SAND Introduces Information Lifecycle Management Discipline to the Data Warehouse Market
Boston, MA (ots)
Next Phase of Data Warehouse Management Demands a Response to "Tera-flation" Through Intelligent Tiering of Data Warehouse Resources
SAND Technology (NASDAQ: SNDT), an innovator in analytic application infrastructure, today announced its Information Lifecycle Management (ILM) strategy for Data Warehousing at the DCI Business Intelligence and Data Warehouse Conference.
Most data warehouses today are doing far more than their design ever anticipated. Since the relational warehouse model was developed in the early 1990s, data volumes have soared, creating a "tera-flation" that needs to be controlled. At the same time, the changing business and regulatory climate requires that corporate data be retained for longer periods than ever before. More business users are demanding broader and more complex analytic access to the data. Many observers view the growth of data warehouses as out of control, with organizations struggling to keep up.
According to Gartner analyst Raymond Paquet, "Changes in regulatory requirements have made building and managing tiered storage infrastructures a major initiative, particularly within industries that are subject to frequent lawsuits, such as finance and healthcare. These regulations are driving storage growth as well as new, more stringent retrieval time requirements. Thus, technologies related to information lifecycle management (ILM) and data lifecycle management (DLM) comprise the second fastest growing segment of the storage software market."
SAND's ILM approach partitions warehouse data into three tiers -- the Online tier for frequently-used, high-value data that require high-performance resources, the Nearline tier for lesser-used but still active data that can be restored to the online server for analysis, and the Offline tier for historic data that can be accessed and analyzed outside the traditional warehouse.
"SAND Technology is introducing the Information Lifecycle Management discipline to Data Warehousing so that IT management can re-focus on the original mission of the warehouse as a responsive source of information for the organization," said Arthur Ritchie, SAND's Chief Executive Officer. "The challenge facing data warehouse managers today is to continue improving users' ability to access the data, when and how they need it, while controlling the cost of managing the growing volume and complexity of that data. SAND's mission is to reconcile these seemingly opposing goals."
SAND Technology's Information Lifecycle Management approach builds on the strength of the existing data warehouse, by freeing it from the need to support too much data and queries that are too complex for its design. Since typically less than 30% of the data in a warehouse is in active use, the inactive data can be more efficiently stored in SAND Searchable Archive, reducing the warehouse footprint and improving its performance. Complex analytics can be hosted on SAND Analytic Server where the 'killer queries' will run more efficiently, sparing the warehouse from the performance penalty usually associated with them. The result: better levels of service to all classes of users, and reduced overall warehouse size.
SAND Technology has documented this strategy in a white paper entitled "Taming the Tera-flation: Information Life Cycle Management for Data Warehousing," now available at the DCI Business Intelligence and Data Warehouse Conference, Booth #105 or online at www.sand.com.
About SAND Searchable Archive
SAND Searchable Archive is a highly compact analytic repository that typically stores data in less than 10% of the space required by an equivalent relational data warehouse. Early production installations have yielded 80%-90% compression of input data, which translates to at least 95% compression in comparison to a similar indexed relational database.
SAND Searchable Archive's read-only archive files can be searched using standard Business Intelligence tools and methods without decompressing the data first. In nearline applications, the selected data can be efficiently restored to the online warehouse or analytic server. In offline configurations, the selected data is queried in place without the need to restore it.
Users can configure the speed of data selection by adjusting the available server and storage resources, using less expensive media when storage cost is the underlying driver, and higher-performance resources, disc and servers when speed of data access is critical. Because the data access rate corresponds linearly with CPU usage, query speeds against the compressed files can approach or even exceed those achieved against the source warehouse.
SAND Searchable Archive can be deployed on Windows, Linux or UNIX servers. Product pricing varies based on the amount of data being stored in the archive.
About SAND Analytic Server
SAND Analytic Server is a high-performance multi-user platform that facilitates the development and deployment of complex on-line analytic applications. It is typically a third of the size of an indexed relational data warehouse or data mart, but offers greater flexibility and more efficient analytic performance. It does not require specialized indexing, so it is faster to set up, faster to accommodate changes in the business environment, and faster to respond to user requests for data.
SAND Analytic Server works with industry-standard business intelligence tools and runs on standard hardware, optimizing the performance of both.
About SAND Technology®
SAND Technology provides organizations worldwide with a unique vantage point from which to survey the competitive landscape. SAND's advanced analytic data management products empower users with a better understanding of their business environment through better access to their business data.
SAND Technology-based solutions include CRM analytics, financial analysis, regulatory compliance and specialized Business Intelligence applications for government and security, healthcare, telecom-munications, financial services, retail and other business sectors.
SAND Technology has offices in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Central Europe, and is traded on NASDAQ under the symbol SNDT. For more information, visit www.sand.com.
All Rights Reserved. SAND Technology and Nucleus are registered trademarks, and SAND Analytic Server, SAND Searchable Archive, See What's on the Horizon, analytics @ the speed of business, and all related SAND- and Nucleus-based marks and designs, are trademarks of SAND Technology Inc. Other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Certain statements contained in this press release are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Reform Act of 1995 and are intended to be subject to the safe harbour protection provided by this Act. Such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions and current expectations, but involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Some assumptions may not materialize and unanticipated events may occur which could cause actual results to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Competitive pressures, availability and cost competitiveness of competing products, timing of significant orders, management of potential growth, risks of new business areas including our new business model, international expansion, decreased demand for computer software and services due to weakening economic conditions and market acceptance of SAND products are important factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. More information about factors that potentially could affect SAND's financial results is included in SAND's current Annual Report and in SAND's reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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SAND Technology
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