Yes, I know - not everyone believes database benchmarks are useful. My
position is that there is value in benchmarks' role in helping engineers
wring out bottlenecks, bugs and performance impediments in their
products. Berni Schiefer, Technical Executive , Information Management
Performance and Benchmarks for DB2, MDM and SolidDB, recently told me
that "every time we run [TPC-C] we are astonished at how effectively it
hammers every element of the system. We always find bugs, room for
tuning. It's the nastiest, most punishing combination there is."

more....

IBM's bid to acquire Netezza
makes it official; the insurgents are at the gates. A pioneering and
leading ADBMS player, Netezza is in play for approximately $1.7 billion, better than 6 times its revenue run rate.
When it entered the market in 2001, it catalyzed an economic and
architectural shift with an appliance form factor at a dramatically
different price point. Titans like Teradata and Oracle (and yes, IBM)
found themselves outmaneuvered as Netezza mounted a steadily improving
business, adding dozens of new names every quarter, continuing to
validate its market positioning as a dedicated analytic appliance. It's
no longer alone there; some analytic appliance play is now in the
portfolio of most sizable vendors serious about the market.

more...