Query fast with IBM's Masala

BANGALORE: IBM's Masala, the latest version of DB2 Information Integrator software is now available in its beta form. The Big Blue is pitching about the product's self-monitoring, self-tuning and self-managing functions. Said an online report.

According to Nelson Mattos, director of DB2 Information Integrator, the product would enable faster queries and will help DBAs in efficiently caching data from distributed sources through its 'Design Advisor' feature.

The product comes with a simple, easy to use interface, has lower deployment time and one can give queries in simple language without complex coding, added Mattos.

According to Pat Hayes, data warehousing project leader at IndigeTech, a Richmond, Va.-based integrator, said Masala could help businesses extend and expand on the useful life span of their existing mainframe data. With its data-mapper tool developers can directly access legacy VSAM or Adabas files without bothering to move the data on a different platform.

The pricing starts at $5,000 per CPU for the replication edition, which is aimed at users who just, want to replicate data across multiple databases. The standard edition adds federation capabilities and runs $15,000 per CPU. An advanced edition, which includes all of the above plus DB2, costs $40,000 per CPU. Connectors for tapping into non-IBM repositories are extra, but enterprises also can opt for an "unlimited" edition, including all necessary connectors, for $125,000 per CPU. Said the online report.

In the overall database market, Oracle remains in the top slot with 39 percent market share last year, up 8.6 percent year over year, according to research firm IDC. IBM was second with 31.3 percent share, up 5.1 percent, and Microsoft came in third at 12.1 percent, up 14.7 percent. The database market was up 7.6 percent overall, IDC said.