Monash Information Services -- DBMS

"Curt Monash's publications provide unmatched insight into
technology and marketplace trends. I have read them avidly for over a decade."

--Larry Ellison, Chairman
and CEO, Oracle

"Curt Monash possesses the rare ability to distill the essence of technological issues into understandable terms. He is particularly adept at melding a firm's product positioning, corporate strategy, and valuation parameters into a concise and coherent framework upon which one can make an informed investment decision. He is a trusted resource."

Matthew P. Kaufler, CFA
Portfolio Manager
Clover Capital Management, Inc.

Note To Folks Looking for Monash University

DBMS (DataBase Management Systems) and DBMS Vendors

Much of our research deals with database management systems (DBMS) and closely related subjects, such as text search and business intelligence. Some of our opinions are below. Also linked are some of our articles on Oracle, the leading DBMS vendor.

The Real Point of Oracle10g – Manageability

The initial marketing of Oracle10g revolves around grid computing. But grid computing was not the design focus of this Oracle release, nor will it provide the main user benefits of this upgrade. Rather, the main emphasis of Oracle 10g is to narrow the gap with Microsoft in the area of manageability.

Text Search: General-Purpose DBMS vs. Specialty Search Engines

For most text search applications, we favor using DBMS as the underpinnings, rather than specialized search engines. DBMS are competitive with search engines’ text-specific features, and superior in manageability. This implementation choice also supports tight relational/text integration, which is important in a surprisingly broad range of applications.

Security, Forensics, and Privacy in the Database

DBMS offer powerful, flexible security features. These deserve more use than they get, in application areas ranging from OLTP to text search. Most important, these features can go a long way toward providing the privacy assurances that will be needed for database integration projects in health care and homeland security.

How Oracle Does OLAP

Oracle has rather thoroughly integrated OLAP (OnLine Analytic) processing into its core database. OLAP cubes are stored as LOBs (Large OBject data). These are then indexed by a descendant of the Express engine, analogous to the way Oracle handles text data.

Besides the Express language, the SQL Model clause offers an interesting additional way to get at OLAP data. However, it is not yet widely used.

Oracle Should and Well May Acquire BEA Systems

Highly controversial when first published, our view of a possible Oracle/BEA merger is now more widely shared. And our greatest reservation, Oracle’s long-standing Not Invented Here syndrome, has been overtaken by subsequent events.

For more information, please contact Curt Monash or Linda Barlow.

To reach Monash Information Services by phone, please call 978-266-1815.