The Internet inside the enterprise: We don’t have it, and we need it
It’s no longer fashionable to criticize enterprise IT as it once was. That’s because the Internet has definitively won the competition and is leading the way in tech innovation. But for proactive organizations, it doesn’t have to be that way.

2013 Data Resolution: Avoid Architectural Cul-de-Sacs
I had an inquiry from a client using packaged software for a business system that is built on a proprietary, non-relational datastore (in this case an object-oriented DBMS.) They have an older version of the product – having “failed” with a recent upgrade attempt. The client contacted me to ask about ways to integrate this OODBMS-based […]

Thoughts and Teases on Business, Customers and Heterogeneous Things
This is a teaser of posts to come on some of the work and thinking I’m doing on CRM related acquisitions, definitions of things like customer experience, CRM, customer engagement, big data and a few things that I think would be of interest for you. Con…

SAP vs. Workday – In-Core/Memory Resident DB Usage
I got a couple of feedback items and an a couple of emails re:the prior post on SAP and Workday. One of the questions was on the relative differences in approach that SAP and Workday are using with regard to in-core/memory resident technology. I had a lengthy conversation of this technology with SAP founder Dr. […]

eXelate’s DMP
A few days ago eXelate (www.exelate.com), one of my portfolio companies, announced the latest release of its Data Management Platform (DMP). A DMP is software that centralizes the management of online audience data. It enables marketers to manage pixels, control data access and latency, package and segment data, gain insight into audience activity through the […]

Texas warns IBM on failed data center consolidation
In a classic case of the “blind leading the blind,” Texas accused IBM of failing to deliver on an $864 million IT initiative.

Decoding BI Market Share Numbers – Play Sudoku With Analysts
In a recent post I discussed Oracle’s market share in BI, based on a press-published chart taken from IDC data – showing Oracle coming in second. As often happens in such discussions, I got quite a few direct emails and twitter messages – some in no uncertain terms – about why the particular metric I […]

Sybase SQL Anywhere 12 Extends Mobile Leadership
In my coverage of SAP’s Sybase acquisition, I noted that SQL Anywhere is a best kept secret among more than 20,000 developers who relish its ease of embedding and minimal database administration. Now Sybase is about to release its next version, SQL Anywhere 12, with ambitions to add to its claimed ten million users worldwide […]

Microsoft’s Parallel DW – Still Waiting
Microsoft’s SQL Server Parallel Data Warehouse (PDW) has been eagerly awaited for a long time. It still is. Though much of the news at the BI Conference running in parallel with TechEd in New Orleans (discussed here) was generally quite good, the PDW story was much less so. It’s late, and it’s not all there. […]

Oracle Exadata: Early Signs Promising
Exadata is looking good. In the past few months, I’ve had the chance to talk to several early adopters of Oracle Exadata V2, some in connection with a sponsored white paper Oracle has just published. It’s still early, but I see this product as a milestone, regardless of its commercial success. That is still to […]