Why the new SQL release could help Microsoft’s database presence
Why Microsoft's cloud products are now driving its growth (Part 4 of 4)
Microsoft’s SQL database new release has in-memory capabilities
During the conference call to announce Microsoft’s (MSFT) fiscal Q3 2014 earnings, Microsoft mentioned that it recently launched a new version of SQL database, which is by far the best release of SQL in terms of its features, such as in-memory. Management also mentioned that this is the first product in the database world that has in-memory for all the three workloads of databases—OLTP, data warehousing, and BI. Management added, “But more importantly it automatically gives you high availability which means a lot to every CIO and every enterprise deployment by actually tiering to the cloud.”
Oracle dominates the database software market
Oracle (ORCL) is the leading database management systems (DBMS) market. Oracle’s revenue market share of 48.3% as of 2012 is greater than its four closest competitors combined. These competitors are IBM (IBM), Microsoft, SAP (SAP), and Teradata (TDC), as the above image shows. Clearly, Microsoft is a comparatively smaller player in this market, so the new version of SQL could help it gain market share.
Similar to Microsoft, Oracle has also been undertaking quite a few initiatives in the database cloud market. The company introduced its Database 12c version last year (the “c” in “12c” stands for “cloud”). According to Oracle, “Oracle Database 12c introduces a new multitenant architecture that simplifies the process of consolidating databases onto the cloud; enabling customers to manage many databases as one — without changing their applications.”
The enterprise software market will grow the fastest among the five tech industry segments
According to Gartner’s report on the technology spending outlook for 2014, the enterprise software market will see the maximum growth among the five markets that comprise the information technology industry. The enterprise software market will grow from $299 billion in 2013 to $320 billion by 2014, at a growth rate of 6.9%—which is more than double the growth that Gartner expects for the overall tech industry. Plus, Gartner expects the spending on database management systems (or DBMS) to surpass operating systems, making the former the largest component of the enterprise software market in 2014. No wonder these players are coming out with newer products to leverage this growing market.
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