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What do you know I found another article at computerworld.com this time. It discussed the infamous Microsoft talking about Microsoft being ranked fifth among Business Intelligence in 2007, but recently Microsoft has been serious about Business Intelligence. Microsoft had done some work to tie Excel closely to the popular database SQL and other back end business Intelligence tools like PerformancePoint Server or SharePoint Server. With its just-announced Project Gemini, that will greatly accelerate. Microsoft aims to "bring an Excel-based user analytics mash up tool into the core of Microsoft's BI and data warehousing product portfolio. Excel isn't the only client application Microsoft plans to leverage. Users will be able to access BI query results from Microsoft's Dynamics 2009 ERP application, according to Tom Casey, Microsoft's general manager for SQL Server business intelligence. Microsoft will also use Internet Explorer to deliver Microsoft's vision of Business Intelligence.

Through integration of technology from its recent acquisition of DATAllegro Inc., Microsoft is building a BI-focused version of SQL Server 2008 called Project Madison. According to research analyst Kobielus, the DATAllegro-powered version of SQL Server 2008, when it is released in the first half of 2010, should be able to scale out to "hundreds of compute/storage nodes" and store as much as one petabyte of data or more. Microsoft also claims that the worsening economy could prove a boon, as companies look for cheaper, easier-to-roll-out products over traditionally high-priced Business Information tools.

WOW! That dog-on Microsoft lol

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I found an article at www.itworld.com that really caught my attention and I wanted to share it with everyone. It involves telecommunications an industry I am very interested in. This article discusses how the war introduced the first mobile phone networks into Afghanistan. Today, Afghanistan has four privately-owned networks and, mobile phones are the only way most Afghans are able to communicate, especially in remote areas. The importance of mobile technology hasn't gone unnoticed by the Taliban either who destroy towers to eliminate security forces. Communication resources are the core to any security strategy so many have turned to the growing influence and availability of mobile phone networks because it gives the ability to communicate swiftly, broadly, efficiently and effectively.
In January 2007 a major international humanitarian organization began using FrontlineSMS for field communication in their Afghan operations. FrontlineSMS is free software that allows for two-way group text messaging using a laptop computer and an attached mobile phone. This makes it particularly useful in situations where messages need to be communicated quickly and in a coordinated fashion. The Windows version of FrontlineSMS is in daily use in their main operations room, while the newer Mac version is kept as a backup by a senior security officer.
The increasing use of mobile technology by humanitarian organizations reflects a growing recognition of the significance of communications in the wider effort to promote security and democracy in the country. Mobile phones won't solve the security problem alone, but they clearly have a significant role to play.