One of the most significant new features in SQL Server 2008 is data compression, which has been long sought after by the SQL Server community. Now that it's here, the question becomes: how is it, and how can you effectively use it in managing your databases? In this session, Linchi Shea gives an independent assessment of SQL Server 2008 data compression that is supported with solid empirical results, and looks at what types of data may be good/bad for data compression, and what workloads may benefit from data compression. The focus is on the performance and space implications. To help appreciate the feature in a bigger context, the session will also include a competitive analysis of data compression across the major DBMS products