Microsoft codename "Montego": data import, transformation, and publication for information workers

A fundamental problem in database systems is deriving useful information from untold quantities of data fragments that exist in the web's data stores. Data is abundant, useful information is rare.

This problem space plays host to many successful and innovative solutions from industry (e.g., [2, 4, 5, 9]), and the open-source community (e.g., [11]). Each solution has its strengths and weaknesses based their balance of utility and usability. In this paper, we demonstrate the unique approach to data mashups that Microsoft Codename "Montego" brings to the space. The "Montego" tool allows non-technical users to create complex data queries in a familiar graphical environment, while making the full expressiveness of a query language available to professional users. "Montego" operates both as a standalone client, where a user can launch it from an application like Excel® to import and manipulate data into a spreadsheet, or as a cloud service, where a user can take the product of data transformation and publish its results into a database or to the web as an OData feed.