Why Enterprise NoSQL Matters - Marklogic

WhitePaperWhy Enterprise NoSQL MattersBy Evan Quinn, Senior Principal AnalystMarch 2013This ESG White Paper was commissioned by MarkLogicand is distributed under license from ESG. 2013 by The Enterprise Strategy Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

White Paper: Why Enterprise NoSQL Matters2ContentsExecutive Summary . 3The Alternative to Aging Enterprise Relational Databases: NoSQL Databases . 4Requirements for Enterprise NoSQL . 5MarkLogic Is a Proven Candidate for Enterprise NoSQL . 7The Bigger Truth . 8All trademark names are property of their respective companies. Information contained in this publication has been obtained by sources TheEnterprise Strategy Group (ESG) considers to be reliable but is not warranted by ESG. This publication may contain opinions of ESG, which aresubject to change from time to time. This publication is copyrighted by The Enterprise Strategy Group, Inc. Any reproduction or redistribution ofthis publication, in whole or in part, whether in hard-copy format, electronically, or otherwise to persons not authorized to receive it, without theexpress consent of The Enterprise Strategy Group, Inc., is in violation of U.S. copyright law and will be subject to an action for civil damages and,if applicable, criminal prosecution. Should you have any questions, please contact ESG Client Relations at 508.482.0188. 2013 by The Enterprise Strategy Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

White Paper: Why Enterprise NoSQL Matters3Executive SummaryThe good, old-fashioned relational database, a well-understood technology with a known list of providers for twodecades, has faced disruption since the turn of the millennium, and the disruption is peaking now. The rise of cloudapplications, big data analytics, mobile computing, sophisticated content and asset management solutions, andsocial media have pushed the once dependable relational database to the edge of, and sometimes past, its abilities.Because it was originally architected to work with hardware from yesteryear, the older relational database maystruggle to take optimal advantage of the dramatic price/performance improvements and innovations found inadjunct technologies like multi-core processors and storage. Add in previously inconceivable requirements forscalability, plus the still substantial margins enjoyed by long-standing enterprise database providers, and moderndatabase buyers have found motivation to look for fresh alternatives.In the vacuum formed between older databases and new use cases, an explosion of roughly 50 new commercialand open source databases, often referred to collectively as “NoSQL databases,” have come to market. ESG prefersto interpret the term “NoSQL” to mean “Not Only SQL” given that many of the new databases do supportStructured Query Language (SQL). But suffice it to say that pent-up demand to better address post-2000 use caseshas produced a throng of new database choices. Yet therein lies another, ironic, challenge for the database buyer:too much choice. Fortunately, if you require enterprise-class features in a NoSQL database, the number of choicesshrinks to a few, and MarkLogic stands out as a clear leader in the “Enterprise NoSQL” category.“Enterprise NoSQL” means a database designed to deal with modern, post-2000 application use cases that also hasthe features to support enterprise-grade compliance; transaction processing; tools for DBAs and administrators;24x365 availability; scalability adapting to multiple cost-effective hardware choices; and APIs and connectors for awide variety of third-party services wanted by developers. The shorter definition: Security, policy management,availability, scalability, ACID, DBA and administrator tools, connectors and APIs. An even shorter definition:Enterprise NoSQL is a NoSQL database you would bet your business on—a database like MarkLogic.The MarkLogic database moves easily between the schema-less approach used for advanced web, rich content, anddocument solutions, as well as full ACID transaction processing. Its native shared-nothing architecture enables nearlinear scalability across a wide variety of hardware choices, including “commodity hardware.” Its governmentcertified security and policy management enable fine-grained access, data privacy, and retention control. It offers avariety of high availability approaches—versus only one—for both shared disk implementations as well as sharednothing that includes point-in-time recovery. And MarkLogic’s administration tools are API-based, offering theflexibility to fit into existing workflows and consoles, with prebuilt integration to several popular systemsmanagement tools.MarkLogic also offers specific solutions that address multi-national class needs, such as a “big data search” withsupport for over 200 languages, and metadata repositories used by some of the world’s largest mediaorganizations. In the big data arena, MarkLogic offers optimized connectors to leading big data platform andvisualization tools such as Hadoop, Tableau Software, and IBM Cognos. Between its true enterprise-class databasecapabilities, and its wide range of proven solutions, MarkLogic belongs on the short list of those database buyerswho are interested in NoSQL, but not willing to sacrifice the features needed by enterprises. 2013 by The Enterprise Strategy Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

