Winter Corporation Launches TopTen Program that Recognizes the World's Largest Databases

Information Management Online, February 16, 2005

Winter Corporation, a leading center of expertise in very large databases, has launched the 2005 TopTen Program to identify the world's largest and most heavily used databases. Data collection for the Program runs until July 15th. Winter Corp. will announce the award recipients and research results on September 8th.

The TopTen Program is a survey-based global research effort directed at organizations with large-scale database operations. The Program's primary objective is to pay tribute to those who build or manage large data repositories that support business-critical applications on data warehouses and operational systems. The campaign identifies the products, platforms and architectures that comprise the leading implementations. In addition, the TopTen Program recognizes the vendors whose products and services have enabled users to reach these new heights in database size and performance.

Any database with a minimum of 1TB of data (excludes freespace and redundancy) may be entered. Respondents complete a short questionnaire on current and projected database size and workload, DBMS, server and storage environments, database and system architectures, and project benefits and obstacles. Participants are required to validate their submissions by running queries developed by their database vendor and Winter Corp. or submitting system-generated documentation that supports their figures. Award winners will be announced for up to 48 categories defined by usage (DSS, BI or DW; OLTP, operational or e-Commerce; Scientific, Content Store or Other), operating system and the four Program metrics: database size (compressed and uncompressed), number of rows/records/objects and workload. In the last Program, 193 awards were distributed to 63 different organizations.

Awareness of the Program has grown steadily, as seen in the ever-broadening cross-section of the participants' location, job titles and industries. Participants represent virtually all types of businesses. In the last campaign, half of the questionnaires were submitted from sites outside the U.S.

The TopTen Program generates both promotional benefits and research findings. Winter Corporation executes a campaign to promote the achievements of the award recipients and their industry vendors to the press, analyst community and other database practitioners. Using the survey data, Winter Corp. has built an actual - not hypothetical - knowledgebase about large-scale database operations, enabling the company to offer the foremost primary examination of best practices at the world's leading databases.

Kathy Auerbach, Director of the TopTen Program for Winter Corporation, remarked, "Advancements in database size and performance often signify that a previously unsolved technical challenge has been mastered. Those who successfully build and support large-scale databases deserve to be recognized. The TopTen Program celebrates the unsung heroes whose contributions are so vital to organizations reaching their corporate goals."

Click here to learn more about the TopTen Program and for directions on filling out a questionnaire. For more information, contact Winter Corp. by e-mail at info1@wintercorp.com, on the WorldWideWeb at www.wintercorp.com, or by calling (617) 695-1800.