More Databases In Depth

SAP in 2013: Five things to watch

It was a typically busy year for SAP, with the company making headlines for strong sales of its HANA in-memory database, high-profile acquisitions and aggressive moves into cloud computing.

Cloudera CEO: We're taking Hadoop beyond MapReduce

In an exclusive interview, the voluble CEO of Cloudera, Mike Olson, holds forth on the company's new Impala project and the boundless potential of Hadoop.

Six free databases with commercial-quality features

Free or open source databases run hundreds of millions of public-facing and private applications worldwide, but how effective is this technology and how do these products compare? For answers, we reviewed six popular free or open source database products: Microsoft SQL Server Express, PostgreSQL, Oracle's MySQL, MariaDB, Apache Derby and Firebird SQL.

Ill-informed haters go after MongoDB

NoSQL databases like MongoDB are great for some tasks but not for others. Is it MongoDB's fault if misguided developers use it to solve the wrong problem?

Which freaking database should I use?

In the era of big data, good old RDBMS is no longer the right tool for many database jobs. Here's a quick guide to choosing among NoSQL alternatives

Hadoop becomes critical cog in the big data machine

As more and more companies use Hadoop to handle big data, anticipation for forthcoming Version 2.0 grows

The time for NoSQL standards is now

Like Larry Ellison's yacht, the RDBMS is sailing into the sunset. But if NoSQL is to take its place, a standard query language and APIs must emerge soon

How to make PHP apps scale

The most popular language for Web apps, PHP tends to buckle under heavy loads -- unless you opt for cloud scaling and a NoSQL back end

Master MySQL in the Amazon cloud

Amazon Web Services offer new challenges and flexibility for database admins -- here's how to avoid the pitfalls and tune for performance

SAP co-CEO Bill McDermott explains its five-market focus

If you think SAP equals ERP, Bill McDermott would like a few minutes to set you straight about the 2012 version of the software giant, which he claims is in the midst of "an intellectual renewal." McDermott has been co-CEO -- along with Jim Hagemann Snabe -- of SAP since 2010 and has helped broaden the company's strategy beyond traditional applications and analytics to the cloud, mobile, Big Data and a bet-the-business focus on real-time computing with the HANA in-memory database at the forefront. Insider (registration required)

How to Implement Next-Generation Storage Infrastructure for Big Data

Managing the petabyte-scale and larger data stores that are a fact of life with Big Data is a different beast than managing traditional large-scale data infrastructures. Online photo site Shutterfly--which manages more than 30 petabytes of data--shares its strategy for taming the storage beast.

Tomboy: Powerful, and Free, Database for Notes

Take the intuitive simplicity of jotting down a quick note in Notepad, combine it with the ever-present nature of Stickies, and add easy linking between topics that's even more instant than TiddlyWiki. You've got Tomboy: A free application that makes managing your knowledge easy and fast.

How to get a hot job in big data

The big data revolution is creating a new breed of business-IT jobs -- and threatening to destabilize dyed-in-the-wool IT careers

What's the big deal about Hadoop?

Hadoop is all the rage, but it requires expertise that's beyond the ken of many IT shops, customers say.

Hands on: HP's Enterprise Database Consolidation Appliance

This new appliance from Microsoft and HP can bring in all database instances from around the network and host them in a fault-tolerant device with lots of features -- and a hefty pricetag. Insider (registration required)

Enterprise Hadoop: Big data processing made easier

Amazon, Cloudera, Hortonworks, IBM, and MapR mix simpler setup of Hadoop clusters with proprietary twists and trade-offs

Fundamental Oracle flaw revealed

A design decision made by Oracle architects long ago may have painted some of Oracle's largest customers into a corner. Patches have arrived, but how much will they correct?

10 questions for Box CFO Dylan Smith

-- Name: Dylan Smith, co-founder and CFO

Tech hiring boom? Yes -- for these skills

After some tough years for IT and tech pros, high demand for tech workers is here in some areas -- and is expected to continue

CIO Letter: Top Ten Tech Predictions for 2012

Michael Friedenberg, President and CEO of CIO magazine, weighs in with his top ten predictions for what will impact the IT-business landscape in 2012.