White Paper: Why Enterprise NoSQL Matters4The Alternative to Aging Enterprise Relational Databases: NoSQL DatabasesThe relational databases enterprises have depended on for over two decades for nearly all applications are beingreplaced by a newer set of databases that offer data models and features more finely tuned to post-2000applications. Given the growth of data—managing data growth rated as the number four most important IT priorityreported by respondents in ESG’s recent IT spending intention survey—and pressure on costs—cost reductioninitiatives rated as the number one business priority for IT cited by organizations in the same survey (see Figure1)—the well-known lofty prices of enterprise databases have contributed to interest for alternative databases.1The high cost of classic enterprise databases, however, isn’t just about price. Relational databases were notoriginally designed for the rich and pervasive content of today’s collaboration, social media, and mobileapplications. The older relational model struggles with the complex queries and compute requirements associatedwith advanced data analytics. Thus, many of the leading business initiatives that need IT’s help today don’t marrywell with the long-standing enterprise relational database, and those organizations that choose to stick with olderrelational models literally pay for their choice by throwing more hardware at the issue, and using workarounds.Figure 1. 2013 Business Initiatives with the Greatest Impact on IT Spending DecisionsWhich of the following business initiatives do you believe will have the greatest impacton your organization's IT spending decisions over the next 12-18 months? (Percent ofrespondents, N 540, three responses accepted)Cost reduction initiatives44%Business process improvement initiatives31%Security/risk management initiatives31%Regulatory compliance25%Providing our employees with the mobile devices andapplications they need to maximize productivity24%0%10%20%30%40%50%Source: Enterprise Strategy Group, 2013NoSQL databases have stepped in as the alternatives to legacy enterprise databases. While the implication ofNoSQL infers a lack of query language or data structure, in fact the dozens of NoSQL databases available in themarket cover a wide range of query approaches and data models, thus “NoSQL” really means “not only SQL.”Regardless, most NoSQL databases not only offer data models lined up with more recent application types, but theyare also typically designed natively to take advantage of advances in in-memory computing, storage, and virtualizedinfrastructures including clouds. Speed and scalability, across a variety of deployment choices, are often callingcards of NoSQL databases.1Source: ESG Research Report, 2013 IT Spending Intentions Survey, January 2013. 2013 by The Enterprise Strategy Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

White Paper: Why Enterprise NoSQL Matters5Yet, ESG is not comfortable recommending all NoSQL databases to enterprises and large organizations. Several ofthe primary reasons for ESG’s reticence are spelled out in Figure 2, which lists the most important IT prioritiesreported by respondents to ESG’s recent survey. Many priorities are related to security and compliance, and fewNoSQL databases measure up to enterprise-class needs, and even fewer meet government required security andcompliance requirements. But enterprise-class requirements do not end at security and compliance for NoSQLdatabases. The interest in virtualization, cloud, and private cloud suggests the need for scalability across variableand elastic infrastructures. Data backup, recovery, and business continuity needs mean that NoSQL databases needto operate in the context of 24x7x365 IT operations. In short, the newer applications that fit well with NoSQLdatabases are no less important to business, government, and IT than legacy enterprise applications. Let’s drill alittle further into what ESG sees as the features needed for “enterprise” NoSQL databases.Figure 2. 2013 Most Important IT PrioritiesWhich of the following would you consider to be your organization’s most important ITpriorities over the next 12 months? (Percent of respondents, N 540, ten responsesaccepted)Information security initiatives29%Improve data backup and recovery27%Increased use of server virtualization26%Manage data growth25%Data center consolidation24%Desktop virtualization22%Use cloud infrastructure services22%Major application deployments or upgrades22%Deploying applications on or for new mobile devices20%Improve collaboration capabilities20%Regulatory compliance initiatives20%Business continuity/disaster recovery programs20%Business intelligence/data analytics initiatives20%Mobile workforce enablement19%Building a “private cloud” infrastructure19%0%5%10%15%20%25%30%35%Source: Enterprise Strategy Group, 2013Requirements for Enterprise NoSQLWhat differentiates NoSQL from Enterprise NoSQL? ESG counts six specific areas that enterprises look to for certaincharacteristics and attributes in databases, NoSQL or not:1. Security, Policy Management, and Compliance: Large organizations, and particularly governments, wantfine-grained security and policy control at the database level, not just at the application or endpoint devicelevel. And governments and verticals dealing with particularly sensitive information often also requiresecurity certification(s). Note that a properly architected NoSQL database will not pay a performancepenalty in exchange for security. Naturally auditing tools need to be part of the NoSQL solution as well. 2013 by The Enterprise Strategy Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.