Microsoft Offers SQL Server “Add-in” for MapPoint

Microsoft PR just let us know that Microsoft released a free SQL Server add-in for MapPoint. It does what you’d think: “Customers using the MapPoint add-in for SQL Server can visualize and manipulate data directly on a MapPoint map.”

Chris Pendleton (who writes the now Bing Maps blog, at this new address) provides details:

The add-on solution is NOT web-based. But it is inexpensive. SQL Server 2008 Express is free, the add-on is free and desktop MapPoint is $300. Thus “you get the power of some hardcore data visualization with offline capabilities” for a few hundred dollars.

MapIt (announced recently) is for the enterprise and is NOT an offline solution (and costs way more, $4500).

He also notes, but does not answer this question: “...what in the world has taken us so long to be these two together?”