BARCELONA: What exists in more abundance nowadays than information? Some may argue that today's society suffers from information overload, simply more out there than can possibly be absorbed and processed daily. But while overwhelming for some, big businesses see a golden opportunity in mining, aggregating and analyzing data to create the kind of information that can drive growth. “Companies who do not see data as a core raw material of business will disappear,” said Hermann Wimmer, president of Europe, Middle East and Africa for Teradata. The company has found a niche market – and a lot of success – in creating a space for corporations to store, extract, utilize and reuse the sometimes unfathomable amount of data being generated and analyzed. Simply referred to as “big data,” this new raw material needs safe storage in a space that can be easily accessed and reorganized to maximize efficiency, which in technical terms is called a data warehouse. Ultimately, its mission is to churn out vital information, or business intelligence (BI). Data, Wimmer said, is the new capital for businesses in this “century of data integration.” At its 16th annual Teradata Universe conference in Barcelona, the company launched its latest innovation, set to transform data warehousing and, in turn, business analytics: two new Active Enterprise Data Warehouse (Active EDW) platforms, the first to combine solid state drive (SSD) and hard disk drive (HDD) technology with a virtual storage solution that automatically migrates data – based on its “temperature” – between drive types to optimize performance. The Active EDW 6680 uses SSD and HDD storage along with the Teradata Virtual Storage (TVS) solution, which automatically tracks the usage of data, and then migrates it to the appropriate storage type. Meanwhile, the Active EDW 6650, which utilizes HDD storage, can be upgraded to SSDs and TVS. According to Teradata, both platforms come at a lower energy cost and a smaller data center footprint “through the scalability of the … database architecture … [as well as] cabinet packaging, power and cooling.” Scott Gnau, chief development officer for Teradata Corporation, said, “Teradata is the only vendor to offer integrated, self-managing storage combining both SSD and HDD devices in the same platform.” The technology places “hot” – or the most frequently used – data on the fastest, solid state storage and “cold” – or the least used – data on the slowest storage. Constantly and automatically, without user or administrator intervention, data is moved to the appropriate location as its use and business' need for it changes over time, which allows users to determine the most cost-efficient storage system setup. With less than 20 percent of data being used 80 percent of the time, the new platforms provide efficiency since “the data warehouse processor's entire analytic power can be applied to a much smaller amount of data, resulting in faster time to getting better results.” Big data getting bigger The four-day conference brought together Teradata executives and partners from around the world to showcase how a vital part of enterprises is used to add value and drive growth, under the oft repeated slogan, “Do more with your data.” In its many forms, data collected from a range of sources – customer information and transactions, company operations and history, sensory data, and, even in its rawest state, from social networking websites – is now being utilized to refocus core business strategies. “We are telling our customers that you can increase efficiency if you use your BI infrastructure in a better way than you have in the past,” Wimmer said. Founded more than 30 years ago as part of a company called NCR, in October 2007 Teradata was “reborn” as a spin off and today emphasizes the importance of real-time analytics. Its current market cap exceeds $8 billion. With 8,000 employees in 70 countries, it bills itself as an end-to-end solutions company offering database technology, analytic solutions and consulting services. In the past three years, during the time of the global economic crisis, the firm pumped investments into research and development, managing to grow its business and, as Wimmer said, “We are stronger than we were in 2007. Our share price has increased and we got more customers. …This proves that with the right BI infrastructure you can grow your existence.” In 2010, it was voted as one of the Top 10 Most Strategic IT Vendors, and is now eyeing the number one spot with a goal to sustain double digit revenue growth. Last year, the firm realized 13 percent revenue growth with $1,936 million, and has placed a 12-14 percent guidance growth for 2011. Diversifying its portfolio and bringing more data aggregation and utilization technologies into the fold, Teradata recently made two acquisitions: Aprimo, for integrated marketing software; and Aster Data, which specializes in big data analytics, namely when it comes to user behavior across search, ad media and interactions in purchasing behavior, online activity and social networks. Teradata's customers are global market players in all fields, most commonly used by telecos – such as Telefonica – and the finance sector, but also by government, industry as well as oil and gas. Some of its newest customers include Maersk, UkrSibbank, PKO Bank Polski and eBay, the latter being a prime example of how aggregating and analyzing diversified and significant volume of data can drive growth. eBay's users turn over 1 terabyte of data every 8 seconds, used in turn by the company to understand how buyers and sellers are interacting in order to customize its website. US healthcare provider Wellpoint gathers individual health records and then compares long-term treatments and results in order to provide better plans to clients. By further incorporating emergency room data to its warehouse, it now allows doctors to access a patient's entire health record in 5 seconds. In Egypt Teradata has been present in Egypt for decades, first through the original company NCR, and then as a standalone since 2007. What was a division of NCR became its own company, starting out with 20 employees that now number more than 100. Its clients in Egypt are mostly big enterprises as well as government entities, not all of which choose to be named, but among them Etisalat and Mobinil, both of which were present in Barcelona. Zeyad Zohair, sales account manager at Teradata Egypt, told DNE that while some of the main clients come from the telecom and banking sectors, there's a current focus on attracting players in the oil and gas sector. Teradata Egypt has upped its investments in the past two to three years, opening up a large support center that provides maintenance and assistance to global clients, Wimmer told DNE. Teradata has local partners in other Middle East markets. As for the effect of recent events in Egypt on the company's strategy, Wimmer confidently said, “We are not a company that reacts immediately to short-term changes, we are committed to a market … obviously while taking care of the security of our people.” “I see extreme high growth potentials in Egypt … and the region.”
