DBTA E-EDITION
November 2009
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Trends and Applications
A modern architecture, system stability and strong behind-the-scenes support are key attributes to consider when evaluating new database technology. In December 2008, Brasher's initiated a phased roll-out of its enterprise applications on the InterSystems CACHÉ high-performance database with MultiValue technology, concluding the implementation in January 2009. In all, the migration involved more than 8,000 programs and cataloged procedures ranging from accounting applications through real-time bid processing systems in auction venues. In going live with CACHÉ at each location, says Ty Brewer, Brasher's CIO, "our goal was for people to go home on a Friday and come back on a Monday and not notice anything different, other than things being faster. By and large, that's exactly what happened."
Performance bottlenecks have the potential to effectively cripple an entire organization, which can spell disaster for the enterprise. The lengthy downtime caused by poor database performance interrupts business continuity and reduces end-user productivity, and can cause a direct, negative impact on the organization's bottom line.
Organizations that really want to take advantage of a higher performance, more agile and lower cost data warehouse architecture, should implement master data management (MDM) to improve data quality. Nearly every data warehouse ecosystem has attempted to manage master data within its data warehouse architecture, but has focused on mastering data after transactions occur. This approach does little to improve data quality because data are "fixed" after the fact. The best way to improve data quality is to move the process "upstream" of the data warehouse and before transactions are executed.
Cloud computing offers a bright future for enterprise IT in the form of a scalable infrastructure and pay-as-you-need pricing model. As cloud adoption emerges both in hype and value, all technologists are interested to know how the story will unfold. One way to examine the future of cloud computing is to look at the recent past of another formerly over-hyped technology enabling agility and cost-savings to organizations - service-oriented architecture (SOA).
Columns - Applications Insight
There's an old but clever internet parody describing the "Built-in Orderly Organized Knowledge device (BOOK)." This device is described as a "revolutionary breakthrough in technology" that is compact and portable, never crashes and supports both sequential and indexed information access. Though satirical, the article makes excellent points: the printed book is indeed an information technology device, arguably the oldest in widespread use today
Columns - Database Elaborations
The pervasive nature of data continues unabated, leaving organizations more awash in data than ever before. Technology has enabled the access and leveraging of information to heights undreamed of a generation ago. Between corporate dashboards and internet Googling, vast quantities of information are truly at one's finger tips. Data-driven, domain-driven, model-driven … the data itself is a force to be met and managed. When managed well, users never explicitly think about the databases that persist all that data.
Columns - DBA Corner
How many times have you been surfing the web only to encounter a form that requests a slew of personal information before you can continue on? You know what I'm talking about. A company markets a white paper or poll results or something else that intrigues you, so you click on the link, and bang, there you are. You don't have the information you wanted yet, but if you just fill out this form then you'll be redirected to the information.
Columns - SQL Server Drill Down
If you've read the IT press at all these days, you know that SQL Injection (SI) attacks are very common and can be devastatingly effective. In fact, SI attacks-equally easy to execute against Oracle, MySQL, IBM DB2, or Microsoft SQL Server-are among the most common hacks on the Internet today. If a web application runs a relational database on the backend, it can be subject to an SI attack, which ironically, is among the easiest web hacks to prevent.
MV Community
Southeast Community College is using Informer, decreasing the time required for data evaluation and collection, Entrinsik has announced. Using Informer, time required for data evaluation and collection decreased dramatically and Southeast was able to create one record with all the required elements and then export to an Excel macro file for additional data manipulation, much of which can now be done using the "Add Calculations" feature of Informer 4.0. "The whole process from start to upload is now just a few minutes compared to an hour previously," notes Duane Roth, IT programmer/analyst, at the college.
David Roper has been named vice president of sales at Kore Technologies. Kore provides a range of professional services and applications for the Rocket Software U2 and Microsoft SQL Server databases. Key products include KommerceServer, an advanced framework for building e-commerce web solutions, and Kourier Integrator, an application designed for system integration and business automation.
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