Microsoft has set a date for the launch of SQL Server 2012. For those of you who are Microsoft historians, you will know that does not necessary equate to the product being available for purchase. However in true Microsoft style, expect to be able to purchase SQL 2012 at least a month after their official launch date.

On March 7th 2012 Microsoft will release their event topic list. This is expected to cover everything from big data, to streamlight complex event processing, to the new data virtualization analysis tools that are part of the SQL Server 2012 release.

There are 3 versions of the new SQL 2012 product. Follow this link for version comparisons: SQL 2012 Version Comparisons