Five Minute Briefing - SAP
May 2012
Published in conjunction with the Independent SAP Technical User Group (formerly the International Sybase User Group), this monthly publication contains news, market research, insight for the SAP user community, as well as ISUG-TECH news and information.
News Flashes
Unstructured data is on the rise, and ready to engulf current data management systems, a new survey shows. In addition, many corporate managers do not understand the challenge that is looming, and are failing to recognize the significance of unstructured data assets to the business. These are the findings of a newly released survey of 264 data managers and professionals who are subscribers to Database Trends and Applications. The survey was conducted by Unisphere Research, a division of Information Today, Inc., in partnership with MarkLogic earlier this year.
Confio Software has introduced its Ignite 8.2 database performance software. The rapidly-growing company based in Boulder, Colo., has tripled in size during the past 3 years, delivering tools that identify, pinpoint and resolve pain points in Sybase, Oracle, SQL Server, and DB2 databases, under the theme of "Keep it simple and get to the problem in four clicks." The new version of Ignite 8.2 includes enhanced features offering expanded support for Sybase; Oracle Exadata, RAC and ASM; as well as for SQL Server.
Embarcadero Technologies has introduced a new version of its database management and development platform, DB Power Studio XE3, which offers enhancements to further improve the performance and availability of databases. The new release offers increased coverage across database platforms by delivering multiple feature enhancements for each product in the suite, including DB Artisan, Rapid SQL, and DB Optimizer, as well as direct access to Embarcadero's support team. In addition, DBArtisan and Rapid SQL also introduce support for Sybase IQ, which is initially available as a technical preview, Scott Walz, senior director of product management at Embarcardero, tells 5 Minute Briefing.
Plans are underway for an event specifically focused on Sybase PowerBuilder and tools that will be separate from TechEd but held at the same time and location, according to Christine Weber, marketing manager, Events, at Sybase, an SAP company. There will also be close to 100 hours of sessions specifically focused on Sybase database and analytics products at SAP TechEd 2012, Weber tells 5 Minute Briefing. "It is a good portion and it is focused on the traditional kind of content that we have always done with Sybase." Sybase-specific content will include tips and tricks on how to use existing products, as well as previews of what's ahead in new product releases. Now that the call for papers has closed, Sybase is going through its approval process for the presentations. Well over 200 presentations were submitted - "a good problem to have," Weber notes.
For those unable to attend last month's ISUG Virtual ASE presentation, the recorded replay is available to view on-demand. This advanced, technical session presented by Sybase database expert, Edward Stangler of Bradmark Technologies, along with special guest speaker, Rob Verschoor, senior technology evangelist at Sybase, an SAP company, discusses what various SQL, RPCs, stored procedures, and batches look like in the MDA tables and how to calculate their metrics in Sybase ASE 15.0.3 and later. The impact from other Sybase ASE features, such as statement cache and Cluster Edition, are also explored.
SAP AG has announced a range of innovations. The announcements put heavy emphasis on SAP HANA, and focus on three main areas, David Jonker, director of product marketing - Data Management & Analytics, SAP, tells 5 Minute Briefing. One is working with customers to accelerate their existing investment in the SAP landscape, a second emphasis is big data and analytics, and the third is around sparking new innovation by working with customers, partners and startups to leverage real-time analytics to rethink how business gets done.
Vormetric, Inc., provider of enterprise encryption and key management, has announced that Vormetric Encryption now supports Intel Advanced Encryption Standard New Instructions (AES-NI) on-chip technology for accelerated encryption/decryption tasks. Intel AES-NI offers improved data security at faster speeds and lower costs, allowing enterprises to pervasively encrypt larger data volumes and a greater number of applications.
Think About It
The term "big data" refers to the massive amounts of data being generated on a daily basis by businesses and consumers alike - data which cannot be processed using conventional data analysis tools owing to its sheer size and, in many case, its unstructured nature. Convinced that such data hold the key to improved productivity and profitability, enterprise planners are searching for tools capable of processing big data, and information technology providers are scrambling to develop solutions to accommodate new big data market opportunities.