Advisory Report

In-Memory Technology Brings Performance and Scale to Modern Apps

June 30, 2011
Issue

Charlotte Dunlap
Current Analysis Senior Analyst, Application Platforms

Enterprises have found themselves in the midst of a data explosion after building modern applications that are client-based and therefore prone to enormous peak workload pressures. Their only recourse is to keep throwing money at the problem in the form of database investments, but this is not money well spent when it comes to solving long-term scalability and performance issues as trends such as mobile computing continue to exacerbate the situation. Companies want to expand their business opportunities by offering customers new Web services, but are feeling crushed under infrastructures built for a different era. Fortunately, significant declines in hardware costs and advancements in memory technology have prompted a surge of interest in in-memory computing, which is used for both high-volume transaction applications and large-scale compute resource hogs such as BI. Application platform vendors are realizing that the high-performance technology currently represents one of the biggest opportunities for evolving their infrastructure technology and providing new points of differentiation. As a result, the industry has seen a flurry of activities around in-memory technology-related acquisitions and new product announcements by application platform providers, a trend which will continue in the foreseeable future. The end result of much of this activity will be the eventual release of full data services platform offerings to provide customers with more integrated options for insuring high availability, performance scalability, and real-time analytics through distributed in-memory systems. Such objectives are still a ways away for most vendors, however, which are keeping details of such plans under wraps. This report will provide information on the current state of the in-memory computing market, a recap of vendor offerings, and analysis on how vendors are doing on their strategy to offer in-memory to broader markets.
Current Perspective

In-memory technology has recently become a critical component of the enterprise architecture and an important way for application platform providers to differentiate themselves in a highly competitive landscape. Speed and scale are the new buzz words in the enterprise application development world, because as one in-memory computing engineer puts it, Enterprises have sized their infrastructures for Web-based workloads, and not for the mobile era. Companies have the infrastructure in place to support the 9am workload peak when most workers get online to check e-mail; however, those architectural requirements pale in comparison to the new mobile era, in which more devices are accessing more Web applications having to support varying levels of passwords and authentication to take advantage of the increasingly sophisticated Web services being offered. In-memory computing now holds the promise of taking what has been pegged as expensive, niche distributed caching (data grid) technology and bringing it to a broader customer base, beyond industries such as finance which need transaction-intense applications. Two key things have happened to spark this shift: the cost of RAM (random access memory) has dramatically

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Advisory Report
Report:

In-Memory Technology Brings Performance and Scale to Modern Apps

Application Infrastructure

dropped, and advances in memory technology, particularly in the way of data compression, have become more sophisticated. High performance remains the best reason for adopting in-memory technology in order to support the creation of next-generation elastic applications which require scalability. In-memory computing provides the ability to store data in the RAM of special servers, a stark contrast to conventional and slower methods of disk-based operations within relational database systems. As application requirements have progressed, in-memory computing lets users eliminate relatively slow disk I/O constraints and replace that with distributed data access. Latency is reduced by moving data closer to the application. Memory that is leveraged through caches provides a major performance boost over standard disks, reportedly 10,000 times faster or more. This in turn reduces the cost of operations by being able to offload pricey transactional-based backend systems.
Application Platform Providers Rally Around In-Memory

A market once dominated by in-memory pioneers Oracle (Coherence) and GigaSpaces is now being exploited by numerous application platform providers. Since high-performance and scalability cannot be after-thoughts in application development, it makes sense that application platform providers are making significant investments in order to align distributed in-memory caching technology more closely with their core infrastructure platforms. New techniques for accessing data are especially important as middleware vendors add advanced analytics such as complex event processing (CEP) to their portfolios, because these technologies require high-volume transaction processing. The new add-on technology also provides vendors with an important up-sell opportunity. Additionally, the technology provides a point of differentiation among application platform providers, which are jockeying to highlight their in-memory computing techniques as they go after new markets including utility, retail, and telecommunications. Investing in the advanced technology also reinforces vendors commitment to the application infrastructure market, proving their ability to meet customers need for scalability, reliability, and availability. A number of in-memory activities and announcements have been made in recent months by application platform providers, as new data services become an integral part of an application infrastructure portfolio. Recent activities include Software AGs acquisition of in-memory leader Terracotta, strengthening its cloud strategy and enhancing its application platform product (webMethods); and SAP released its in-memory application acceleration appliance, called HANA, which will initially be positioned as a data warehouse enhancement tool for accelerating large-scale analytics.
In-Memorys Growing Importance

