Database Wars - Place Your Bets!

First off, let me apologize for our absence last week - our family had some minor crises, and I didn't have a chance to send a thoughtful newsletter. That said, Topsail Topics is going to become a bi-weekly newsletter (instead of weekly), so that we can focus even more on serving our clients.

Well, if you follow technology news at all, you know that last week was one of the most interesting, yet, in the database wars. Peoplesoft bought J D Edwards, Oracle tried to buy Peoplesoft, MySQL AB secured $20 million in financing from SAP, Oracle beat earnings estimates, and so on: a big week.

Why should you care? You may not care what Oracle's bottom line looks like, but you do have a vested interest in the outcome of the competition between companies... if you want to do business online, that is.

Whether or not you're currently in ecommmerce, the uses for a database on your website and your office are countless - everything from your email reader to your accounting software, from credit card processing to this newsletter, relies on some sort of database. Some everyday (business) examples:

• Maintain customer/client information
• Maintain inventory
• Maintain affiliate/reseller information
• Track advertising conversion ratios
• Track sales and customer service
• Offer dynamic ("on-the-fly") content on a website

You're probably thinking what most (current or potential) website owners think: "But, I can't afford a database server! I've heard those prices; more than $10,000 a pop, for a basic setup, with no support?!? No way!"

Relax.

Odds are, that's not what you need - even if you have the deep pockets for it, it may not be the best decision! There is a better way.

Although we work with a variety of database systems, the weapon of choice at Topsail Consulting is the MySQL™ Database Server - which is not only one of the best systems around; it's free for most uses. In recent benchmark tests, it has proven as strong, fast, scalable, and reliable as Oracle, and better than competitors such as IBM's DB2 or Microsoft's SQL Server 2000.

The impact on your life? Lower costs, better performance, better returns.. If you think you're ready to go dynamic online, contact us today and get your free quote. (Our subscribers received a special discount this month! Don't miss out again - sign up today!)

We'll be looking forward to helping your online needs become realities!

Sincerely,

Ed Cottrell, Editor and President