Microsoft has released to manufacturing Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2, the new version of its relational database management system software, the company announced Wednesday.

SQL Server 2008 R2, the latest version of Microsoft's flagship database, will be generally available in May, the company said Tuesday.

Microsoft said it will make a preview of SQL Server 2008 R2 available this month that is features complete, including new business intelligence integration tools and master data management features.

Microsoft this week is giving developers an early peek at SQL Server 2008 R2, the next generation of its flagship database.

The anticipated initial service pack for Microsoft's SQL Server 2008 database will be available imminently, Microsoft said Tuesday.

SQL Server may be one of the most popular databases among corporate users, but Microsoft is a relative laggard in the business intelligence market. It ranked just fifth among BI vendors last year, according to market research firm IDC.

If you're like many small business owners, the news that Microsoft is weeks away from the release of a new version of SQL Server 2008 could seem utterly irrelevant to your interests. But it isn't. Microsoft has added important new features in this version that will help you delve more deeply into your business data, extract the most useful nuggets of information, and present them in a compelling way.

SQL Server 2008, aka "Katmai," gives SQL Server shops plenty of reasons to get excited. The best SQL Server release to date, it sports more nice new features than you can count, and the improvements extend to both performance and manageability. In a few cases, such as the Resource Governor, you'll wish Microsoft had taken the functionality a little further. But whether you manage an OLTP environment, or an OLAP environment, or both, you will most likely find Katmai compelling. It easily passes my own five-point test for upgrades.