MS SQL Server
Oracle
MySQL
PostGreSQL
IBM DB2
Sybase
Informix
Microsoft Access

The MS SQL Server data engine lies at the core of this enterprise data management solution. Additionally, MS SQL Server combines the best in analysis, reporting, integration, and notification. This enables to build and deploy cost-effective BI solutions allowing driving data into every corner of business through scorecards, dashboards, Web services, and mobile devices.

Close integration with Microsoft Visual Studio, the Microsoft Office System, and a suite of new development tools, including the Business Intelligence Development Studio, sets MS SQL Server apart from the other relational database products in this market segment.

For more details, please refer to: Microsoft website.

Oracle
Oracle database server is an object-relational database management system; this is the first database designed for enterprise grid computing. The Oracle grid architecture pools large numbers of servers, storage, and networks into a flexible, on-demand computing resource for enterprise computing needs.

Oracle Database provides a high degree of self-management - automating routine DBA tasks and reducing complexity of space, memory, and resource administration.

Oracle has a number of products and features that provide high availability in cases of unplanned downtime or planned downtime. These include Fast-Start Fault Recovery, Real Application Clusters, Recovery Manager (RMAN), backup and recovery solutions, Oracle Flashback, partitioning, Oracle Data Guard, LogMiner, multiplexed redo log files, online reorganization. These can be used in various combinations to meet specific high availability needs.

Oracle SQL is a superset of the ANSI/ISO SQL:1999 standard.

Oracle Database developers have a choice of languages for developing applications: C, C++, Java, COBOL, PL/SQL, and Visual Basic. Oracle also provides .NET data access support through the Oracle Data Provider for .NET.
Supported platforms are as follows: Linux (x86/x86-64/zSeries/Itanium/Power), Microsoft Windows (32-bit/x64/64-bit Itanium), Solaris (x86/64-bit), AIX5L, HP-UX PA-RISC, HP-UX Itanium, HP Tru64 UNIX, HP OpenVMS Alpha, IBM z/OS, Mac OS X Server.

For more details, please refer to: Oracle website.

MySQL
MySQL is a multithreaded, multi-user, SQL (Structured Query Language) Database Management System (DBMS) with an estimated six million installations. MySQL AB makes MySQL available as free software under the GNU General Public License (GPL), but they also sell it under traditional commercial licensing arrangements for cases where the intended use is incompatible with use of the GPL.

There are APIs available that allow applications written in numerous programming languages to access MySQL databases, including: C, C++, C#, Eiffel, Smalltalk, Java, Lisp, Perl, PHP, Python, Ruby, REALbasic and Tcl; each of these uses a specific API. An ODBC interface called MyODBC allows additional programming languages that support the ODBC interface to communicate with a MySQL database.

MySQL works on many different platforms-including AIX, BSDi, FreeBSD, HP-UX, GNU/Linux, Mac OS X, NetBSD, Novell NetWare, OpenBSD, OS/2 Warp, QNX, SGI IRIX, Solaris, SunOS, SCO OpenServer, SCO UnixWare, Tru64, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP and more recent versions of Windows. A port of MySQL to OpenVMS is available here.

For more details, please refer to: MySQL website.

PostgreSQL
PostgreSQL is a free object-relational database server (database management system), released under a flexible BSD-style license. It offers an alternative to other open-source database systems (such as MySQL and Firebird), as well as to proprietary systems such as Oracle, Sybase, IBM's DB2 and Microsoft SQL Server. Similar to other open-source projects such as Apache and Linux, PostgreSQL is not controlled by any single company, but relies on a community of global developers and companies to develop it.

For more details, please refer to: PostgreSQL website.

DB2®
DB2® is IBM's family of information management software products. DB2 Universal Database (DB2 UDB) is a relational database management system that delivers a flexible and cost-effective database platform to build robust on demand business applications. DB2 UDB further leverages resources with broad support for open standards and popular development platforms like J2EE and Microsoft .NET. The DB2 UDB family also includes solutions tailored for specific needs like business intelligence and advanced tooling.

IBM and DB2 are frequently at or near the top of the TPC-C (OLTP) and TPC-H (data warehousing) industry benchmarks published on the transaction processing council's website.

DB2, like Oracle, can be administered from either the command-line or a GUI. The command-line interface requires more knowledge of the product but can be more easily scripted and automated. The GUI is a multi-platform Java client that contains a variety of wizards suitable for novice users.

DB2 has APIs for .NET CLI, Java, Python, Perl, PHP, C++, C, REXX, PL/I, COBOL, RPG, FORTRAN, and many other programming languages. DB2 also supports integration into the Eclipse and Visual Studio .NET integrated development environments.

For more details, please refer to: IBM website.

Sybase SQL
Sybase SQL Server was the name of Sybase Corporation's primary relational database management system product from 1987 to 1995.

It was originally created for UNIX platforms in 1987. In 1988, SQL Server for OS/2 was codeveloped for the PC by Sybase, Microsoft, and Ashton-Tate. Ashton-Tate divested its interest and Microsoft became the lead partner after porting SQL Server to Windows NT.

Microsoft and Sybase sold and supported the product through version 4.21. In 1993 the codevelopment licensing agreement between Microsoft and Sybase ended and the companies parted ways while continuing to develop their respective versions of the database management system.

In 1995, Sybase released SQL Server 11.0. Thereafter, it decided to better differentiate its product from Microsoft SQL Server by renaming it to Adaptive Server Enterprise in versions 11.5 and beyond.

For more details, please refer to: Sybase website.

Informix
Informix is a family of relational database management system products from IBM, acquired in 2001 from a company (also called Informix) which dates its origins back to 1980.

The Informix DBMS started from the pioneering Ingres system that also led to Sybase and Microsoft SQL Server. For a period during the 1990s Informix was the second most popular database system, after Oracle. Success did not last very long, however, and by 2000 a series of management blunders had significantly weakened the company financially.

In 2001 IBM, prompted by a suggestion from Wal-Mart [1], purchased Informix. IBM has long-term plans to merge Informix technology into DB2, though as of 2004 it continues to release enhanced versions of the Informix product line. In early 2005, IBM released version 10 of Informix IDS.

For more details, please refer to: IBM website.

Microsoft Access
Microsoft Access is a relational database management system from Microsoft, packaged with Microsoft Office Professional which combines the relational Microsoft Jet Database Engine with a graphical user interface. It can use data stored in Access/Jet, SQL Server, Oracle, or any ODBC-compliant data container. It supports substantial object-oriented (OO) techniques but falls short of being a fully OO development tool.

Access is widely used by small businesses to create ad hoc customized systems for handling small tasks. Some professional application developers use Access for rapid application development, especially for the creation of prototypes and standalone applications that serve as tools for on-the-road salesmen. Access does not scale well if data access is via a network, so applications that are used by more than a handful of people tend to rely on a Client-Server based solution such as Oracle, DB2, Microsoft SQL Server, PostgreSQL, MySQL, or MaxDB. However, an Access "front end" (the forms, reports, queries and VB code) can be used against a host of database backends, including Access itself, SQL Server, Oracle, and any other ODBC-compliant product. This approach allows the developer to move a matured application's data to a more powerful server without sacrificing the development already in place.

For more details, please refer to: Microsoft website

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