Why web designers often use PHP over ASP.NET?

Some time ago my colleague asked me "I like to read blogs about web design, but why are they mostly PHP-oriented?". Huh, really, why? I haven't thought about it seriously before. ... (more)

Chris Pollach's PowerBuilder Blog: "Have You Hugged Your DW Today?"

OK, if you are a PowerBuilder developer, then this would not be a surprise ! Check out the winner in this .NET category #8 and #9 (click here)! Regards ... Chris PS: Remember to say thanks to Kim Sheffield !read moreOriginal EntryLeave Commentread mo ... (more)

Northumbria University achieves 1st Class Honours with Telephone Payments Solution from Telephonetics VIP and Partner NEC Philips

-University sees 35% increase in automated payments and a return on investment within six months- 2nd March, 2010, Hemel Hempstead, U.K. - Telephonetics VIP, the speech automation specialist and Partner NEC Philips Unified Solutions, a provider of secure enterprise IT and communications solutions, won a tender and installed the system at Northumbria University for an automated telephone payments solution. The contract consists of the Telephonetics VIP Automated Agent solution with Payments skill. This new system will enable the University's Credit Control Department to automate a variety of routine, repetitive tasks and as a result provide a better service to students and parents. The University has seen a 35% increase in automated payments since the system was installed, and a return on investment was achieved within six months. NEC Philips has been a dedicated T... (more)

How to: Build a SharePoint 2010 PowerShell Cmdlet

One thing that is getting a lot of attention in SharePoint 2010 is the use of PowerShell.  It’s too cool and you really have a lot of power (no pun intended) to automate just about anything in SharePoint.  In fact Kyle Kelin (@spkyle) is speaking this weekend about it at SharePoint Saturday Houston (#spshou). The Microsoft.SharePoint.PowerShell snapin comes with over 500 commands, but you might want to create your own.  Today’s post will show you how to get started. There are a lot of great posts out there on how to build a regular PowerShell cmdlet, but I wanted to build one that focused specifically on building one for SharePoint. Start by creating a new class library project in Visual Studio 2010.  It’s too bad there isn’t a built-in project template, because there are a number of references you must add.  Several of these references don’t show up in the referen... (more)