Making the Database Smarter

There’s no question that the amount of data that needs to be managed is spiraling out of control, which is starting to put a lot pressure on the underlying databases used to manage all this information.

Sybase, a unit of SAP, says it is rising to meet that challenge with the release today of version 15.7 of the Sybase Adaptive Server Enterprise database.

According to Raj Rathee, Sybase senior manager for product management, what makes this version of ASE stand out is the addition of new compression algorithms that make managing large amounts of data more manageable and the inclusion of tools that automate the management of data stores across the relational database system (RDBMS), which Rathee says makes it easier for database administrators to effectively manage a lot more information.

In addition, the new release improves performance by adding support for a multi-threaded model that takes better advantage of multi-core processors, while also adding full support for SAP applications in the wake of the merger with SAP.

A lot of IT organizations are reluctant to upgrade databases simply because of all the expense involved. But the reality of IT these days seems to suggest that such upgrades are soon going to be inevitable if IT organizations are going to find ways to manage the huge volumes of data they are now being confronted with. The only issue that is in doubt at this point is the degree to which they might shift from an incumbent database vendor to another rival, which ultimately may now have a lot more to do with which vendor gives them the best tools to simplify the management of increasingly complex database environments.