StrataVia, Formerly ExtraQuest, Introduces Database Administration Solution for Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle and IBM DB2.DENVER -- LowerMyBills.com, Media News Group Interactive and Restoration Hardware are using Data Palette Data Palette is an IT process and decision automation platform developed by Stratavia. It is intended as a highly scalable and flexible means for automating repetitive IT tasks, such as software upgrade and patch management, network and server provisioning, database maintenance, to automate standardized business processes for database administration ExtraQuest, a provider of database administration services, announced today it has renamed the company StrataVia Corporation(TM) and introduced Data Palette 3.0, a database administration (DBA) solution for Microsoft SQL Server A relational DBMS from Microsoft that is a major component of the Windows Server System. It is Microsoft's high-end client/server database and is closely integrated with Microsoft Visual Studio and the Microsoft Office System. , Oracle and IBM (International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, www.ibm.com) The world's largest computer company. IBM's product lines include the S/390 mainframes (zSeries), AS/400 midrange business systems (iSeries), RS/6000 workstations and servers (pSeries), Intel-based servers (xSeries) DB2. Data Palette helps define the best practices for performing simple or highly complex database activities as well as standardize and automate key DBA functions, bringing major gains in operational efficiency and substantial savings in the IT budget. StrataVia has used previous versions of Data Palette (formerly known as RoboDOC) in its managed services An umbrella term for third-party monitoring and maintaining of computers, networks and software. The actual equipment may be inhouse or at the third-party's facilities, but the "managed" implies an ongoing effort; for example, making sure the equipment is running at a certain quality business for the past 3 years, and is now launching it to the market for the first time. Unique in providing this standardization and automation is Data Palette's ability to define and capture standard operating procedures standard operating procedure Medtalk A technique, method or therapy performed 'by the book,' using a standard protocol meeting internally or externally defined criteria; a formal, written procedure that describes how specific lab operations are to be performed. (SOPs), business processes that completely define the best practices for performing simple or highly complex activities to be performed on the database. For example, a "Backup" SOP determines how the organization wants database backups to be done across the entire organization, no matter how many databases, database types, or system platforms are involved. Standardization around best practices means that any DBA can apply any SOP and always achieve the same results-for example, a junior Oracle DBA can perform a complex action on an IBM database and the outcome will be the same as if it had been executed by an expert IBM DBA. Data Palette also tracks every action performed on the database, so it can be used for a complete audit of all activity that took place on the database in a specified timeframe and help organizations achieve and maintain regulatory compliance. Standard operating procedures can be run on an ad hoc For this purpose. Meaning "to this" in Latin, it refers to dealing with special situations as they occur rather than functions that are repeated on a regular basis. See ad hoc query and ad hoc mode. basis, scheduled to run at certain times, or set to run when certain conditions apply. Data Palette is constantly monitoring the complete database environment-not just the database itself-such as the operating system operating system (OS) Software that controls the operation of a computer, directs the input and output of data, keeps track of files, and controls the processing of computer programs. and the network. It can be set to execute a given SOP as conditions change, such as when disk space is getting low or when response times are reaching unacceptable levels, Data Palette can automatically step in to execute an approved procedure. Also, once these best practices are defined in the SOP format, they can be applied automatically, freeing up the DBA from much of the repetitive work that they are routinely confronted with. Data Palette is built on open standards Specifications for hardware and software that are developed by a standards organization or a consortium involved in supporting a standard. Available to the public for developing compliant products, open standards imply "open systems;" that an existing component in a system can be replaced and is compatible with many existing enterprise toolsets including monitoring, ticketing and change control, as well as IT management frameworks such as ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library, www.itil.co.uk) One of the more comprehensive as well as non-proprietary and publicly available sets of guidelines for "best practice" IT services management, owned by the British Office of Government Commerce (OGC). and COBIT (Control OBjectives for Information and related Technology) A business-oriented set of standards for guiding management in the sound use of information technology from the Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA) (www.isaca.org). . "Data Palette is the 'best practices' of database administration -- a distillation of the hundreds of person-years experience that we gained in providing managed services for many large and complex Oracle, SQL Server An earlier relational DBMS from Sybase and from Microsoft. Sybase introduced SQL Server in 1988 for various Unix versions. In that same year, with help from IBM, Sybase created an OS/2 version that Microsoft licensed and branded as Microsoft SQL Server. and DB2 databases," said Thor Culverhouse, president and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of StrataVia. "With Data Palette, DBAs are freed from technical 'firefighting' tasks, and can spend their time in proactive work such as business requirements analysis (project) requirements analysis - The process of reviewing a business's processes to determine the business needs and functional requirements that a system must meet. , capacity planning Determining the required future configuration of hardware and software for a network, datacenter or Web site. There are numerous capacity planning tools on the market used to monitor and analyze the performance of the current hardware and software. , design, architecture, compliance related efforts, application/database interplay, benchmark tests, and evaluation of new products." According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Noel Yuhanna, in the January 2006 Forrester Report entitled Trends 2006: Database Management Tools, "The demand in 2006 for database management tools in the areas of archiving, security, migration, backup, and replication will continue to increase as enterprises look for comprehensive and automated solutions to support growing requirements. Database tools innovation will focus on self-healing, self-securing, and self-management capabilities, in addition to simplifying administration across heterogeneous environments." Yuhanna states in the August 2005 report entitled Database Administration Can Improve Efficiency and Lower Costs that "Automation formalizes the data management practice, minimizes complexity, and lets enterprises focus on business issues, rather than having to deal with technology-related challenges." "Forrester estimates that 25 percent of all database outages are related to human errors, mainly because of complexity in managing databases and infrastructure, as well as informal data management practices. Although the percent of such outages is decreasing because of improved and simplified database management systems (DBMS (DataBase Management System) Software that controls the organization, storage, retrieval, security and integrity of data in a database. It accepts requests from the application and instructs the operating system to transfer the appropriate data. ) products, enterprises can accelerate the process by automating routine administration tasks." (Automating Database Administration Can Improve Efficiency and Lower Costs, Forrester Research Forrester Research is an independent technology and market research company that provides its clients with advice about technology's impact on business and consumers. Corporate facts
