Oracle invests in MySQL

Oracle has decided to boost its investment in the MySQL open source database in order to compete against IBM and Microsoft's SQL server, states Zacks Investment Research.

Oracle acquired MySQL through the acquisition of Sun Microsystems, a provider of enterprise computing systems, software and services.

With its $7.5 billion acquisition, Oracle plans to enter the hardware market, where it will integrate Sun's hardware business into its own database and business applications software business.

IBM has unveiled a number of additions to its line-up of Power7-based servers, software and services, reports Information Week.

IBM unveiled its first line of Power7 servers that feature up to 16 cores per blade, for enterprise systems while its Power 750 Express is for mid-market customers who don't need the horsepower and capacity of the higher-end models.

IBM also released its Systems Director software that allows data centre managers to provision and deploy Power7 blades in minutes, and services that can reduce installation costs by 25%, according to the company.

A shift is taking place, in which organisations are moving more toward using x86-based servers running Windows to handle their business-critical workloads, writes MCP Mag.

Such is the conclusion of a white paper published this month by IDC, but sponsored by Microsoft. The report, called 'Business-critical workloads: supporting business-critical computing with an integrated server platform', credits improvements in x86-based server hardware technologies - plus scalability enhancements in Windows Server 2008 R2 and SQL Server 2008 R2 - as leading to this technology shift.

The report expects to see x86-based machines increasingly running business processing workloads.