In a recent blog I mentioned that the Master Data Services team would be blogging soon. Matt Anderson has started and this should be a great resource for readers wanting to come up to speed on MDS quickly. We're planning some high level as well as in-depth blogging there. If you are interested in better understanding the newest addition to the SQL Server toolset, be sure to add this link to your blogroll!

 http://sqlblog.com/blogs/mds_team/archive/2009/12/14/welcome-to-the-sql-server-master-data-services-team-blog.aspx

Thanks,

Universe.Earth.Software.SQLServer.MDS.Kirk

As we head into the US holiday season, I wanted to catch up on some things I've wanted to blog for some time. 

Blogs Rolling

First of all, it's good to see some blogging activity around MDS. 

As is the usual case around the first release of a product, it takes some time for blog activity to get momentum. But, we're beginning to see some action now as folks pick up the November CTP of SQL Server R2 and start to put it through it's paces.

This one by Nick Barclay is a series of seven introducing MDS and how to build a model and starts to get into the data model a bit as well.

For those just picking up the product for the first time, this is an excellent quick start guide.

http://nickbarclay.blogspot.com/2009/11/beginning-master-data-services-part-1.html

Intrepid blogger and SSIS/MSBI geek Jamie Thomson has also been digging into the product and started blogging and he promises more to come.

http://sqlblog.com/blogs/jamie_thomson/archive/2009/11/21/first-sighting-of-sql-server-master-data-services-mds.aspx

http://sqlblog.com/blogs/jamie_thomson/archive/2009/11/13/mds-is-x64-only.aspx

Roland Lenz gives a pretty good summary of MDS and talks a little about scenarios in which it can be used.

http://blogs.technet.com/swisseb/archive/2009/05/14/what-s-hot-on-sql-server-2008-r2.aspx

Chris Webb blogged about John McAllister's recent presentation at PASS.

http://cwebbbi.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!7B84B0F2C239489A!5288.entry

For those that missed it, I have a short entry here that talks at a high level about the product and Master Data Management in general.

http://blogs.technet.com/dataplatforminsider/archive/2009/05/13/master-data-services-what-s-the-big-deal.aspx

Shaun Ryan has also started to blog and has one about creating hierarchies in MDS here.

http://shaun-ryan.spaces.live.com/?_c11_BlogPart_BlogPart=blogview&_c=BlogPart&partqs=cat%3dMDS

The MDS team will be blogging as well. Look for those blogs to show up soon and I'll link here.

Matt Anderson has already created the first entry: Installing and Configuring Master Data Services 2008 R2 November CTP

Hooo, that's a mouth full. Fortunately, it takes about as long to say it as it does to do it! As soon as we can get the blog up and running, he'll be posting that entry with more to follow.

What's New 

There are various comments about what's new in the November CTP MDS relative to the original product Microsoft acquired. Some have said it's basically the same thing. I'd like to give you all some background on that. For the benefit of those who are familiar with the Stratature product or the technology preview we released over a year ago, I'll briefly list some of the more important improvements. Later, I'll drop some hints as to what's coming next. But keep it between me and you.

Performance

The team has been doing some great work around improving the performance of the product. We've improved the schema, optimized stored procedures, and changed the way we manage key elements such as business rules to be more efficient. This work has resulted some great performance improvements. In some cases, the improvements are orders of magnitude faster.

Hygiene

We've done a load of work on security, accessibility, globalization and localization (21 languages), better setup and configuration.

UI Spif

While the user interface is mostly the same, we have done some changes to improve the experience including fixing bugs and swapping the control library for better management.

Model Deployment  

The perenial problem with building models is how to deploy them from the machine where they were developed without a lot of difficulty. And what's more, how do you build a model template and use it over and over without said efforts? Model deployment. With Model Deployment, you can build an entire model, including data on a development machine, deploy it to a test lab for testing and then easily deploy to the live production machines without ever getting your hands dirty. It's also useful for building pre-developed models for solution specialists or for sharing across the enterprise. While competitor products can sometimes take weeks to setup, configure and build the first model, I've done a demo where I setup, configured, deployed a model and built a derived hierarchy in roughly 10 minutes. That's simpler, easier and faster. That's Microsoft software.

WCF API

We've added a comprehensive API to the product with both bulk and message oriented functions. Then we rewrote the user interface to go through the API instead of directly to the database/stored procedures. Anything you can do through the UI and more, you can now do through the API. It is complete and comprehensive.

So, while the product looks pretty much the same, much of the work we've been doing is to build the MDS platform into something that will support a rich set of experiences, integrations and additional scenarios.

What's Next?

It's a little early to be talking about the next version don't you think? OK, well, let's just say we're going to improve the user interface, integration and out of box experience and a few other goodies.

The branding is in.

