A Visit to Microsoft was posted back in August and I just re-read it. Here’s a quote that might interest you:
As a working DBA I heard two things that seemed very positive (not counting the new features and improvements of course). One was that Microsoft sees the ability to offer both cloud and physical options as a differentiator , not even a glimmer that the physical (boxed) product was being deprecated, down played or ignored. The other was R. It’s been added to SQL Server as a value add, much like SSIS or SSRS, and that reinforces the view that SQL Server is the hub for all of things data. Rather than seeing the product splinter, it feels more like it’s coalescing.
