The Chief Executive Officer of Queplix, Mark Cashman, shares his view and insights on the state of Queplix and trends within technology and industry that are shaping them.

The Chief Executive Officer of Queplix, Mark Cashman, shares his view and insights on the state of our business and trends within technology and industry that are shaping them.

A Market Point of View

Written by Mark Cashman Tuesday, February 01, 2011 11:11 PM

Some things should make you stand up and take notice; data virtualization is one of those things.  Certainly virtualization as a technology or category is no longer new.  But data virtualization is one of the emerging segments in virtualization that has now reached critical mass.  All of the same drivers make it compelling - lower cost, lower risk and higher return on investment.

Data virtualization is the process of identifying, packaging, moving and ultimately storing your data without physically making additional copies throughout the process.  Data virtualization creates a layer between applications and their data so that you can use the data, to your benefit.  This virtual layer allows you to unlock your data from proprietary applications to get the utility you need.  Data virtualization separates the applications from your data such that you can use the data in new ways.

Data virtualization has been cast by some as a replacement to ETL, EAI or EII.  It is far more substantial - data virtualization is enabling you to do things you have not been able to do before without a tremendous amount of work, and with greater return on investment and lower risk.

As a proof point I would suggest doing a little research on which companies are now marketing themselves as data virtualization vendors.  Here you  you will find some household names from the technology company roster. These vendors understand the challenges the enterprise face and want to cash in on the action.  But, of course, it is often the case of finding a wolf in sheep’s clothing.  Their primary business model is wrapped around legacy technology.  For some, the complexity of their approach brings so much customization that there is more revenue in the services than in the software product.  Surely the model is upside down - we can help you fix it.

So, do your research and consider taking on change.

Stand up and take notice of the challenges you have faced to date and ask yourself does the existing way of managing my data really work? Can I achieve my goals and objectives using existing tools and technology, and how long will it take? The comfortable or easy bet didn’t get you to where you are today. Reach out explore other opportunities and realize another evolution surrounds you. Don’t become extinct like the dinosaurs!  The nimble market leaders across all industries know how to use new and innovative technologies that offer competitive advantage.  Faster development cycles, lower risk and greater return on investment are more important than ever.  Data virtualization can bring you all of this across applications for data discovery, business intelligence, data integration, data management, governance, quality, compliance and much more

In my next blog post I will explore how this new approach streamlines many of the tasks you perform today simply and more cost effectively.