At Bespoke Software we work with many application technologies from many different vendors from IBM to Kalido. However we are pragmatic in advising on technology decisions and firmly believe that a vital component in selecting technology has to be the ability to find resource to support that technology both internally and from outside agencies. With these considerations in mind we are continually finding that a sure bet for Bermuda based companies can often be one of the Microsoft technology platforms.

Specifically in Database and Business Intelligence solutions, Microsoft are both technology leaders and at the same time one of the easiest platforms to find IT resource for. When you consider Cost Benefit and ROI it is hard to argue against the Microsoft Business Intelligence tool set delivered with MS SQL2005 and MS SQL2008. Both deliver ETL Tools with SSIS(Extract Transform and Load), a Database Platform optimised for Data Warehousing with SQL Server, Advanced Analytic OLAP capabilities with MS Analysis Services and a thin client Enterprise reporting solution with SQL Reporting Services. This combination of tools purchased separately could total in the $100,000+ price range. Microsoft delivers the entire suite in one package for a fraction of that cost!

Equally revolutionary in cost, ease of use, ease of deployment and wide spread acceptance is Microsoft's portal technology "SharePoint". Already well on the way to becoming the ubiquitous portal technology SharePoint is targeted by Microsoft to be their delivery mechanism of choice for all of their server technologies from Shared Office applications to Business Intelligence solutions.