Microsoft SQL Server Data Tools

Microsoft SQL Server Data Tools is introduced with SQL Server 2012 and is the successor of the Business Intelligence Development Studio (BIDS). It is a, Visual Studio based, integrated development environment, used for all your BI-related development.

One of the biggest changes is the fact that now all the development can be done in one environment. Where BIDS could ‘only' be used for developing Integration Services, Analysis Services or Reporting Services solutions, and SQL Server Management Studio was needed for your database development, Data Tools makes it possible to also develop your database solutions in the same environment as your SSIS, SSAS and SSRS development.

This means that your database projects can also be ‘build' before deploying your changes, making it possible to identify issues before making critical changes. You will, for instance, receive a warning if you change a table, which has a view built on it, signalling that this view will become invalid if you deploy these changes.