database

Managed security in 2008

In the late 1990s, we all predicted big things around managed services. As we close 2007, we are all predicting big things for Software as a Service (SaaS). What's old is new again but this time we may be right.

Case in point, managed security. A few years ago, enterprise security professionals were too proud and too paranoid to even think about outsourcing security management. As Bob Dylan sang, "the times, they are a changin'." According to a recent ESG Research survey 50 percent of large organizations (i.e. more than 1,000 employees) are either "… Read more

PCI requirements cut across IT

Requirement 3.4 in the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard mandates that financial service and retail companies, "render Primary Account Number (PAN), at minimum, unreadable anywhere it is stored." While the PCI standard provides a number of ways to do this, most large companies equate the term "unreadable" with encryption.

So here is the rub. PAN data is stored in a bunch of places but everyone stores it in databases. I'm talking about massive databases here--think hundreds of gigabytes to terabytes of data in many cases. Now when your database gets this big, you … Read more

Filemaker serves snack-size database for Leopard

Filemaker is betting that its new database software, Bento, will please Mac users seeking a multipurpose personal information manager. The application will ship in January 2008 for $49, or $99 for a family pack. A free test drive is available on the Web site of Filemaker, which is owned by Apple.

Like the Japanese lunch box for which it's named, Bento appears to be a tidy organizer. Sorting and searching options look elegant. The software could serve a variety of purposes, such as tracking freelance work gigs, sending party invitations, plotting an exercise regime, cataloging household items, creating libraries of possessions, and even rating stores where you shop or children you might teach.… Read more

Filemaker serves snack-size database for Leopard

IBM ready to "kick Oracle's teeth in"

Ever wonder what the sales guys at BigCos like IBM are thinking about? Seems that IBM has assembled "what it calls a Viper 500 program with IBM's account teams to replace Oracle in more than 600 accounts."

I do enjoy a slap-fight amongst software vendors... "I am actively hiring people to go kick their teeth in," said Mike Borman, IBM vice president, worldwide sales for the IBM Software Group in a wide ranging 90 minute interview earlier this week before the hostile Oracle bid for BEA.

Despite it sounding a little bit silly, this is … Read more

Database security and industry consolidation

Over the past few years, the security industry has been a hotbed of M&A activity. The big guys swallow the small guys and independent technologies become part of integrated suites or anchor products. We saw this with identity management, e-mail security, SSL VPNs, security event management, etc.

My prediction is that we will soon see a repeat of this cycle and this time the buyout activity will center on database security tools.

Why database security? To quote the famous bank robber Willie Sutton, "because that's where the money is." Databases contain loads of private, confidential, … Read more

Office 2.0: Ismael's secrets...and a live videocast

Ismael Ghalimi, the organizer of the Office 2.0 conference (more) is serious about living the Web 2.0 dream: Aside from a browser, he has no applications installed on his laptop, except for iWork, which he says he uses to remind himself what old-style software is like. (Even I use traditional software for writing and e-mail.)

Check out Ismael's notes on Office 2.0 services that work. And this comprehensive database of Office 2.0 applications that he's put together. Useful tips.

But what if there's no available Internet connection for Ismael when he wants to … Read more

Gleamd is a simple, useful people database

Gleamd, a user-generated "Digg of people," as it has been called, launched this week with new features and a refreshed design from its beta program.

It's a clever and unusual service--part Digg, part Wikipedia, part Wink. I'm not sure I'll still be using it next week, but I've been enjoying experimenting with the service for the past few days.

The core of Gleamd is a database of people, pictures, and biographies. Registered users can update the data just as they can in a wiki. Nothing revolutionary there; in fact, Gleamd is very basic, and … Read more

EnterpriseDB launches a 'center' for Postgres database

There's no phone number on the PostgreSQL.org open-source database Web site. And for EnterpriseDB CEO Andy Astor, whose company makes money from a Postgres-based product, that's been a problem.

On Tuesday, Astor's company launched a site called the EnterpriseDB Postgres Resource Center, which gives interested parties a phone number to call and, Astor hopes, other useful items.

The site's launch coincides with this week's LinuxWorld conference in San Francisco and includes a package of software tools meant to make it easier for business customers to install the open-source database. The site also offers technical … Read more

Sybase builds ladder with mobility and database sales

Sybase CEO John Chen is looking to build a ladder.

But before you hand the guy a hammer, try driving over a truckload of shims. You see, one side of Chen's ladder is his core $700 million in database sales, the other side is a mere $300 million in mobility sales.

Get the picture?

"I want to build a ladder with two comparable businesses, worth $800 million each," an enthusiastic Chen exclaimed the other day, during an interview after Sybase posted stronger than expected second quarter results.

So, as Chen checks out the local M&A … Read more