Data caching and data grid offerings provide a nice option in solving the data explosion, because they are considered to be fairly unobtrusive solutions, which can be inserted as part of an enterprise architecture without necessarily having to rewrite database schemas or applications. There will likely be a transition in caching technology, going from ad hoc caching located in key parts of the application platform and ultimately moving into a shared distributed data service. Eventually, most vendors are looking to evolve their enterprise in-memory data grid tools into full data services platforms, which will likely include support for security, caching, performance availability, analytics, and potentially schema isolation with the ability to move across different data sources. This is what customers are ultimately looking for: new platforms that will insure failure resilience, high availability, and performance scalability as a top-tier architectural component. These sorts of requirements would be very expensive to fulfill under a relational database scenario where the task of increasing capacity typically involves months to provision new hardware and databases. The cloud computing phenomena has further increased interest in the technology, which has the ability to provide elastic scale with low latency for more efficient data sharing across broad cloud environments. For example, Software AG flagged the cloud as the most immediate opportunity that will come from its acquisition of in-memory technology from Terracotta. Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Data Grid, a new product based on the Infinispan JBoss community project, is part of Red Hats
2011 Current Analysis Inc. All rights reserved. For more information, please call +1 703 404 9200, toll-free +1 877 787 8947 Europe +33 (0) 1 41 14 83 15. Or visit our Web site: www.currentanalysis.com

Advisory Report
Report:

In-Memory Technology Brings Performance and Scale to Modern Apps

Application Infrastructure

strategy for a comprehensive, open source, distributed service fabric to help developers develop, deploy, and manage applications in the cloud. Emerging technologies are not without their problems, and application platform vendors need to address a number of important issues before in-memory will be widely adopted. While some RFPs have been submitted to standards groups, there has been little progress made in the effort to build standards around in-memory computing, for example. Until that happens, we anticipate high costs associated with proprietary technology, offset by open source projects such as those underway by Red Hat. Furthermore, challenges remain in terms of turning complex memory technology into consumable products. Until in-memory is more transparent and compatible with traditional database technology, inertia will slow adoption.

A Scorecard Illustrating Application Platform Providers Different Approaches to In-Memory Computing

Vendor
Current Capabilities/Future Opportunities In-Memory Strategy Score (5 best) 5

IBM

IBM WebSphere eXtreme Scale is IBMs distributed caching solution which addresses scalability issues and provides an enhanced quality of service for building high-performance, data-intensive applications. The technology is also appropriate for cloud technologies because of its support for high availability. IBM recognizes the potential opportunity in this market based on a growing mobile market and is therefore devoting large efforts towards improving the consumability around the application architecture choices of this complex technology. Oracle Coherence represents the industrys leading in-memory technology, delivered in the form of a data grid solution, providing scalability to companies mission-critical applications. The mature technology enables real-time analysis, extreme transaction processing, and event processing. Oracle Coherence Enterprise Edition is a distributed data management solution for Java applications and a component of Oracle Fusion Middleware, providing enterprises with deeper integration with the application infrastructure server to support features including Web session management, persistence, and transaction. It is not clear, however, where Oracle is going with this technology in terms of further Fusion Middleware integration and broadening its customer reach beyond non-capital markets rms. TIBCO ActiveSpaces Enterprise Edition is the companys in-memory data grid product. When embedded into Business Events 5.0, the ActiveSpaces technology is called BusinessEvents DataGrid, which supports complex-event processing, operational intelligence, dynamic business process, and stateful event rule-type applications. TIBCO ActiveSpaces Transactions is a fully distributed, in-memory transactional application server with an in-memory object store which embeds the ActiveSpaces Enterprise Edition as well. These capabilities allow it to place all data in-memory for lower latency when doing transactions. Typical customers have been credit card payments systems, mobile payments, and other extreme transaction use cases. Software AG conrmed its commitment to in-memory caching when it acquired market leader Terracotta earlier this year. Terracotta provides Software AG with the de facto caching standard for enterprise Java, which is involved with hundreds of thousands of deployments in the open source community. The acquisition helps Software AG eventually fulll its plans to offer its middleware as a platform-as-a-service by increasing the performance and scalability of its app platform, webMethods. After successfully completing integration of IDS Scheer with its software portfolio, the company is poised to take on new acquisition and integration challenges. Red Hat recently announced a limited release of JBoss Enterprise Data Grid, a product based on the Innispan JBoss community project. The scalable, distributed data cache aims to ease the load on database servers, improve response time in applications, and improve resilience. It is part of Red Hats strategy for a comprehensive, open source distributed service fabric to help developers develop, deploy, and manage applications in the cloud. Red Hat is emphasizing the need for open standards around this evolving technology, and it is in a good position to continue this discussion. The company is also clearly articulating its strategy and roadmap around in-memory technology, which is expected to evolve into a distributed data service platform eventually. In recent months, Microsoft began including new caching technology available in Windows Server AppFabric, called Caching Services, to enable distributed in-memory caching for ASP.NET applications. The technology requires no code changes, but is simply plugged into the ASP.NET model to enable Web apps built on that framework to apply elastic caching and add or remove resources as Web apps need to scale. As an extension to this product, Microsoft has also just released into production Windows Azure AppFabric Caching for the cloud. The service caches all types of data and provides multi-tenant caching.

