http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/sqlserver/solutions-technologies/business-intelligence/big-data.aspx
Democratize Big Data
HDInsight is Microsoft’s 100% Apache compatible Hadoop distribution, supported by Microsoft. HDInsight, available both on Windows Server or as an Windows Azure service, empowers organizations with new insights on previously untouched unstructured data, while connecting to the most widely used Business Intelligence (BI) tools on the planet.
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When it comes to business intelligence, Microsoft SQL Server 2012 demonstrates that the platform has continued to advance and keep up with the innovations that are happening in big data."
David Mariani, Vice President of Engineering, Klout
Manage data of any type or size
To gain the full value of Big Data you need a modern data platform that manages data of any type, whether structured or unstructured, and of any size – from gigabytes to petabytes. Your Big Data solution should also manage data at rest or in motion. Leverage the power of HDInsight on Windows Server or as a Windows Azure Service. HDInsight provides simplicity, ease of management, and an open Enterprise-ready Hadoop service that runs on premise or in the cloud. Combine your relational and non-relational data with the new PolyBase available in SQL Server 2012 Parallel Data Warehouse.
Enrich your data with the worlds data
HDInsights enables you to realize new value in the data you have and can combine these new insights with 3rd party datasets simply and elegantly. The time spent by your data analysts trying to surface the right data and source for your precise needs is costly. By connecting to external data sources you can begin to answer new types of questions and deliver new value in ways that previously were not possible.
Gain insight from any data
You cannot begin to realize the value of Big Data until you can deliver new insights from all types of data- structured, unstructured, previously archived or discarded. The benefits of Big Data are not limited only to business intelligence experts or data scientists. Nearly everyone in your organization can analyze and make more informed decisions with the right tools including Microsoft Office Excel.
Get an early look at upcoming self-service BI capabilities
"Data Explorer" Preview for Excel - This preview gives you an early look into upcoming features that simplify access to public and corporate data. Now you can easily discover, combine, and refine data for better analysis in Excel.
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Project codename "GeoFlow" Preview for Excel - This preview gives you an early look into the new feature that provides 3D data visualization. Now you can plot geographic and temporal data visually, analyze that data in 3D, and create visual tours to share with others.
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