Overview

Statistical thinking will one day be as necessary for efficient
citizenship as the ability to read and write.

H. G. Wells

If any organization is poised to introduce statistical thinking to citizens at large, proposed as necessary by the notable H. G. Wells, then surely it is Microsoft, a company that is dedicated to the concept of a computer on every desktop in the home or office. Since SQL Server 2000 incorporates statistical thinking and statistical use scenarios, it is an important step in the direction of making statistical thinking broadly available extending this availability to database administrators and SQL Server 2000 end users.

In spite of this potential scenario, statistically based computing has been and to date remains on the periphery of main line desktop computing applications. Even spreadsheets, the most prevalent form of numerically based computing applications, are rarely used for number crunching statistical applications and are most often used as extensive numerical calculators. From this perspective, a data mining workstation on every desktop may be an elusive dream nevertheless, it is a dream that Microsoft has dared to have. Let s look at the facilities that Microsoft has put in place in support of this dream.

3.1 Microsoft s entry into data mining

With the advent of SQL Server 7, introduced in the fall of 1998, Microsoft took a bold step into the maturing area of decision support and business intelligence (BI). Until this time BI existed as a paradox a technique that belonged in the arsenal of any business analyst, yet curiously...