Microsoft SQL Server is a relational model database server produced by Microsoft and lets talk about how SQL Server comes to the Avtar we now it today.

Prior to SQL Server version 7.0 the code base for MS SQL Server was sold by Sybase SQL Server to Microsoft corporation, and tha was begining point of Microsoft’s into enterprise-level database market, competing against Oracle, IBM, and, later, Sybase.

The first version named SQL Server 1.0 for OS/2 (about 1989) which was essentially the same as Sybase SQL Server 3.0 on Unix, VMS, etc. Microsoft SQL Server 4.2 was shipped around 1992 (available bundled with IBM OS/2 version 1.3). Later Microsoft SQL Server 4.21 for Windows NT was released at the same time as Windows NT 3.1. Microsoft SQL Server v6.0 was the first version designed for Windows NT.
In 1996, Microsoft updated SQL Server with the 6.5 release and after a two-year development cycle, Microsoft released the vastly updated SQL Server 7.0 release in 1998. SQL Server 7.0 embodied many radical changes in the underlying storage and database engine technology used in SQL Server
Microsoft’s move from SQL Server 7.0 to SQL Server 2000 was more of an evolutionary move that didn’t entail the same kinds of massive changes that were made in the move from 6.5 to 7.0. Instead, SQL Server 2000 built incrementally on the new code base that was established in the 7.0 release. Starting with SQL Server 2000, Microsoft began releasing updates to the basic release of SQL Server in the following year starting with XML for SQL Server Web Release 1, which added several XML features including the ability to receive a result set as an XML document. The next stage they renamed the web release to the more succinctly titled SQLXML 2.0, which, among other things, added the ability to update the SQL Server database using XML updategrams. This was quickly followed by the SQLXML 3.0 web release, which included the ability to expose stored procedures as web services. Two years later, Microsoft SQL Server release history cumulates with the release of SQL Server 2005. SQL Server 2005 uses the same basic architecture that was established with SQL Server 7 and it adds to this all the features introduced with SQL Server 2000 and its web releases in conjunction with the integration of the .NET CLR and an array of powerful new BI functions

When SQL Server 2005 was released it was kept in mind that Microsoft SQL Server 2005 will evolve as a comprehensive, integrated data management and analysis software that enables organizations to reliably manage mission-critical information and confidently run today’s increasingly complex business applications and is not extensively used Microsoft SQL Server 2005 significantly enhances the database programming model by hosting the Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 Common Language Runtime (CLR). This enables developers to write procedures, triggers, and functions in any of the CLR languages, particularly Microsoft Visual C# .NET, Microsoft Visual Basic .NET, and Microsoft Visual C++. This also allows developers to extend the database with new types and aggregates. Apart from CLR the new SSIS(SQL Server Integration Services), SSRS(SQL Server Reporting Services) , SSAS(SQL Server Analysis Services) has made revolution is scalable application development with Reporting and Data Warehousing concepts

In the year 2008, another sensational evolution was happened for SQL Server, the birth of SQL Server 2008, with exceptionally good new features. SQL Server 2008 is an advanced version as compared to SQL Server 2005, which has the support for handling Spatial and Geographic data, which was major turning point for SQL Server. Until SQL Server 2008, it was difficult to maintain geographic information in SQL Server databases, the introduction of new geographic and spatial data types has the rocked the world of Application Development and Data handling.

This latest release of the SQL Server Database Engine introduces new features and enhancements that increase the power and productivity of architects, developers, and administrators who design, develop, and maintain data storage systems.

The features like Change Data Capture (CDC), Data compression, Resource Governor, Backup compression, Partition-aligned indexed views, Central Management Servers, Policy-Based Management, Transparent and Data Encryption made SQL Server 2008 a good competitor against other enterprise-level database engine available in the Market.
SQL Server has now released a more advanced version SQL Server 2012 which contains features like AlwaysOn, ColumnStore Indexes, User-Defined Server Roles, and Enhanced Auditing Features etc.

Till then SQL Server has released various SQL Server Versions and capturing enterprise level database market at a very fast rate, and rich GUI various new features coming in the different versions work as a catalyst. SQL Server has around 18% to 20% market share as per information on Web and is growing at a very rapid rate.