CEP software analyzes streams of transactions looking for certain patterns or correlations, subsequently triggering a response if required. For example, it is used by financial institutions for rapid-fire stock trading, and e-commerce sites for fraud detection.

While the CEP market remains fairly small, observers expect it will grow quickly in coming years.

StreamInsight will be shipping as part of SQL Server 2008 R2, which is expected to be available in the first half of next year, according to a blog .