TDWI World Conference Fall November 7-12, 2010

Prerequisite: This course assumes familiarity with business intelligence and some database knowledge.

Mark Madsen

As the data warehouse evolves beyond support for simple queries and batch reports, your ability to support new workloads might seem hopeless due to limited performance and scalability. More data, increasingly complex analysis, and the need for fast queries on up-to-date information all stress the databases we've been using for BI.

Analytic databases and data warehouse appliances are designed to meet these needs. Specialized databases and hardware promise to solve problems of scalability, performance, or analytic requirements. However, there are many factors to consider when evaluating these products that aren’t highlighted during the sales presentation. There are also tools available that can help you get the most from your existing database before moving to a new platform.

This session will provide a review of the technology and systems powering the analytic database landscape, from data warehouse appliances and columnar databases to massively parallel processing and in-memory technology. The goal is to help you understand the strengths and limitations of the technologies and know what the vendors are selling. This will help you navigate the options available so you can select the products best suited to your needs.

You Will Learn

• What hardware and software technologies are available and how they work
• What the different technologies are good at
• How to decide what to use for different purposes
• What analytic databases and appliances are available and in use today

Geared To

• BI/DW architects, designers, DBAs, and managers who want to understand the purchases their staff are recommending