Today, at PASS Summit 2011, we announced Microsoft Codename “Data Explorer”. "Data Explorer” is a new concept which provides an innovative way to gain new insights from the data you care about.  With "Data Explorer” you can discover relevant data sources, enrich your data by combining with other sources, and then publish and share your insights with others.

You can get started with “Data Explorer” by identifying the data you care about from the sources you work with (e.g. Excel spreadsheets, files, SQL Server databases, Windows Azure Marketplace, etc.).

You can then discover additional data which you may need, as new datasets and data services from the Windows Azure Marketplace are automatically recommended for you. Relevant data is recommended based on semantic analysis of your data, your profile and the context of your task. Rather than spending time looking for and acquiring data, “Data Explorer” allows data to find you!

But that’s just the beginning. “Data Explorer” then enables you to easily enrich your data to find insights by combining your data from multiple sources including the data you have discovered. You can easily refine, organize and mash up data that is in differing formats and also use visualization tools to generate insightful views and charts.

Finally, “Data Explorer” brings the ability to seamlessly publish and share your results in order to collaborate with colleagues or to power other applications. “Data Explorer” can generate data feeds in open RESTful standard (Open Data Protocol) to be consumed by other applications and tools. Additionally, you can create results in Microsoft Excel or PowerPivot to continue your analysis in the tools you are familiar with. “Data
Explorer” also allows you to retain control of what to share and with whom, in a secure way.

Do you want to learn more about “Data Explorer”? Visit our official homepage for more information and to sign up for a preview, connect with us in our forums and stay tuned to our product blog for future updates.