Upgrade your data warehouse to SQL Server 2014

SQL Server 2014 offers some interesting options for your data warehouse (DW) especially if you need high-availability, use a staging area approach and need to reduce your ETL windows and query response times. (Learn more from Microsoft’s Data Sheet.)

Attractive new features in SQL Server 2014

The writable clustered column store indexes are the most lauded feature for enterprise data warehouse (EDW) workloads, but the partition switching and indexing features can also improve query response times.

The Analysis, Migrate and Report (AMR) tool helps uncover the major upgrade issues you may encounter such as recognizing depreciated features, while the distributed replay feature helps forecast any unintended consequences, or affirm the advantages of upgrading to 2014.

Using Azure to Beat the Upgrade Pitfalls

For organizations that insist their data warehouse, enterprise reporting, dashboards and cubes be available without fail, the all-or-nothing consequence of an upgrade can make this a high-profile activity.  Azure can be a tremendous asset in these circumstances as the entire upgrade can be validated in parallel. Performing the upgrade in Azure allows you to identify and mitigate issues and perfect the use of new features without cordoning off your development and testing environments for hot-fixes and enhancements while the upgrade is being performed. Azure allows you to perform and test the upgrade and also rehearse your cut-over steps without an additional investment in hardware.

Organizations often delay upgrades because the diversion of development resources, In addition, the “freeze window” that accompany them are often hard to justify to business people who already have a healthy backlog of pending development requests. Using Azure can reduce the risk and so make the project more appealing.

Get Started with a 10-minute Questionnaire

Let Mariner quickly and painlessly upgrade your EDW, while your team remains focused on working with your business. Get started by completing this brief questionnaire.

• Bio
• Latest Posts

Peter Darragh

Vice President of Delivery at Mariner

In his business development capacity Peter helps executives evaluate the impact digital investments can have on their business models and operations. In his delivery role, he manages the teams that apply their data integration, analytics, process automation and machine learning expertise to make our customers digital masters.

Latest posts by Peter Darragh (see all)

• Part 2: Should we Send the Azure Machine Learning Model to Market? - December 7, 2016
• Should We Send the Azure Machine Learning Model to Market? - December 5, 2016
• IoT Requires Teamwork - June 22, 2016