MICROSOFT SQL SERVER 2008 R2 MASTER DATA SERVICES, MONTH COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY PREVIEW (MONTH CTP)

Where MONTH is the actual release month.

Hooo! What a mouthful.

As announced at TechEd earlier this week, Master Data Services will be shipping in SQL Server 2008 R2.

I've blogged on SQL Insiders about it here: http://blogs.technet.com/dataplatforminsider/default.aspx

I'm glad I can be out of the SQL Server closet again and finally say in public, "It's good to be back in SQL Server!"

I've been vacant from blogging for some time. If the comments I've been getting in the blog, email and personally at conferences and in meetings is any indication, it's high time I started back again. Unlike some of the more successful and prolific bloggers out there, or those that aren't so prolific for that matter, I have no aspirations of consistently writing every day. The old blogging mantra "every day a blog entry" is not something I'm going to commit to doing. That way I set myself up for success. This is a lot like my annual new years resolution which I always manage to keep with smashing success which is "I will only make one resolution this year." I like that because I'm guaranteed success the moment I make the resolution. It's an atomic success. By making the resolution I'm successfully keeping it. So, my blogging commitment here is that I won't be consistent. That's something I can commit to not doing.

So, what's happening in my world. True to Microsoft's disclosure policy, I could tell you all but then, the marketing folks would kill me, or worse... What I can tell folks is that the Master Data Management team is alive and thriving. We're doing good work, making progress on deliverables, getting ready to ship. Our plan hasn't changed with respect to timing of the release either. We're still targeting a release for roughly the same time as the next version of Office. That date hasn't been announced of course, so I can't say exactly when that is either, but if the past is prologue, you can take a pretty good guess at when that will be.

Our team has completed new functionality and are now stabilizing the product for a prerelease to be announced during TechEd in May. We will be rolling out a lot of new information and announcing some exciting changes to the Microsoft Master Data product at that time. Folks that are interested should watch the TechEd wires. We're excited about the changes and the benefits we derive from them both from a customer satisfaction perspective as well as a technical, strategic and value perspective.

Well, there you go. I've now succeeded at fulfilling my resolution to inconsistently blog. Hopefully it won't take me another year to get the next post done!

Universe.Earth.Software.Microsoft.Office.MDS.KirkHaselden

In a recent post I stated that we planned to have a technology preview available in February, '08. 

Most folks aren't used to hearing these words in the same sentence, but here goes:

We're shipping early. 

Tomorrow I'll be sending out email to customers and partners alerting them to the availability of the technology preview (TP) for download from MSConnect.

If you'd like to participate in the technology preview and haven't done so already, you can express interest by sending an email with "Interested in TP" in the subject to MDMVibe@Microsoft.com.

The TP product is pretty much identical to the product Microsoft acquired in June with a few notable exceptions:

• Libraries changed - The Stratature product used some libraries that were either out of date, not supportable, or the license was questionable. We removed those libraries and replaced the code with Microsoft technology.
• Patch rollup - The TP release represents a roll up of patch releases for the time since the acquistion.
• Signed - The TP release is signed and has been through the Microsoft ship process including more rigorous testing and signoff.

The primary purposes of this technology preview are two fold:

1. We realize that there are a lot of rumors going around that the product was being removed from the market permanently. That just isn't true. We wanted to reintroduce the product into availability as soon as possible to mitigate the rumors.
2. We wanted to expand the audience of customers and partners who are familiar with the product. While the product we ultimately ship for general availability will have many substantial improvements and new capabilities, the core product will remain largely intact. Customers and partners who participate in the technology preview will get a leg up on understanding the released product. 

If you've expressed interest in participating in the MDM TP by sending email to MDMVide@Microsoft.com, you should be recieving an email very soon that explains the next steps.

While this is not a general availability release and only select individuals under NDA are allowed to participate, we do not have any arbitrary limitations on total number that may download the product.However, this release is not supported in any way by Microsoft. It is an early visibility release only.

This is the first step in reintroducing the Microsoft MDM product into general availability leading up to TAP, CTP and release. We hope you have the opportunity to participate and give feedback about the product.

Thanks,

Kirk Haselden
Group Program Manager for Master Data Management
Microsoft Office Business Platform

I was about to write a post to clarify some of the disinformation that's been going around about the Stratature acquisition and our roadmap. It's an interesting place to be right now, where Roger and I are. There are analysts out there writing things we've told them and also writing things that have no basis in what we've told them. What's not so clear is which is which. Some have been making estimates of product availability timelines and strategy predictions. From our point of view, the folks that are building the product, it's a bit ironic to hear some of these predictions when we're still working through the timelines ourselves.

So, as I started to blog about this, I happened to head over to Roger's blog and noticed his latest gem.

http://blogs.msdn.com/rogerwolterblog/archive/2007/06/27/stratature-misinformation.aspx

I really couldn't have said it better.

Thanks,