How Microsoft's 'Scalability Day,' 25 Years Ago, Set the Stage for the World of Big Data

The SQL Server on Windows NT demo provided a glimpse into the future

On May 20, 1997 — exactly 25 years ago — Bill Gates hosted ‘Scalability Day,’ a milestone event in New York City that was intended to demonstrate that Microsoft software and systems could handle the world’s most-demanding data and application workloads.

I was there. The demo, at the Sheraton Hotel & Towers on 7th Avenue, showcased Microsoft’s ability to support one billion transactions per day; terabyte-size databases; 50,000 email accounts; and 100 million website clicks.

Those numbers may sound quaint today, but they were pretty impressive at the time. These days, we increasingly hear about exabyte-size databases, which store a million times more data than Microsoft’s SQL Server 6.5 did back then.

Scalability Day was intended to demonstrate Microsoft’s enterprise computing prowess and change perceptions. In 1997, Microsoft was viewed first and foremost as a PC software company. Its server software — Windows NT, SQL Server, Exchange email, Transaction Server, etc. — were not on par …