I wrote this elsewhere, but I'll summarize my comments on this:

This is not exactly the first time we've seen Microsoft buy something instead of build it.  I don't think I have to go over specific examples.

In this article:

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&taxo

nomyName=operating_systems&articleId=9110624&taxonomyId=89&intsrc=kc_top

Eric Lai implies that the integration might be available in SQL Server 2008

(which he said will be available in "several months").  

I think he doesn't understand how long such an integration project can really take.  :-)

Or maybe he is suggesting that Microsoft may delay the release in order to (try to) integrate the products.  The timing is certainly suspicious, if any delay occurs.  That said, if I had to bet, my money would be in the "next release" slot.

Ugh, sorry the link broke.  :-(  Maybe this one won't get destroyed:

http://tinyurl.com/5qn6kq

I think it is a great move, one we'll see continue with the other big players as well. BI is a complicated process, with lots of tools and applications that can be used. I think Analysis Services is a great tool, but before the Proclarity acquisition there was no interactive reporting tool. Well done MS, you can always improve your platform.

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