In-memory Databases in Business Information Systems

Excerpt

In-memory databases are developed to keep the entire data in main memory. Compared to traditional database systems, read access is now much faster since no I/O access to a hard drive is required. In terms of write access, mechanisms are available which provide data persistence and thus secure transactions. In-memory databases have been available for a while and have proven to be suitable for particular use cases. With increasing storage density of DRAM modules, hardware systems capable of storing very large amounts of data have become affordable. In this context the question arises whether in-memory databases are suitable for business information system applications. Hasso Plattner, who developed the HANA in-memory database, is a trailblazer for this approach. He sees a lot of potential for novel concepts concerning the development of business information systems. One example is to conduct transactions and analytics in parallel and on the same database, i.e. a division into operational database systems and data warehouse systems is no longer necessary (Plattner and Zeier 2011). However, there are also voices against this approach. Larry Ellison described the idea of business information systems based on in-memory database as “wacko,” without actually making a case for his statement (cf. Bube 2010). Stonebraker (2011) sees a future for in-memory databases for business information systems but considers the division of OLTP and OLAP applications as reasonable. …