Media News Group Interactive Improving Operational Efficiency Media News Group Interactive (MNGi), headquartered in Denver, CO, builds and maintains 74 Web sites, which include Media News Group's 49 daily newspapers, several regional portals, a number of classified vertical sites and the company's umbrella site, www.newschoice.com. Media News Group Interactive is an early customer of Data Palette, and according to Ryan Johnson Ryan Johnson can refer to:
"As the DBA for our company, I have used Data Palette extensively for the past year and a half and the tool has proven invaluable in troubleshooting our database performance problems that we have encountered," said MNGi's Ryan Johnson. It captures and displays extensive database and system information allowing me to correlate various metrics over a given window of time. This has allowed me to more quickly identify the root cause of a problem and introduce the solution. Another great feature of the tool is the SOP functionality. I have been able to automate most of my repetitive DBA tasks, monitor for various events and respond with appropriate actions, and identify trends within the database. This has freed me up to focus more on higher level DBA tasks and system planning." Data Palette Provides Insightful Reporting Data Palette provides deep insight into the overall database environment and keeps track of the Key Performance Indicators Key Performance Indicators (KPI) are financial and non-financial metrics used to quantify objectives to reflect strategic performance of an organization. KPIs are used in Business Intelligence to assess the present state of the business and to prescribe a course of action. that truly reflect the health of the database. The Health Check Report from Data Palette, doesn't merely present some important statistics, but it generates analytic reports that more accurately reflect the way that the database is meeting the needs of the overall business. For example, the "User Irritation Quantification Report" reviews those conditions that are likely to cause the users to become frustrated with the system, and analyzes what is causing the problem. Data Palette consists of the following core functionality: SOP Module -- Enables users to define and deploy SOPs for recurring or complex tasks. SOPs standardize business rules and procedures for an entire organization. Included are wizards, graphical workflow editor, and other tools for building, and deploying SOPs. Version control of SOPs and related code components is built in. Expert Engine -- Data Palette's integrated analytical platform with pre-built DBA subject-matter expertise, and an extensible knowledge base. Anticipates bottlenecks and sources of failure, and proactively invokes Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) that maintain normal operation without DBA intervention (or alerts DBAs to take appropriate action). Reports Center -- A browser-based tool that enables managers and analysts to access reports from a desktop or laptop. Reports include technical, service-level management, compliance related and analytical reports. Auditing/Compliance -- Data Palette maintains a complete record of all actions applied to the database, which provides data necessary to ensure regulatory compliance (e.g., with Sarbanes-Oxley, HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act of 1996, Public Law 104-191) Also known as the "Kennedy-Kassebaum Act," this U.S. law protects employees' health insurance coverage when they change or lose their jobs (Title I) and provides standards for patient health, , etc.). Auditing is resource-efficient and has no adverse effect on system performance. Monitoring Module Provides an ad-hoc as well as historical 360 degree view of all database instances (Oracle, DB2, SQL Server); hardware, OS, storage sub-system, and network status; application SQL SQL in full Structured Query Language. Computer programming language used for retrieving records or parts of records in databases and performing various calculations before displaying the results. performance; and user wait times. Also provides alerting and escalation, along with relevant dashboards for faster root cause analysis. Health Check -- Provides key metrics on database health. Enables DBAs to perform trend analysis, capacity planning, and resource management. Data Palette uses the DBA intelligence that is built into it to assess the health of the complete data environment, although the metrics by which the health is measured can be edited to suit the individual user's environment. Data Palette also provides a knowledge base, ticketing module, SQL Editor/Tuner, SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) A widely used network monitoring and control protocol. Data are passed from SNMP agents, which are hardware and/or software processes reporting activity in each network device (hub, router, bridge, etc. module, database change tracker as well as a scheduling and workflow engine Workflow engine is a software application meant to manage and execute modeled business processes. It is a key component in workflow technology. It will typically make use of a database server. . Pricing and Availability Data Palette 3.0 is available immediately and is generally priced at $6,000 per database instance. The product is shipping with "Backup," "Restore" and "Maintenance" SOPs for SQL Server, Oracle and DB2 environments running Unix, Solaris, Windows and Linux. A library of additional SOPs and automation routines are available for purchase separately. About StrataVia StrataVia Corporation offers Product and Managed Services solutions that provide its customers with savings of up to 60 percent of their database administration bills, and elevate the operational maturity of their database environments. Customers include Restoration Hardware, LowerMyBills.com, Media News Group Interactive, and Carl Zeiss
Carl Zeiss (September 11, 1816 – December 3, 1888) was an optician commonly known for the company he founded, Zeiss. International. StrataVia's patent-pending technology, Data Palette(TM), enables customers to automate many of the tasks performed by database administrators, and to ensure that actions applied to the databases conform to standard business processes and best practices. Powerful predictive analytics within Data Palette lead to issues being detected and resolved before they become problems. StrataVia's Product and Service solutions support all major database platforms. StrataVia is a private company based in Denver, Colorado, USA, with an Operations Center in Mumbai, India. |
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