Best Database Overall

Aug 4, 2015

An array of database technologies, including NoSQL, NewSQL, in-memory databases, and cloud database—or database as a service approaches, are increasingly being adopted to address the new requirements created by the explosive growth in data volume and variety. Social media, the Internet of Things, the need for mobile access, and real-time insights are just some of the new factors wielding pressure on organizations.

Still, these are early days for many of these new database technologies, and existing relational database technologies are still the heavyweights when it comes to managing enterprise data.

According to a recent Unisphere survey sponsored by Dell Software, unstructured data types and new database management systems are playing an increasing role in the modern data ecosystem, but relational database management systems (RDBMSs) remain the foundation of the information infrastructure in most companies.

The global survey was conducted to explore the latest trends in data management, as well as gain insight into the adoption rates of Hadoop, NoSQL, and other modern database management technologies. The survey drew responses from 300 database administrators and others charged with managing corporate data from a wide range of organizations in terms of size and industry.

The study released in March 2015, reveals that structured data still makes up 75% of data under management for more than two-thirds of organizations, with nearly one-third of organizations not yet actively managing unstructured data at all.

At the same time, Hadoop-based offerings as well as new database products offer organizations a way to leverage a wide array of unstructured data. Nearly 10% of respondents to the survey said their companies are already using a NoSQL database technology and 12% are currently deploying it.

Slightly more than 15% are using Hadoop, with a little more than 5% in the deployment process. In terms of the volume of data that organizations are dealing with, the survey revealed that close to 30% are managing more than 500TB (“The Real World of the Database Administrator”).