IT vendors perpetually balance between “business” and “product” messages. And it’s a “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” kind of problem. Take a mixed load of analysts and half will always think one of the dimensions got short shrift – and the other half will say exactly the opposite. So take my firstContinue reading “IBM Impact Event – Process is King”
Category Archives: Vendor image and communications
VoltDB – DIY OLTP. Open Source. Win.
In a seemingly perfect marriage of product and target market, database pioneer Mike Stonebraker’s new in-memory database company VoltDB has emerged from stealth mode using the open source model, soon to be open core. Its first release, GPL licensed Community Edition will appeal to developers who need blindingly fast transaction processing and are willing toContinue reading “VoltDB – DIY OLTP. Open Source. Win.”
SapphireNow Day Two – Pump It Up
Bill McDermott began the day for Orlando attendees of SapphireNow by demonstrating that there is no charisma deficit at SAP these days, and his co-CEO Jim Hagemann Snabe was right there behind him to make the case that commitment and strategy are not lacking either. They welcomed Sybase, hailed the new ByDesign release about toContinue reading “SapphireNow Day Two – Pump It Up”
SapphireNow Day One – Getting Virtual Events Right, And More
I got some great messages today from people who enjoyed my tweets “from” SapphireNow in Orlando – although I wasn’t there. That’s a tribute – not to me; we’re only talking tweets, for goodness’ sake – to SAP for pulling off a two-continent, video-streaming, full-on collaborative event I was able to participate in meaningfully fromContinue reading “SapphireNow Day One – Getting Virtual Events Right, And More”
Microsoft Briefs On SQL Server R2 – Confusion, Questions Result
SQL Server 2008 R2 is near release. Briefings for analysts are underway, and right now the picture is a mess. Although seemingly relegated to an adjunct position compared to Office in Microsoft’s thinking, R2 adds a great deal (source:softwarekeep.ca): CEP, although tools and integration are unclear; Master Data Management (MDM), although apparently Microsoft believes endContinue reading “Microsoft Briefs On SQL Server R2 – Confusion, Questions Result”
Oracle Idol: Screven Delivers on MySQL Promises, But Judges’ Votes Uncertain
Larry Ellison did not speak at the O’Reilly MySQL event. While the Register was correct to say “Oracle executives are fanning out to woo open sourcers,” in its sharp-tongued review, Larry was not among them. Perhaps he saw what was coming. Neither the audience nor the event tweetstream was friendly. Twitter descriptions suggested that theContinue reading “Oracle Idol: Screven Delivers on MySQL Promises, But Judges’ Votes Uncertain”
New TPC-H Record – Virtualized by ParAccel, VMware
You can set performance records in a virtualized environment – that’s the message of the new 1 Tb TPC-H benchmark record (scroll down to see the 1Tb results) just released by ParAccel and VMware. Running on VMware’s vSphere 4, the ParAccel Analytic Database (PADB) delivered a one-two punch: not only the top performance number forContinue reading “New TPC-H Record – Virtualized by ParAccel, VMware”
Dell Marketing Gets It Right
I ignore virtually all the marketing emails I get, even from folks whose offerings I tend to like – Apple, musicians I follow, baseball teams…. But today, I got a great note from Dell that started with a guaranteed stopper: Happy Birthday, Merv! Yup, even a jaded old analyst like me will stop for aContinue reading “Dell Marketing Gets It Right”
SAP Signals Changes At Insider Event – Vaguely
SAP took the wraps off planned updates to its data warehousing, data integration and on-demand BI plans a bit at the SAP Insider BI and Portals event in Orlando in late March. There were some modest surprises: the unexpected absence of Marge Breya, who was in Walldorf apparently getting a broader set of responsibilities (aContinue reading “SAP Signals Changes At Insider Event – Vaguely”
RainStor Adds Funding, Investors, Readies Nearline Archive Rampup
RainStor, a firm I discussed as Clearpace in a June 2009 post, had some very good news this week. $7.5 million in Series B funding came in from Informatica, Storm Ventures and its previous investors Doughty Hanson Technology Ventures and The Dow Chemical Company. RainStor plans to “use the funding to expand into new markets,Continue reading “RainStor Adds Funding, Investors, Readies Nearline Archive Rampup”