ReadWriteEnterprise

The huge problem for online services is that traditional SQL database managers don't scale up when database sizes approach "exascale" - the tremendous and fast-growing repositories needed by services like Facebook and Twitter. There's nothing conceptually wrong with SQL, it's just that the underlying RDBMS architecture does not perform well with these tremendous workloads.

Simpler database constructs can handle bigger workloads, as long as the work they do stays more along the lines of simple storage and retrieval and doesn't get too analytical. Today, a new vendor named DataStax whose backers include Rackspace is launching a commercial rendition of an exascale database manager that marries an open source database manager project launched at Facebook with an open source distributed processing project started at Google.

An article by Derek Singleton on the blog for Software Advice talks about five things that he sees makes SaaS unique, including the talent draw of cloud companies, the ability to scale up operations more smoothly, the way cloud software is being purchased and consumed and other reasons.

While Singleton makes a lot of sense - and I do like the folks on Software Advice and think they are generally smart guys - he is missing a few major drawbacks with SaaS that are holding things back for better enterprise adoption.

Ever wondered which industries use the most data? How much data storage has grown since the late 80's? If you're obsessed with data (aren't we all?) this infographic posted on the Rackspace blog will put things in perspective.

Looking for an excuse to buy an iPad 2, which hit the streets today? The iPad continues to be used as a device for business as well as pleasure, and several enterprise apps were either released or updated since our last round-up. Take a look and see if any of them justify the expense of a new tablet.

The optimism for cloud computing is ebullient. But a problem is brewing in the fevered boil.

Customers need better ways to monitor performance. Deploying to the cloud is one matter. Monitoring in a way that optimizes deployment is a whole other issue. Every cloud service provider has a different dashboard. Deploying to multiple cloud service providers means monitoring multiple dashboards.

Cloudkick is a Y Combinator startup that has developed a Web application to help monitor performance so a customer may receive a unified view of its deployment.

Rackspace is launching a new service called "Cloud Drive," that allows businesses to store, share and back up files in the Rackspace cloud.

Rackspace is one of the world's largest hosting companies but with more services being offered in the cloud, it is starting to look like it is also establishing a presence as a collaboration services provider.

The chief executive of Rackspace says the company has closed the gap with Amazon, gaining significant market share in its cloud computing compared to a year ago.

In an interview with Reuters, Chief Executive Lanham Napier said a year ago Amazon was "incredibly far ahead," of Rackspace in the cloud computing market. But this year he said Rackspace has closed the gap with Amazon's web services business.

Nimsoft is launching a benchmarking service today for enterprise customers that will help them define and measure the actual costs of cloud computing and monitor the performance of IT infrastructure.

The benchmarking service monitors the multiple systems of an enterprise and pulls them into a unified view. These include internal systems, managed service providers, and cloud-based and Software-as-a-Service investments.

RackSpace recently published a survey on cloud hosting. The company asked 1500 small and mid-sized businesses in the US and UK what they knew about cloud hosting and if they intend to use it. The results of the survey may surprise you. One key finding was that there is a large gap between small and mid-sized businesses in their adoption of cloud hosting.