he database world is undergoing unprecedented change. Data growth continues to accelerate, and databasestructures and contents to become more complex. New challenges must be met as Big Data technologies gaintraction. Cloud computing defines new deployment and operating models. Demand for increasingly powerful
analytics solutions has become pervasive.
These shifts have changed the strategies of the major database vendors. IBM and Oracle, which are the focus of this report, have implemented new technologies in their mainstream databases, introduced databa se appliances, and moved toward cloud solution delivery. There are, however, significant differences in c
ompetitive positioning.
This is particularly the case for two types of application –high-performance analytics and transaction processing– that are the focus of this report.