Are you seeing the forest or the tree? Can you predict the future? It helps if you can.
But if you can't we can help you understand the 'guidance' that's made available to you. Where should you invest your technology budget? Which platforms and tools will be available, and still supported, 3 years from now?
Too many companies implement a given technology simply because someone started using it. Then the momentum grows and they find themselves having a significant investment in that particular technology. 'The new hire is using ______ and getting results. Everyone should be using it...'
Then it becomes 'deprecated'. What does that even mean? And what do you do now? The quick answer is you give us a call. We'll help you get it sorted out quickly.
It happens with just about every new release of Microsoft server software. What they were recommending last version is what they are deprecating ('obsoleting') this version.
And there may or may not be a migration path for the investment you made in the past. That means every $ you spent getting your information into 'that' technology now needs re-spent getting into 'this' one.
And, it will be at the 'learning rate', which just happens to be the most expensive. And error prone approach.
Often the 'guidance' is actually cloaked in 'innocent' words that may or may not be present in a roadmap. What words are left out are often the best interpretation of a roadmap.
We can help you interpret which way to go today. And tomorrow too!
Just a few recent examples from the Microsoft Self Service BI world ...
SQL Server 2008 R2 ... you should be developing Report Models as they make business analysis and 'power users' more productive.
SQL Server 2012 ... Report Models are deprecated, but still supported. (What was not announced is what you should be replacing them with and the migration tools ... because they don't exist).
SQL Server 2014 ... Power View is the tool to be using! It's amazing.
SQL Server 2016 ... Power View is deprecated. Use Power BI. On our cloud. Share onsite? (silence).
Surprise! It actually still requires a professional to get the results you expect from nearly any 'self-service' BI tool.