netezza

Shared storage in a 'shared nothing' environment

The computing industry is seeing dramatic growth in the use of "shared nothing" database architectures where each node functions independently of one another and is self-sufficient (Hadoop Distributed File System for example). For the sake of performance, contention among nodes for shared disk resources (SAN and NAS) is one of the things these architectures avoid by dedicating storage resources to each node, i.e. no shared disk.

While these computing architectures are best-known in the context of Web-based applications and development activities, they are no longer confined to the Web. EMC Greenplum, IBM Netezza, and ParAccel are all … Read more

CIA allegedly bought flawed software for attacks

The CIA allegedly purchased flawed targeting software for drone missile attacks on suspected terrorists--software it knew was faulty, and that could misdirect attacks by as much as 39 feet--according to a report in The Register based on claims made in a lawsuit.

The suit, filed by a Massachusetts-based company called Intelligent Integration Systems (IISi), involves another Massachusetts company, Netezza, The Register said in its report today. Netezza, a data warehousing company IBM has made a bid to buy, allegedly got a $1.18 million purchase order from the CIA last year to provide data warehouse appliances for use in drones, … Read more

From IBM Netezza to the human brain

In a surprise move, IBM is acquiring a business analytics vendor named Netezza.

I say "surprise" first because few in my line of work saw this one coming (IBM already has products in this space. Why buy another?), and second because IBM is paying $1.7 billion for a company that earned $4.2 million during its latest fiscal year on revenue of $190.6 million. That's a long way away from $1.7 billion. And, need I say this again? IBM already has a whole portfolio of Smarter Planet business analytics products and services.

However, Netezza … Read more

IBM to acquire Netezza for $1.7 billion

IBM announced today that it plans to acquire analytics company Netezza in a cash deal valued at about $1.7 billion.

The two companies have entered into a definitive agreement under which IBM will pay $27 per share for Marlborough, Mass.-based Netezza.

Netezza, which has about 500 employees, offers a data-warehousing appliance designed to help businesses handle high-performance analytics. In a joint statement, IBM touted the ease of installing Netezza's appliance as a way to quickly get analytics into the hands of department-level units such as sales, product development, and human resources.

"IBM is bringing analytics to … Read more