Oracle

TIBCO

Software AG

Red Hat

Microsoft

Continued

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Advisory Report
A Scorecard Illustrating Application Platform Providers Different Approaches to In-Memory Computing (Continued) Vendor
Current Capabilities/Future Opportunities In-Memory Strategy Score (5 best) 5

VMware

In Q4 2011, as part of its vFabric cloud application platform, VMware will release SQLFire in-memory data management software, which includes the SQL interface to make it easier for SQL users to add a distributed data platform which supports applications that experience changing user workloads and need extremely high performance. Stemming from its GemFire technology, SQLFire enables scalability within its application platform by providing elasticity at the data tier so (typically Web-oriented) applications can scale to accommodate spikes in users. The technology also represents an opportunity to help VMware better establish itself as an app platform provider with scalability and reliability on par with its leading competitors. Progress Softwares ObjectStore technology is distributed data caching targeting customers with realtime applications. ObjectStore Enterprise aims to simplify development of enterprise applications that access relational data through either model-driven or schema-driven development. The technology supports cross-platform deployment of high-performance applications written in Java, C++, or C# and is used for development in BEA WebLogic, IBM WebSphere, and Microsoft .NET frameworks. SAP received worldwide attention following the release of its in-memory application acceleration technology, called HANA, which uses sophisticated data compression techniques and emphasizes advanced analytics. The appliance will initially be positioned as a data warehouse enhancement tool for accelerating large-scale analytics; however, SAP claims the technology has the potential to be the data platform for massive applications as they are built, eventually replacing maintenance-intensive database management systems, calling it a major disruptive play for the industry. Under HANAs unique engine, not only is the data held in RAM vs. disks, but it is more intelligently organized to eliminate duplication.

Progress Software

SAP

Report:

Recommended Actions

In-Memory Technology Brings Performance and Scale to Modern Apps

Application Infrastructure

Recommended Vendor Actions

Application platform vendors should outline their strategy for enhancing core platforms with inmemory technology, either through acquisitions or in-house development. These companies are in a position to get in front of an emerging, advanced technology and take advantage of new business opportunities and customer markets. In-memory is an important technology that can help position vendors as thought leaders, able to anticipate where the market is going. Vendors moving into this space need to work toward moving their high-speed tools into full data services platforms, which include functionality such as security, caching, performance availability, and real-time analytics. Vendors need to improve their messaging around in-memory technology roadmaps and in providing general knowledge around this evolving technology. A number of vendors are limited in their marketing collateral and need to make such material available to the industry and especially customers, considering this is a new concept for many.
Recommended Buyer Actions

Customers of application platforms need to begin to understand in-memory technology and its growing importance in helping increase application performance and scalability. Some customers will be interested in using in-memory computing for enabling event processing and real-time analytics. Enterprise customers with growing volumes of client-based applications should have discussions with their application platform providers regarding the best methods of adopting in-memory computing with minimal disruption to the business. Users should be looking for vendor roadmaps and strategies around distributed in-memory and data platforms. In-memory computing technology will likely impact broader numbers of enterprises sometime over the next 12 to 24 months, beyond traditional users (such as financial firms) of high-performance, analytical technology. Organizations should be looking at how vendors are simplifying the complexity of in-memory technology into easy-to-use and manageable data platforms.
2011 Current Analysis Inc. All rights reserved. For more information, please call +1 703 404 9200, toll-free +1 877 787 8947 Europe +33 (0) 1 41 14 83 15. Or visit our Web site: www.currentanalysis.com