Tom LaRock (b|t) is back with another Meme Monday, and this month the meme is, “What gift do you want Microsoft to leave for you under the tree this year?” My gut reaction was to ask for a 70-448 exam that didn’t ask loads of questions about troubleshooting and features so problematic that no one actually uses them. (No, I’m not bitter I failed this exam twice. Not at all.) But such a wish would be a little too self-serving; I want Microsoft to bring me something that will benefit a much wider audience. So, for the greater good, here is my wish:
Deliver me a version of SQL 2012 with all the BI features enabled and 100% detached and independent of SharePoint.
Microsoft has made life considerably more difficult for the BI specialists of SQL Server by requiring SharePoint for features like PowerView. If we want to set up a virtual machine to try out these new features, we have to know how to implement and maintain a SharePoint instance, something that is difficult and usually done by a full-time, dedicated SharePoint resource. Furthermore, if we want to deploy these features, it means considerable expense in terms of licensing, setup, and an administrator. A SQL Server BI deployment is now a SQL Server + SharePoint deployment.
I’ve often said that Microsoft wrongly equates enterprise reporting needs with enterprise needs (with data-driven subscriptions at the heart of that argument). Now it seems they are equating effective BI visualizations with document sharing and collaboration. Turn off the sharing aspects of PowerView while preserving users’ ability to explore data visually. Deliver it through the existing Report Manager web UI. Give me an independent version of SQL Server 2012 and you’ll be giving me the power of the new BI features without the cumbersome, expensive, and unwelcome burden of a SharePoint environment that clients neither need nor want to bear.