Standard Edition is the data management and analysis platform for small and medium-sized organizations. It includes the essential functionality needed for e-commerce, data warehousing, and line-of-business solutions. Standard Editions integrated business intelligence and high-availability features provide organizations with the essential capabilities needed to support their operations. Organizations today face numerous data challenges, such as the need to make faster and more data-driven decisions, the need to increase the productivity and flexibility of development staff, and pressure to reduce overall information technology (IT) budgets while also scaling the infrastructure to meet ever-increasing demands. SQL Server 2005 is designed to help enterprises address these challenges. This next-generation data management and analysis solution delivers increased security, scalability, and availability to enterprise data and analytical applications, while making them easier to build, deploy, and manage. Extending the strengths of SQL Server 2000, SQL Server 2005 provides an integrated data management and analysis solution that can help organizations of any size to do the following: Build, deploy, and manage enterprise applications that are more secure, scalable, and reliable. Maximize IT productivity by reducing the complexity of developing and supporting database applications. Share data across multiple platforms, applications, and devices to make it easier to connect internal and external systems. Control costs without sacrificing performance, availability, scalability, or security. Features & Benefits Enterprise Data Management: - Manageability - Availability - Scalability - Security Complete data management and analysis platform for medium businesses and larger departments SQL Server Management Studio Database Mirroring Proactive Performance Monitoring and Performance Tuning SQL Management Objects Database Mirroring Failover Clustering Database Snapshots Dedicated Administrator Connection Online Operations (index operations and restore) Replication Table and Index Partitioning Snapshot Isolation Authorization Authentication Native Encryption Expanded Language Support CLR/.NET Framework integration Transact-SQL enhancements Visual Studio Integration Cross Tier and Cross Language Debugging Improved Data Access and Web Services ADO.NET 2.0/ADOMD.NET Query notification<p>Processor: 600 MHz Pentium III-compatible or faster; 1 GHz or faster recommended Operating System: Windows 2000 Server with Service Pack 4 or later; Windows 2000 Professional Edition with Service Pack 4 or later; Windows XP with Service Pack 2 or later; Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition, Standard Edition, or Datacenter Edition with Service Pack 1 or later; Windows Small Business Server 2003 with Service Pack 1 or later Hard Disk: Approximately 350 MB of available space for the recommended installation Approximately 425 MB of additional available space for SQL Server Books Online, SQL Server Mobile Books Online, and sample databases Memory: 512 MB of RAM or more; 1 GB or more recommended Memory512 megabytes (MB) of RAM or more; 1 gigabyte (GB) or more recommended Optical Drive: CD-ROM or DVD-ROM Others: Super VGA (1,024x768) or higher-resolution video adapter and monitor Mouse or compatible pointing device Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 with Service Pack 1 or later For Reporting Services, you need Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) 5.0 or later, and ASP.NET 2.0 or later