To Build or Not to Build--That is the Question

In the world of IT today there is a growing trend toward Converged Infrastructure, or the grouping of multiple IT components into a single optimized system, versus building your own systems from scratch (including servers, storage, networking and software). When it comes to building a database system, the question is the same: to build or not to build?

There are several considerations customers must contemplate when deciding which route to take.  Probably the first question that comes to mind is that of cost. Naturally, most think a “do it myself” configuration would be much cheaper than having someone else putting together all the components, testing them and then selling them as a complete solution. So, to minimize cost, most will take the path of configuring systems on their own, enduring painstaking hours to pull all the necessary pieces together.

Another consideration has to do with deployment time. We all know systems administrators are experts at setting up complex systems configurations. But even with an extensive background and expertise, pulling together a number of disparate components, software and related patches can take an enormous amount of time. So, the question becomes, is the time and effort worth it if there is a quicker route? And let’s not forget about on-going patch maintenance from a variety of vendors chewing up tons of time, as well.

The key is to provide a complete solution that is already fully configured, tested, bug-free and loaded with exceptional capabilities offered at an extremely competitive price point. As a result, many are turning to Oracle Engineered Systems to take the pain out of deploying and managing a database system. The new Oracle Database Appliance X6-2S and Oracle Database Appliance X6-2M are just the systems for the job.  

The new Oracle Database Appliance X6-2 saves time and money by simplifying deployment, maintenance and support of database solutions for organizations of every size. The Oracle Database Appliance has been optimized for Oracle Database—it integrates software, compute, storage and network resources to deliver database services for a wide range of On-line Transaction Processing (OLTP), in-memory database and data warehousing applications. Additionally, all of the hardware and software components are engineered and supported by Oracle. This provides customers with a reliable and secure system, but, to the original point, built-in automation for both deployment and on-going support and maintenance to provide a system leveraging Oracle best practices. This will provide your customers with better total cost of ownership (TCO) versus the typical build it yourself scenario.

To assist in deploying and managing databases, Oracle’s Database Appliance X6-2S / X6-2M systems feature the “Appliance Manager” software designed to simplify the provisioning, patching and diagnosis of the database system. So getting back to the issue raised early about deploying a system in a timely manner, the Appliance Manager feature greatly simplifies the overall deployment process and makes sure the database configuration is in line with Oracle’s best practices. The Appliance Manager also dramatically simplifies maintenance by patching the entire appliance, including all firmware and software, using an Oracle-tested patch bundle engineered specifically for the appliance. The ability to provide system-wide patching all tested and validated together is by far a tremendous capability compared to a build-it-yourself implementation. Add to this built-in diagnostics that continually monitor the X6-2 appliance and detect component failures, configuration issues and any other deviations from best practices. This frees up your time to focus additional best practices services such as database migration and consolidation, deploying new applications to be hosted, etc.

So the next time your customers are at that crossroad and contemplating whether to build it themselves or to go with a complete solution, take a look at Oracle’s Database Appliance X6-2S/X6-2M systems and encourage your customers–not to build.

Randy Batterson is World Wide Channel Go-To-Market Director, Converged Infrastructure at Oracle.