It’s been a while, well a very long while since I wrote a blog entry, which reflects the fact that I do very little “real” work anymore and spend most of my time being a the pointy haired facilitator/manger/overhead. One thing though that overhead types like me do get drawn to and even sometimes add marginal value, is in product code-names. Especially here at Microsoft where code names have a life and meaning of their own (try “Longhorn” or even better “Chicago” or even better “Cairo”) and in SQL Server, each release has had an enduring code name (Sphinx for 7.0, Shiloh for 2000, Yukon for 2005, Katmai for 2008) which internally is how we talk about our releases and the history of the product.

So, as it came time to put a label to the work we have been doing with regards to Self-Service BI for public consumption and disclosure, the question of code names inevitably came up. Both around what to call the project focused around Self Service Analytics/BI and the release vehicle for that work (which has a few more things in it beyond the Self Service Analytics part). For the Self-Service Analytics it was easy, primarily because we already had an internal code name: “Gemini”. Gemini has a lot of interesting connotations. To me it represents a project with ambitious goals, borrowing from NASA and the Gemini project which was the first and vital step in our journey to the moon (and if anything, we love to shoot for the moon). Gemini also followed the Mercury project in the quest to explore space and Mercury is the God of business and is associated with speed, which make an interesting fit for OLAP (you know, speed, business oriented). Anyway from that point of view Gemini was a great name for a project with huge ambitions, representing the next step in BI for Microsoft.

Then there is the second connotation with Gemini, which is that of the constellation, the “twins”, and Gemini is all about the twins. The twins of IW (information workers) and IT. The twins of end user empowerment and central management. It is all about aligning the tensions between end users who want to create solutions quickly and arrive at insights instantly, and the IT departments who want to ensure compliance and data stewardship. It is all about delivering an enterprise credible product that is instantly accessible and appealing to end users and IT professionals alike. If it weren’t Gemini, another name may have been Janus. This duality of the product, emphasizing benefits for both constituencies and attempting to reconcile the tensions between IW and IT that we all are so familiar with is at the heart of Gemini and is reflected in the name.

Then there is the code name for the release of SQL Server in which the Gemini technologies will be delivered. SQL Server has a history of code names that have national park/nature related locations, such as Yukon and Katmai. So this time around it seemed natural to go that way as well, except that given the “flat” nature of the world it made sense to go beyond, the US and North America and pick an instantly recognizable location and name. Kilimanjaro, is just that. The roof of Africa, the largest free standing mountain in the world, rising majestically in a surrounding void of anything even remotely similar. An inspiring summit, that is challenging, yet very achievable for all the climbers that attempt to scale it. Personally for me there is another link, which is that I am going to attempt this challenging yet (hopefully) achievable summit at the end of December (for details, check out my other blog).

If at this point you are wondering what all this talk about Gemini and Kilimanjaro is and are not familiar with the future product release plans for SQL Server, do a search (of course on Live.com) for SQL Server Kilimanjaro or SQL Server Gemini. Or just check out the following:

Article in the New York Times

Forrester Blog

OLAP Report