Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 AE

A More Powerful SQL Option for Every New User

Adding new users to your Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 through User CAL licenses allows your business to experience more fully all the benefits of the server. Once you get every user connected, you’ll find that your server can keep up with all your business needs without the expense of upgrading the server (and then purchasing new and more expensive CALs).

Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 can provide this quality because of all of the following features:

•    Scalability to handle all your business needs: If you are using either the Enterprise or Datacenter editions of Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2, your server is capable of truly impressive scalability. The server can work with up to 64 processors and 256 cores, making it possible to keep your server working effectively, no matter how many users are connecting to it.
•    Access to the more powerful business intelligence through PowerPivot for Excel: Perhaps the most impressive tool included in Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 is the addition of PowerPivot in Excel. This has become over the last few years one of the go-to business intelligence tools available anywhere. PowerPivot allows users to bring together data from various sources (such as Oracle, Teradata, and others) into an Excel document, where it can then create brilliant analysis from millions of rows of data. With compression built into PowerPivot and the ability to keep data as close to up-to-date as possible (more on that below), users get the best intelligence possible across a vast amount of data. PowerPivot is only available in the Enterprise and Datacenter editions, but users connecting to those editions can all enjoy this feature.
•    Share, backup, and work more effectively with your documents in SharePoint: Data analysis is a powerful tool, but at heart, any server has to be able to create a space where data and documents can be backed up, shared, and edited more effectively. Thanks to the inclusion of SharePoint, all of this is now possible. Used correctly (and combined with PowerPivot for SharePoint in some editions), documents can be saved from any corruption or accidental deletion, so that data is never lost and beyond recovery on your server. At the same time, all documents can quickly be moved around and accessed by all parties who need them.
•    Work with a single set of data with Master Data Services: If your business includes a large number of users, it’s likely that they will struggle to maintain any and all data standards set across the board. Data in big organizations (and even in small organizations often enough) will get entered and re-entered across multiple platforms and in multiple ways. Previously, this was just an inconvenience that had to be accepted as part of the process. With Master Data Services, though (which comes with the Enterprise and Datacenter editions), that problem is completely removed. Master Data Services will remove duplication and correct changes in format that occur across the server so that all users are working from the same data in the same places that all agrees with each other.
•    Data as close to real-time as possible with StreamInsight: In business, the difference of a second can in some cases make all the difference. If data isn’t completely up-to-date a choice that has to be made instantly can be the wrong choice simply because the data wasn’t there in front of the users. StreamInsight (available in the Datacenter edition) corrects this by speeding up how fast data updates across the server. By processing thousands of events every second, data is as up-to-date as possible. When users need the correct data on hand without waiting, it is now there for them.
•    More effective reporting with Report Builder 3.0: Reporting data analysis is just about as critical as the analysis itself. That’s why a great server needs to have the reporting capabilities that match the analysis tools included. Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 has that with Report Builder 3.0. With this update, reporting is easier than ever, thanks to the inclusion of the Office ribbon, which organizes reporting tools more effectively and makes them easier to find. There’s also an expansion in the types of data that can be reported. Most importantly, a new map wizard allows reports to include geospatial data that might have been missing in previous editions. 

System Requirements