InformationWeek Analytics New Research Finds Microsoft SQL Server Overtaking Oracle as Primary Database in Use Among Surveyed Business Technology Professionals

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- InformationWeek Analytics, the leading service for peer-based IT research and analysis, today announced the release of its "Research: 2010 State of Database Technology" report. More than 750 business technology professionals weigh in on their database strategies. Report author Richard Winter is founder and president of WinterCorp, an independent consulting firm that specializes in the performance and scalability of data management systems.

Research Summary:

Our first InformationWeek Analytics State of Database Technology Survey reveals serious fault lines beneath the critically important enterprise database and data warehousing markets. The 755 business technology professionals taking part in our poll express discontent with rising license and upgrade fees as database sizes and workloads spiral ever larger. On the vendor side, a spate of acquisitions and the rise of appliances are creating uncertainty as well.

Findings:  

• Most respondents, 88%, hail from enterprises where the primary operational database platform is from Microsoft (35%), Oracle (35%) or IBM (18%). While the majority are generally satisfied with features and performance, more than half, 52%, take issue with license fees; 13% of respondents characterize their costs as "highway robbery."
• A remarkably high percentage of respondents, 27%, are using as a secondary operational database the open source MySQL, which is now owned by Oracle and, more importantly, carries no license fee. In addition, 39% are interested in NoSQL, a term encompassing a group of large, clustered but nonrelational data management systems, often inexpensive or open source. Together these trends suggest we'll see movement toward alternatives to the commercially available relational database platforms that have been the near-universal standard for the past 25 years.
• The data warehousing market is also in flux. The good news is that 41% of respondents have a single enterprise data warehouse (EDW) or are working toward that goal—the largest percentage pursuing any single strategy in our survey. However, just over 60% are satisfied with the performance and features of their EDW platforms, while a quarter are unhappy with license fees.
• MySQL is frequently cited as a secondary data warehouse or data mart, and in the analytic databases category, which 48% see as distinct from data warehouses and data marts, a remarkable 22% of respondents are using, experimenting with or investigating the open source platform Hadoop; slightly fewer are looking at related tools, such as BigTable or MapReduce.

"One subject we really dug into for this report is database security, an area often underemphasized," says Lorna Garey, content director of InformationWeek Analytics. "We're worried that respondents are talking a good game here while not always following through. I say this because while 70% say their organizations perform database security assessments to identify weaknesses, only about half of those people were able to name the security assessment products in use. Maybe they're assuming that the CISO is handling this, but the phrase 'trust but verify' comes to mind for me."

InformationWeek Analytics is a subscription-based service, offering peer-based technology research. Its site currently houses more than 900 reports and briefs, and includes a dedicated area where technology professionals can access complete issues of InformationWeek Magazine. More than 100 new reports are slated for release in 2010. InformationWeek Analytics members have access to:

• The full InformationWeek Analytics library of reports
• Peer-based research and analysis to guide buying and implementing decisions
• More than 20 technology and IT business categories
• New reports launched every week
• Signature reports, such as the InformationWeek Salary Survey, InformationWeek 500 and the State of Security report

For more information on our membership programs please visit: http://analytics.informationweek.com/join

About InformationWeek Business Technology Network (http://www.informationweek.com/)

The InformationWeek Business Technology Network provides IT executives with unique analysis and tools that parallel their work flow—from defining and framing objectives through to the evaluation and recommendation of solutions. Anchored by InformationWeek, the multimedia powerhouse that looks across the enterprise, the network scales across the most critical technology categories with online properties like DarkReading.com (security), IntelligentEnterprise.com (application architecture), NetworkComputing.com (networking and communications) and PlugintotheCloud.com (cloud computing). The network also provides focused content for key IT targets, such as CIOs, developers, SMBs and IT Support Managers via InformationWeek Global CIO, Dr. Dobb's, InformationWeek SMB and HDI, as well as vital vertical industries with InformationWeek Financial Services, Government and Healthcare sites. Content is at the nucleus of our information distribution strategy—IT professionals turn to our experts and communities to stay informed, get advice and research technologies to make strategic business decisions.

About UBM TechWeb (http://www.techweb.ubm.com)

UBM TechWeb, the global leader in technology media and professional information, enables people and organizations to harness the transformative power of technology. Through its core businesses – media solutions, marketing services, and professional information – UBM TechWeb produces the most respected and consumed brands, applications, and services in the technology market. More than 14.5 million business and technology professionals (CIOs, IT and IT Support managers, Web and digital professionals, software and game developers, government decision makers, and telecom providers) actively participate in UBM TechWeb's communities. UBM TechWeb brands include: global face-to-face events such as Interop, Game Developers Conference (GDC), Web 2.0, Black Hat, and VoiceCon; large-scale online networks such as InformationWeek, Light Reading, and Gamasutra; research, training, and certification services, including HDI, Pyramid Research, and InformationWeek Analytics; and market-leading magazines such as InformationWeek and Wall Street & Technology. UBM TechWeb is part of UBM, a global provider of media and information services for professional B2B communities and markets.

SOURCE UBM TechWeb

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