Add these two things together:
- SQL Server’s Project Gemini is moving BI into Excel.
- The next version of Office will be available inside the browser.
If that doesn’t scream hosted-BI, I don’t know what does.
This is more fuel for Jason Massie’s belief that cloud services will kill the DBA, and I gotta tell you, it’s starting to look more and more convincing. If I was a DBA who made my living solely on SQL Server Analysis Services, I would start making a Plan B right now. SSAS won’t go away for years – there will be plenty of corporations who won’t want to host their private decision-making data in Cloud v1 – but it isn’t a rosy picture.
The article mentions that M$ will be offering “lightweight” versions of its office products. I have my doubts that database queries will be included in the feature set, at least for the foreseeable future. Couple that with M$’s inability to produce a quality product until it’s third revision and I don’t see this as a threat to SSAS DBAs.
I dunno. After watching the PDC news, I am hoping that the type of apps with a Developer\DBA are going to be the ones to hit the cloud. Possibly some single DBA shops.
But then again why make your own electricity when you can plug into the grid.