Sybase Analytic Appliance

[Doug Heywood]

IBM and Sybase cosy up to offer cheap data warehouse in a box
by Stan Beer
Monday, 10 November 2008

!They may not have any customers in Australia yet but database specialist Sybase and big iron juggernaut IBM promise that a deal is not far away for a new cut price data warehouse appliance they have just announced.

Data warehouse appliances are used to sift through large volumes of data as quickly as possible in order to produce meaningful business intelligence reports. The Sybase Analytic Appliance is claimed to be able to do this faster and cheaper than its rivals.

According to IBM and Sybase, the partnership has produced an out-of-the-box solution that can be installed in days, can conduct column-based queries up to 100 times faster than standard row-based queries and markedly undercuts rivals such as HP, Teradata, Netezza and Oracle.

"We're launching this because everybody is asking how to cut costs," says Sybase ANZ managing director, Dereck Daymond.

"We're looking at an entry point point of a AUD$280,000 package."

While that may sound like a lot of cash, Sybase and IBM claim that it is about one third the price of competing solutions.

"We come in at about 25% to 50% of the cost of a Teradata or Netezza solution per terabyte," says Daymond.

The cost improvement, the partners say, stems from the use of standard IBM processor and storage hardware.

"The IBM component is the foundation," says Stuart Lewis, platform executive, systems and technology group, IBM Australia & New Zealand.

"The Power6 suite of processors is the fastest chip on the market. There is a low total cost of ownership for the client with the storage component, the DS3000 and DS4000, being market proven, very reliable, robust and scalable."

IBM and Sybase have already been selling the Sybase Analytic Appliance in the US and, according to Sybase global director of business development, David Wiseman, Australia has been chosen as the first market outside the US.

"This is a US$350 million market, growing at 30-40%," Wiseman said.

"The democratisation of analytics in organisations is putting stress on the costs of data. Sybase IQ is not a transactional database; it's a specialist for doing analytics. The faster the processor, the faster it will run. That's why we have the combination with IBM and its Power hardware. We're delivering on standard technologies."

According to Sybase's Daymond, negotiations with the first Australian clients for the new product are already at an advanced stage.

The Sybase Analytic Appliance will be marketed and supported in Australia by IBM reseller Frontline, with business intelligence reporting tools on offer from Microstrategy.

[Steve Bennett]

That's an interesting post Doug - thanks.

Does this mean that the IBM Hardware team is rubbing the DB2 teams nose in the do-do? Not to mention Alphablox, Cognos, etc. I guess that the schizm between hardware and software is alive and well in Big Blue.

The price point of the Sybase Analytic Appliance sounds very familiar to the AUD$250,000 quoted by Netezza as the rough entry point for their solution. I know of Netezza installations that have cost AUD$750,000 - $1,500,000 in Australia. That's just the vendor related cost to the client. the starting price point is just that, after all!

So does the Sybase Analytic Appliance offer the 25% to 50% claimed cost savings? Nobody knows I guess. Let's hope that we can learn of the details when the first local sales are made.

At the very least, I think that the SAA deserves serious consideration if an appliance is an option.

Steve

[Doug Heywood]

From the Fin Review:

Friday, 21 November 2008 12:35pm

Sybase Australia has unveiled a new analytic appliance that can process data queries up to 100 times faster than existing databases, allowing traders and quant analysts to retrieve and analyse market information faster and cheaper than ever before.

Sybase Australia worked with IBM, MicroStrategy and Frontline Solutions to launch Sybase Analytic Appliance, an out-of-the box solution designed to reduce the burden on data warehousing and reporting - at up to 65 per cent less cost than existing products.

According to the group, at the heart of the solution is Sybase IQ, a column-based analytical database that can process complex OLAP queries 10 to 100-times faster than traditional row-oriented relational databases.

The appliance is built on IBM's server and uses a Business Intelligence dashboard designed by MicroStrategy. Frontline then tailored the solution for the Australian market.

Dereck Daymond, managing director of Sybase Australian and New Zealand, said the product comes at a time when the wealth management industry is looking at technology that will allow them faster response times to market volatility but with minimum interruption to their day-to-day operations.

More importantly, it should be at a cost that falls within their lower IT budgets.

Sybase Analytic Appliance fits the bill because unlike most data warehouse server implementation, which can take at least half a year or more to do, Appliance can be fully installed in days.

