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Battles over database technology are keenly fought in the
IT wars. Local skirmishes and all-out attacks are never far from the minds of the
strategists securing their positions in this core component of the IT network. Identifying
the front lines will be the main focus of this article but first, a note of warning.
A word of warning
IT is driven by fashion. In an article, by Martin Butler of the Butler Group, which looks
at new initiatives in database technology, the warning is that databases are especially
prone to fads. He reflects on the rise of the relational database that overcame the
supposed inadequacies of hierarchical arrays. "During the mid- to late-eighties,
relational database technology made the humble array the lowest of the low," he says.
"Data was to be normalised and repeating groups were implemented as multiple rows in
a table, despite the appalling performance that often resulted from it. When it became
clear that users might want to interrogate data, as well as store it, the industry created
multidimensional structures in database management systems that bore a striking
resemblance to the good old array. Call me cynical, but I saw true religious fervour,
castigating the array, in the mid-eighties, turn into true religious fervour that saw it
renamed as multidimensional database." So with religious fervour in mind, where are
the energies of database vendors focused now?
Oracle
Driven by its founder’s persona, Oracle is arguably the setter of database trends.
Oracle8 is where it has got to, and perhaps unsurprisingly it is Oracle8 in its Internet
form, Oracle8i, where most of the attention is being drawn. Two recent announcements
illustrate the point, dealing in turn with two of the most interesting developments in
Internet technology. The first concerns eXtensible Markup Language (XML), for which Oracle
has announced sweeping support. The excitement around XML is built from its ability to
present structured, searchable information via a Web interface. "XML has quickly
emerged as a key enabling technology for improving communications between Internet, data
warehousing, and e-commerce applications," says Kieran Kilmartin, tools marketing
manager at Oracle UK.
For example, XML is expected to play a major role in the exploding market for
business-to-business electronic commerce by fusing it with traditional EDI standards.
"Although traditional EDI has delivered significant benefits to some businesses, the
number of businesses using EDI for supply chain applications remains relatively
small," says Beth Barling, an analyst with Ovum. "New XML/EDI promises to enable
businesses to extend those benefits to a much wider audience." The second area
for Oracle is the much-hyped ‘alternative’ to NT – Linux. Oracle8 was
recently made available for the rival operating system, no doubt to score a hit against
Microsoft. Demand for the Linux version resulted in more than 20,000 Internet developer
registrations in less than two weeks after its launch.
Linux advocates are certainly pleased. "Oracle’s commitment to Linux is helping
to drive a massive groundswell of Internet developers in the industry who are intent on
making Linux the number one, lowest-cost alternative to Windows NT," says Linus
Torvalds, creator of the Linux operating system. "Linux is revolutionising the
computer business and support from leading companies like Oracle is the key to continuing
to drive this effort forward."
Microsoft
Microsoft is, of course, not taking any of this sitting down. SQL version 7.0 is now being
shipped and it contains features that tackle the database market on a number of important
fronts. One concerns the latest guise of data warehousing, so-called business
intelligence. Next to the Internet, business intelligence is the most asked-about business
technology today. Business intelligence takes the data, from product, customer, sale, and
a host of other databases, and uses advanced analytic procedures to make decisions and
develop strategies that are based on that data. Microsoft’s business intelligence was
code-named Plato and, in its maturity, is found in SQL 7.0 "Microsoft is delivering
on its commitment to provide best-in-class business intelligence capabilities," says
Karen Green, Product Manager, Business Systems Group, Microsoft. "The feedback
we’ve received from our customers and partners confirms that the features we are
delivering in Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 will meet the requirements of the most demanding
analytical applications."
Informix
For Oracle and Microsoft the future looks bright on the database front. But other
companies are facing more of a struggle. One is Informix, a company regarded by
commentators as having great technology, but suffering from a severe difficulty in
delivering it to market. But the company has been on the attack.
Its attempt to boost its commercial fortunes addresses the business intelligence market
too. The company has taken the acquisitive route to success, by buying a company called
Red Brick systems. "The acquisition of Red Brick accelerates Informix’s
timetable for its data warehouse practice and product line," says Wayne Eckerson,
Vice President of Technology Services at the Data Warehouse Institute. "In one fell
swoop, Informix got the manpower it needed to fill marketing, sales, and consulting
positions in its new data warehouse division. It also got some handsome technology to add
to its arsenal of products."
The acquisition has undoubtedly saved critical months of development time and could well
change the competitive landscape in data warehousing in 1999, which is "the pivotal
year for data warehousing at Informix" according to Leonard Palomino, Vice President
and General Manager, Informix Data Warehouse division.
IBM
It is with a win on benchmarking that IBM’s DB2 product has been reinventing itself
in the all-important NT scalability race. The database industry’s most recognised
performance benchmark for business applications is provided by the Transaction Processing
Performance Council (TPC). The TPC benchmarks provide a means of comparing the performance
and price/performance of different systems through a standard test suite that simulates a
complete end-to-end business computing environment.
In January 1999, IBM, GigaNet and Intel unveiled the latest performance milestone: a 1
terabyte (scale factor 1000 - 1TB of user data) TPC-D benchmark with record breaking data
warehouse price/performance on a 32-node cluster of standard high-volume servers using
Windows NT. This result represents an industry first on Windows NT. For example, it is a
new record for most concurrent users (8 query streams) on any platform at the 1TB scale
factor. In addition, and this will please Redmond, it is the first TPC-D benchmark at 1TB
scale factor using Windows NT, the first TPC-D benchmark using a cluster of Windows NT
servers, and the first real-life demonstration of 32 node clustered Windows NT system with
a single image database.
Sybase
Another company that recognises it cannot sit still is Sybase. A new business strategy and
divisional structure has occupied much of its effort in 1998, but just part of this
initiative looks particularly interesting for 1999. In conjunction with Symbian, the
consortium seeking to put EPOC where Microsoft wants Windows CE to go, Sybase has recently
demonstrated a mobile database solution, Sybase SQL Anywhere, for next-generation
Smartphones powered by Symbian’s EPOC operating system.
This is a smart move, with the world phone market projected to grow to more than 600
million users by 2002, and pervasive computing taking hold. "Together, Sybase and
Symbian provide breakthrough technology that will transform Smartphones into
‘windows’ to the corporate enterprise," says Ketan Karia, marketing
director, Sybase UK. "Sybase defined small ‘fingerprint’ database
technology for palmtop devices, two-way pagers and intelligent appliances, and is pleased
to join Symbian in driving enterprise applications for Smartphones." If pervasive
computing is about bringing down barriers between data, another important trend that blurs
old distinctions is the coalescence of database servers with support for applications, and
true application servers with support for databases. This is more than just a semantic
point, since it is a distinction that is fundamental to any discussion about developing
the IT infrastructure.
A final word of warning
This trend has not gone unrecognised by all the big names, which have been quick to
produce, or buy, application server technology, particularly in conjunction with
developments on the Internet. "Sequent has just entered the race to try and become
the leader in this field," says Martin Butler, "And its bid is certainly helped
by its expertise at the datacentre end of the market, whereas other entrants are making
their approach from the mid-market sector in which they already operate."
But he brings our discussion to an end with a final warning too. "The application
server market is still in its relative infancy as regards the benefits that it can
bring," he says, arguing that maturity will come as more organisations move towards
using the Internet backbone. The point is that although the Internet is undoubtedly the
great opportunity for the next reinvention of the database, it is also the great
challenge. Users beware.  |
