My question earlier this week regarding Microsoft's answer to Amazon's SimpleDB and Google's BigTable appears to have been answered.

Microsoft has begun signing up testers for SQL Server Data Services (SSDS), a forthcoming service that will allow customers and developers to host their data in a Microsoft-hosted database.

Microsoft officials were reticent to compare SQL Server Data Services to offerings from any competitors. But Gartner Vice President David Smith said the new Microsoft service was comparable to Amazon’s SimpleDB, a service like Amazon’s SimpleDB.

Microsoft launches its alternative to Amazon’s SimpleDB | All about Microsoft | ZDNet.com

Via: Peter O'Kelly

Given Amazon's recently announced SimpleDB and Google's use of BigTable will we see a similar offering from Microsoft (perhaps with the words "SQL Server" in the name) now that Microsoft wants to consolidate their webstores? If not, can the Microsoft services scale to the size of the others?

SharePoint, from its inception, has been built on top of SQL Server, Gates said. Microsoft is working to allow And other Microsoft applications, like Dynamics CRM, are SQL Server-based, too. Microsoft is moving toward making Active Directory “more of a meta-directory based on SQL Server,” as well, he said. However, Exchange still has its own database that uses a different store than SQL Server, Gates admitted.

“Out in the future, Exchange will be built on SQL,” Gates said again on March 3. But still no firm timetable or delivery vehicle was mentioned.

On the services side of the Microsoft house, storage unification has been a push from the get-go. Windows Live Mail, Windows Live Contacts, Windows Live Spaces, Xbox Live, CRM Live, Office Live and a number of other Live services use the same Webstore that runs on SQL Server.

Microsoft: Storage unification still somewhere out there | All about Microsoft | ZDNet.com