“Not everyone is patiently biding his time waiting for the much-delayed release of SQL Server 2005 (”Yukon”), now anticipated to ship by the end of the first half of 2005. Members of Microsoft’s network of business partner vendors see the gold running in Yukon, and are ready to spring into action with enhanced solutions. SQL Server 2005 is chock full of new tools and capabilities, and partners and analysts say the database platform is poised to vault to first place in leading the burgeoning business intelligence and reporting space. It’s now a matter of getting the product out to capture this momentum.

“Delay after delay in the planned release of the product has some analysts concerned that Microsoft may lose this opportunity for itself as well as solutions partners. “Who knows when Yukon will ship?” says Mark Smith, analyst with Ventana Research. ‘This long product cycle has cost Microsoft growth they could have achieved if they would not have such long major product releases. ISVs do not want to wait, and have to ensure they operate across different stacks as well.’

“‘The delays have Microsoft’s partners chomping at the bit,’ adds Rob Enderle, president of Enderle Group. ‘A new product platform generally represents a strong upgrade revenue opportunity for ISVs. Certainly IT buyers like it this way, but ISVs live on product releases and the delays associated with Yukon are becoming painful,’ he says.”