Microsoft today released the first public preview of SQL Server 2016, whichInformationWeek reportsis the first of"multipledata and storage updatesto come from Redmond this week."
First announcing its release at this year's Ignite conference, Microsoft's CEO Satya Nadella promised that SQL Server 2016 would "preview this summer and include better data protection, deeper data insights across on-premises and cloud, and the ability to stretch transactional data to Microsoft Azure." SQL Server 2015 debuts Microsoft's new Community Technology Preview (CTP2), which gives "a sneak peak at the new platform's capabilities and test the preview through the virtual machine in Azure or in the environment."
According to InformationWeek, the preview of SQL Server 2016 includes new features such as:
- Always Encrypted:Designed to protect dormant or active...