Delphix is a database virtualization software company that turns expensive database infrastructure into software that can run in a fraction of the space, while preserving full functionality and performance.
Problem: database ecosystem redundant, dynamic, expensive Most datacenters spend a great deal managing unstructured data, but they spend the most pound-for-pound in the database ecosystem. If you zoom into the database ecosystem, the production application and database is only the tip of the iceberg, as little as 10% of the total infrastructure footprint and costs. Most enterprises are unaware of the full extent of the redundancy and complexity required in regular operations. Due to the high business criticality of applications like ERP and CRM, enterprises generally create multiple copies of their database infrastructure before making even small changes or improvements. For most important applications, a full copy of infrastructure exists for development and QA for production support—to help troubleshoot problems if errors occur in the database or application. In addition, typical environments will create two more copies for dev and QA for projects—such as an application or database upgrade, update, or patch, which come out from vendors monthly or quarterly. In enterprises that develop or customize applications, even more copies are created in non-production environment for dev, test, QA, and staging. Even worse, all this redundancy gets magnified by the need to constantly move the data. As applications grow and change, databases have to be refreshed in development, then moved to testing, QA, staging, and back to production. For projects, which come regularly, development has to be frequently refreshed and moved through the cycle; using stale or partial data can prolong timelines or impede proper testing. Other copies, such as staging for data warehouses, have to be refreshed weekly, nightly, or even more frequently. It takes the average IT organization 10 hours to 10 weeks to provision a new copy of a database from one environment to another, navigating internal procurement processes and coordinating among DBAs, server, storage, and backup teams—an enormous operational expense.
Solution and benefits: database virtualization At Delphix, we asked a simple question: why make and move around all these copies? What if you could have a single virtual authority that stayed synchronized with production? You could then serve all the copies needed in enterprises off a single shared footprint. If you could do that, you could really empower IT to better service the business—delivering on critical requests from lines of business to improve applications that drive sales or operational efficiency. You could spend less on infrastructure, while simplifying operational IT complexity. Best of all, if you designed the solution correctly, you could achieve all of this with no changes required to production, so you could get a high return on investment, at very low risk.
Technology: CrossFlow Engine—turn hardware into software The CrossFlow Engine sits at the heart of the Delphix Server. CrossFlow takes streams from physical databases and turns them into software virtual databases that can sit in a fraction of the space, but with full functionality and performance. CrossFlow dynamically maps file changes and database logs into a TimeFlow—a rolling window of changes recorded for an LDB that is always application consistent. With content aware reduction, Delphix compresses and eliminates unnecessary, empty, and transient data blocks that are not used—shrinking even the first copy of an LDB by up to 75%. Underneath TimeFlow, Delphix leverages highly mature snapshot and cloning technologies to present VDBs to target servers as a set of pointers that map to already existing blocks, eliminating the need to create new, physical copies. Snapshots have been in existence for several years but have lacked the application awareness to fully harness their power for the database ecosystem. Changes to Delphix VDBs are written as new, compressed blocks and maintained transparently by the Delphix Server. Once opened, VDBs are not updated by Delphix—they are only changed by database users and applications. Only the TimeFlow for the LDB continues to be updated, and new VDBs can be instantly provisioned from that TimeFlow, or open VDBs can be refreshed in place. [Primary Confusion] Even VDBs can have their own TimeFlow, and VDBs can be easily provisioned from VDBs, enabling users to promote databases from development to testing. In some environments, data security may be a concern, so users can automatically mask sensitive data, such as Social Security Numbers, through integrated support for pre and post scripting—obfuscating private information before VDBs become accessible by users. Importantly, Delphix automates all of the highly complex, fault prone parameterization required to provision copies of databases, from changing Oracle SIDs to editing cache settings. The end result is a technology engine that is designed to consolidate all the dynamic, lifecycle copies of databases created in enterprise environments, while reducing the time and complexity of provisioning to nearly zero.
Served Addressable Market (SAM): Bottoms Up Assumptions: Database or structured market for storage software only Unstructured vs. structured data in general: 90:10 to 70:30. Most unstructured data not in corporate data centers, etc. Most unstructured data (media, etc.) not on enterprise storage (grid, commodity architectures like GooglePlex). Estimated storage software for file system vs. database data at major hardware manufacturers: 60:40. File servers: 70:30; mid-tier arrays: 50:50, high-end arrays: 25:75, but spending skewed toward higher end arrays: total spend estimated at 50:50 Storage management, storage device management, storage infrastructure, file system, and other non addressable markets total: 20% of storage software revenue. Hence, 80% and then 50% of storage software market: $4.373 billion, growing at 10.4% annually 75% of respondents in Forrester survey say critical databases growing 10 to 49% annually. Trend of moving unstructured data into structured databases for better manageability (e.g. MS SharePoint) Market Size for Delphix Server 1.0 TAM Oriented for mid-market and departmental or test/development enterprise sales Same TAM as Overall Market Size SAM $1 billion, growing >10% annually ($1.63 billion with Microsoft) Oracle only for 1.0: 38% DBMS Market Shares Oracle: 38% IBM: 32% Microsoft: 24% Sybase: 2% Others: 5% Market Shares by Size of Database Under 2 TB databases: 60% More than 5 TB: 21% 2 TB to 5 TB: 19% 1 TB to <2 TB: 7% 500 GB to <1 TB: 24% 100 GB to 499 GB: 17% <100 GB: 12% Overall SAM: $4.373 billion, growing at 10.4% annually $4.373 billion time 38% (Oracle only) times 60% (under 2TB): $1 billion With Microsoft: $1.627 billion
Return on investment (ROI): business enablement, OpEx, and CapEx By combining consolidation and data reduction technologies, Delphix cuts capital expenditures by over 50% and can even pay for itself instantly if new database storage needs to be procured in the same quarter. Many IT organizations have been forced to do more with less; the ability to slash complexity and time for provisioning by over 90% allows IT personnel to focus on higher priorities and projects with higher returns. Finally, by reducing the time and cost of provisioning database sandboxes to nearly zero, Delphix enables IT to better service business needs. Today, many business ideas—like an end-of-quarter adjustment to a CRM application to drive sales efficiency—never become reality due to the hurdles posed by physical infrastructure. Software infrastructure like VMware and Delphix, however, facilitate innovation, allowing businesses to capture potentially lost opportunity value. With Delphix, enterprises can spend less and move faster than the competition.
Summary Database virtualization is the next logical step in the evolution of the datacenter. In many environments, it may be the single largest opportunity for operational and capital cost savings available. By designing a solution that targets non-production infrastructure, a Delphix investment can provide high returns with very low risk. With Delphix, enterprises can move faster and spend less than the competition. Delphix can be deployed in less than an hour—less time than it takes to provision a single physical database—so schedule a free trial with sales today. Contact us by email at [email_address] .
Usability and simplicity: 3 clicks to provisioning Most enterprise software products build their user interfaces last, so they reflect the mechanics of the technology. At Delphix, we believe in building interfaces around users, providing intuitive usability and enabling end-user self service. Usability isn’t just about elegant interfaces—it reduces the long term operational cost and complexity of a product, increasing customer value over time. After selecting an LDB in Delphix, it takes only three clicks to provision a VDB with no additional hardware required—a dramatic improvement over the days and weeks often required with physical infrastructure.