Enterprise data can be of very different kinds ranging from flat files to data stored in relational databases and XML datasources. The extraordinary number of database related products, and their historic evolution, makes this task exacting. The entry of cloud computing has brought area into the forefront as SSIS has been one of the methods indicated for bringing ground based data to cloud storage in SQL Azure, the next milestone in Microsoft Data Management. Presently the following methods are indicated:

• Run Insert statements SQL Manager to populate tables schema created using SQL Azure MW*
• Configure SSIS to bring in data
• BCP [perhaps in next CTP of SQL Azure]

The first method works and can be very fast (only a small table was tested )

It may be noted that SSIS is another tool to bring in tables (so far only tried this object in the initial tests) to SQL Azure although only table schema is migrated and not the data. If the table were to have a clustered index, data porting may also be possible. In the test conducted the table did not even have a primary key column.

* It appears that the recent tweaking of SQL Azure MW can bring in the entire database according to a posting on the Oakleaf Systems blog site.