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SQL Server 2008 enables you to store data from structured, semi-structured, and unstructured documents, such as images and music, directly within the database.  SQL Server 2008 delivers a rich set of integrated services that enable you to do more with your data such as query, search, synchronise, report, and analyse.

Usage Scenarios Comparison (see Enterprise Edition):

• Small to medium scale online transaction processing (OLTP) applications
• Business intelligence requiring basic reporting and analytics

• Departmental applications requiring best-in-class manageability and ease of use

• Use Resource Governor to manage concurrent workloads
• Enforce policy compliance consistently across the enterprise with the Policy-Based Management
• Reduce storage requirements and increase query performance with data compression and Sparse Columns
• Protect sensitive data with Transparent Data Encryption and advanced auditing
• Troubleshoot, tune, and monitor SQL Server 2008 instances across the enterprise with Performance System Analysis
• Build high performance analysis solutions with scalability, performance, data mining, and user interface enhancements in SQL Server Analysis Services
• Take advantage of improved performance, usability, visualization, and integration with the 2007 Microsoft Office system in SQL Server Reporting Services
• Integrate location-enabled applications through support for spatial data

Protect Your Data
Dynamically encrypt your valuable data within an entire database, data files, or log files, without the need for application changes. Simplify increasing regulatory compliance by using the advanced data auditing abilities of SQL Server 2008. Minimize exposure to security attacks by using the SQL Server Configuration Manager to enable only the services you require and Policy-Based Management to enable only the features you require.

Ensure Business Continuity
Seamlessly increase the reliability of applications with Database Mirroring. Simplify the recovery of applications from storage failures. Transfer operational data between the active operational systems and backup systems. Add system resources, like CPU and memory, without affecting applications.

Provide Predictable Response
Ensure consistent performance by using Resource Governor to define resource limits and priorities for different workloads and enable consistent performance. Reduce your storage costs and improve performance of large I/O bound workloads by using data compression.

Spend Less Time on Operations
Manage your enterprise data infrastructure easily with Policy- Based Management. Reduce the time spent on daily maintenance operations by defining a common set of policies for most database operations like query optimizations, naming conventions, backup and restore operations, and index management. Apply policies to many servers for consistent management across the enterprise. Enable Performance System Analysis by collecting performance data from your system and storing it in a centralized data repository. View reports to benchmark and analyze system performance and health.

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