RE: {Spam?} RE: SAP buys Sybase .. but why?
Responding to both Christian and you in this post... If you read the PR, its pure spin. And again, it goes back to the database. "Finally, Sybase’s core database business will be enhanced by SAP in-memory technology to deliver integrated transactional and analytical capabilities. At the same time, SAP reinforced its dedication to customer choice by stating that it will continue its commitment to supporting leading database vendors." (Sybase analytics? hmmm not so much. But then again, I'm a bit jaded. ;-) With respect to the clown's post... See below... > Date: Mon, 17 May 2010 15:05:54 +0100 > From: obnoxio@serendipita.com > > Ok... I really don't have time to play, but ... well... you're being a > > bit slow... > > > > What is MaxDB? > > It's, uh, SAP's in-house database that they've spent millions developing. > No shite. See below. > > Its yet another proprietary database which no one knows anything about. > > Did you look at the license? You don't have to be a lawyer to see a > > couple of 'red flags'. > > [I'm alluding to the fact that you can download it for free for things > > outside of SAP.] > > > > So you have a product that you can embed in your SAP instance. Does it > > scale? How well is it supported? > > Well, I'm guessing if it can run SAP, it can scale pretty well and it is > probably supported as well as SAP is. Which, in my experience is "pretty > damn well." > > Just guessing here, mind. > Yes and your guesses and $1.20 might buy me a cup of bad coffee. > > Yes I knew about MaxDB and my comment was why spend the billions on > > Sybase when it would be cheaper to build your own 'in house' version. > > Of course I was thinking more along the lines of a Postgres distro where > > you have some critical mass and some lineage, not just build it from the > > ground up, when you have no credibility. > > Um, look, are you seriously questioning SAP's credibility? Do you have > *any* fucking idea of how things work in the SAP marketplace? > Sigh. Do you have any idea how your customers make purchasing decisions? Ok, I'll keep this simple. Your customer who is purchasing SAP may either have an IT staff, or it may not. It depends on what the company does, how many employees and how they plan on using SAP. I could go in to providing some examples, but we could take this off line. ;-) The point is that in the decision making process, you end up having input and influence from people who may want you to chose a particular product because they already know how to support it. Or you may have a recent college MBA grad who will whine about the risks of getting locked in to a specific vendor. Like finding staff who know MaxDB when there are Oracle certified DBAs under every rock, or curry shop. (I heard rumor that OTC liked good curry.) With respect to scalability... that's a subjective topic. I mean I've got TBs of data and its only a data mart. ;-) > > It would be interesting to see what sort of license numbers they have on > > MaxDB. > > > > But then again, what do I know? > > (Clearly more than I can talk about. ;-) > > Clearly *less* than you ARE talking about. > Well, I'm sorry if I'm being a bit terse and cryptic. I don't want to insult your intelligence, unless your nickname happens to be 'Zippy' and you love Polysorbate-80. (Oh that's a different clown...) :-) Ok. The question is who's using MaxDB in terms as a percentage of their customer base? I wonder if it was more than the number of IDS customers prior to the forced exodus. > > The point was why did SAP need their own database. Why did they purchase > > Sybase. Beyond the relational database, I seem to recall that Sybase was > > also playing in the web services and tools too. So you're getting more > > than just databases. That's in part, the value add. Also I'd look into > > Sybase's financials. Did they want to be sold? On a side note, think > > of what IBM could do if SWG wasn't stuck in silos. ;-) > > (And yes, while there is some cross silo development, its minimal.) > > SAP already *had* their own database. Maybe they were looking for > something to inject technology into MaxDB. Maybe they're tired of > selling applications and want to start selling databases now. Who knows? > Apart from you, of course. > Sorry mate. I don't know what drives these Germans. There are a lot of factors that I don't know that go in to the purchasing decision. It could be that SAP needs their own database that has critical mass. It could be that some of the other work Sybase was in to is a good fit. It could be that Sybase was looking to be bought. I'm not in that world anymore, so I don't talk to the stock analysts these days. You're seeing a consolidation of tech companies. There's a reason for this. The initial question is why did SAP buy Sybase. The real answer... they couldn't have bought Informix. _________________________________________________________________ Hotmail has tools for the New Busy. Search, chat and e-mail from your inbox. http://www.windowslive.com/campaign/thenewbusy?ocid=PID28326::T:WLMTAGL:ON:WL:en-US:WM_HMP:042010_1