Michelle Baltazar

[admin]

Sybase And MicroStrategy Team Up For Business Analytics
ITWire, Wednesday, 13 May 2009

Sybase, Inc. (NYSE: SY), an industry leader in delivering enterprise and mobile software, today announced that it has entered into a new agreement with MicroStrategy® Incorporated, a leading worldwide provider of business intelligence software (NASDAQ: MSTR). Sybase will offer integrated packaging and pricing in an exclusive promotion on MicroStrategy products when sold with its Sybase® IQ analytics server.

Through the agreement, customers benefit from integrated packaging, joint product certification, and vendor-to-vendor technical support. In addition, Sybase can now offer MicroStrategy consulting services and education, thereby providing streamlined access to a broad range of combined business intelligence-related services. The two companies have committed to building demonstration solutions showcasing the capabilities of the combined technologies.

"Business intelligence and data warehousing solutions are expected to take on an increasing value in the present economic environment," said Dan Vesset, IDC program vice president of business analytics. "IDC believes the extension of the alliance between Sybase and MicroStrategy will simplify the acquisition, deployment, and use of the combined solution thus helping customers maximise the value of their BI investments."

The Sybase IQ analytics server is designed specifically to deliver dramatically faster results for mission-critical business intelligence (BI), data warehousing (DW) and reporting solutions. MicroStrategy has built-in optimisations that work seamlessly with Sybase IQ to deliver answers to critical business questions ten to hundreds of times faster at a significantly lower total cost of ownership than traditional row-based databases.

“MicroStrategy’s alliance with Sybase has produced solutions that help data management customers maximise the performance and value of their data and business intelligence environments,” said Patrick Elliott, vice president at MicroStrategy Australia and New Zealand. “This agreement provides another example of both MicroStrategy and Sybase’s commitment to enhancing the user experience and how the collaboration between our companies continues to benefit our shared customers."

Sybase and MicroStrategy have collaborated for over 10 years to deliver great value for enterprise customers by combining their core expertise in BI, Data Integration and DW technologies. In November of 2008, Sybase unveiled the Sybase Analytic Appliance in Australia, which employs MicroStrategy 8™, along with its own Sybase IQ and Sybase PowerDesigner® products, to supply enhanced analytics and ease the ever-increasing burden placed on enterprise data warehouses, data marts and reporting systems. By delivering cost efficient, high-performance solutions, the new agreement addresses the needs of a growing user population demanding advanced analytics on large data volumes.

“By extending our relationship with Sybase’s preferred BI reporting tools partner MicroStrategy, we are providing our customers who depend on analytics to move their businesses forward with a greatly expanded set of integrated reporting, analytic and dashboarding capabilities at a price point that exceeds customer expectations during these uncertain economic times,” said Dereck Daymond, managing director, Sybase Australia and New Zealand. “The combination of Sybase IQ and MicroStrategy’s business intelligence software in one solution will drive down the cost of deploying reporting and analytic solutions, enabling organisations to make better informed business decisions from all their enterprise data to meet and exceed revenue targets and margin goals.”

About MicroStrategy

Founded in 1989, MicroStrategy is a global leader in business intelligence (BI) technology. MicroStrategy provides integrated reporting, analysis, and monitoring software that helps leading organisations worldwide make better business decisions every day. Companies choose MicroStrategy for its advanced technical capabilities, sophisticated analytics, and superior data and user scalability. More information about MicroStrategy (NASDAQ: MSTR) is available at www.microstrategy.com.

MicroStrategy, MicroStrategy 9, and MicroStrategy Business Intelligence Platform are either trademarks or registered trademarks of MicroStrategy Incorporated in the United States and certain other countries. Other product and company names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

About Sybase

Sybase is an industry leader in delivering enterprise and mobile software to manage, analyse and mobilise information. We are recognised globally as a performance leader, proven in the most data-intensive industries and across all major systems, networks and devices. Our information management, analytics and enterprise mobility solutions have powered the world’s most mission-critical systems in financial services, telecommunications, manufacturing and government. Sybase ANZ is headquartered in Sydney, with offices in Melbourne and Wellington, New Zealand. For more information visit www.sybase.com.au or www.sybase.co.nz. Read Sybase blogs: http://blogs.sybase.com.