Microsoft Corp. today announced Visual Studio� Team Edition for Database Professionals, expanding Visual Studio 2005 Team System to include tools that enable software development organizations to collaborate more effectively when creating reliable, data-driven applications. The new product will be available as a Community Technology Preview (CTP) at Tech�Ed 2006 in Boston and is expected to ship by the end of 2006. This addition to Microsoft� Visual Studio 2005 Team System is the next milestone en route to the release of Visual Studio code-named �Orcas,� which will provide capabilities for building compelling applications that target Microsoft SQL Server� 2005, Windows Vista�, the 2007 Microsoft Office system, and the next generation of Web technologies.

�One of the main issues in software development today is a lack of collaboration among members of a software development team and beyond,� said S. Somasegar, corporate vice president of the Developer Division at Microsoft. �Our goal is to ensure that all members of the IT organization can gain more visibility into and greater predictability of the software development process. The expansion of Visual Studio Team System to include data tools, along with developer productivity innovations in the upcoming Visual Studio �Orcas,� demonstrates Microsoft�s commitment to providing tools that help individuals, teams and organizations derive greater efficiency when building solutions on the Microsoft platform.