Source: IT Leaders, Japan (http://it.impressbm.co.jp/articles/-/12296, http://it.impressbm.co.jp/articles/-/12296?page=2)

“From Oracle Compatibility to Surpassing Oracle, Focus on Data Management is Key”

Chairman and CTO of TmaxSoft

April 22^nd, 2015 (Wed) Shido Masahiro (Chief Editor, IT Leaders)

Tibero, TmaxSoft’s RDBMS previously emphasized its compatibility with Oracle. Tibero is now garnering attention in the Korean market for its status as Oracle's main rival. Through its product lineup, which includes a web application server and TP (Transaction Processing) monitor, TmaxSoft holds over 50% share of the Korean middleware market. TmaxSoft is now focusing on aggressive global expansion with by targeting companies that employ databases. So, what makes TmaxSoft so confident in Tibero? We interviewed TmaxSoft’s founder and CTO (Chief Technology Officer) Chairman Daeyeon Park to find the answer.

Chairman Daeyeon Park, Founder and CTO of TmaxSoft

── I've heard that TmaxSoft has been expanding its market share through its compatibility with Oracle.

TmaxSoft and Oracle are competitors. As an alternative to Oracle, our focus isn't to develop an Oracle compatible database. We hold over 50% share of the Korean middleware market, and the DBMS (database management system) is the most complex and difficult middleware product to implement. This is because a DBMS handles data, the lifeline of any company that uses a database.

Creating a DBMS that is absolutely integral to an enterprise environment has always been our goal and dream. TmaxSoft has been working on this dream since 2001. Even before that time, before TmaxSoft, I have been designing DBMS through trial and error when I was working in a bank's IT department about 30 years ago.

Going back to the topic of Oracle compatibility, to ensure 100% compatibility with Oracle, the entire system must be built similarly to Oracle. Otherwise, the DBMS cannot ensure reliability or performance.

In the DBMS world, SQL is the international standard for data manipulation languages. By being fully SQL compliant and offering clients a standardized product, users are able to freely choose a DBMS without worrying about compatibility. Web application servers (WAS) are an example of being fully standardized internationally and allowing users to benefit from price and technological competition.

While developing Tibero, our goal was to be fully compliant with the “SQL99” standard set in 1999. However, Oracle adds independent functions to differentiate itself from competitors. Even though Tibero is fully compliant with SQL99, we added functions compatible to Oracle’s independent functions. To say once again, compatibility with Oracle is not the focus of our technology. Our goal is to pursue development of a core engine for data management and to provide users with choice.

Interestingly, DBMS vendors such as Microsoft and IBM are not working towards being fully compliant with SQL; it seems like they have given up on being fully compliant. Since developing a DBMS is complex in itself, it requires knowledge of basic software and other middleware. Each area of development is highly specialized, and it's very easy for each area to become isolated. The right talent and proper oversight is needed to oversee all areas and direct them toward a common goal.

For development engineers, it is easier for them to acquire the necessary skills if the API (Application Programming Interface) is standardized. Recently, various configurations of DBMS are being automated, which is continually changing the type of skills demanded of engineers. Even if an engineer learns the configuration skills for each vendor’s DBMS, it does not bring much value.

──Recently, PostgreSQL has also emphasized compatibility with Oracle, but its penetration rate seems to be low.

This is because adopting an unstable or low compatibility DBMS incurs high costs and faces system problems.

For example, when a client migrates to another DBMS due to dissatisfaction with Oracle, if the new and old DBMS are not perfect compatibility, both DBMS must be used. This situation eliminates any potential cost reductions and increases the chances of integration issues occurring. In the end, the client goes back to Oracle. This cycle, repeated by many clients, resulted in Oracle’s monopolistic presence.

As mentioned earlier, it is easy to develop a DBMS to be 90% similar, but the last 10% is related to the core engine, which is much more complex. The reason why Microsoft and IBM gave up was because of the endless cycle mentioned earlier.

── I heard that there are many Tibero migration cases in Korea.

Currently, the number of Oracle to Tibero migrations and the number of initial adoptions of Tibero are about equal. When we first introduced Tibero to the market, we played the role of being an alternative to Oracle. With this in mind, clients began dropping our name when negotiating with Oracle to gain a pricing leverage. Clients were of the mind that if a problem arose with Tibero, then they could just simply go back to Oracle.

However, after actually adopting Tibero, client attitudes changed. More and more clients are now selecting Tibero, not as an alternative, but as the preferred choice. For example, Hyundai Motors is a major client of Oracle. But recently, Hyundai chose Tibero as their official DBMS product as well as other middleware. We plan on reforming the entire middleware landscape on the global scale. There are even cases of clients using Oracle as a backup to Tibero, which helped the client receive significant discounts.

However, once the age of cloud fully arrives, comparison/competition based on on-premises software will become meaningless. Cloud service users may be interested in cost, but they aren't interested in the technology used in cloud. They don't care which vendor’s DBMS is used.

When cloud providers actually verify Tibero’s operation, they quickly realize that it is to their advantage to migrate to Tibero. Recently, Japan’s Uniadex tested Tibero 5 with Oracle, and Tibero performed slightly below Oracle. However, this performance difference was more than made up by the cost savings. The savings allowed Uniadex make up for the performance loss through increased DBMS hardware expenditures. In addition, the next version of Tibero is expected to offer superior performance results.

We have been holding discussions with a large global cloud service provider to increase their price competitiveness by migrating their DBMS to Tibero.

── You said that you are going to focus on development of the core engine. Are you going to increase compatibility with Oracle?

As I have mentioned before, our final objective is not compatibility with Oracle. We adopted Oracle functions in Tibero 5 (the current version), but the core engine has reached its limits in adding functions. As a result, Tibero 6 will adopt a new architecture to offer functions that Oracle does not have and surpass Oracle. We have already completed 99% of testing, and it is expected to be ready for release around July 2015.

Chairman Daeyeon Park, Founder and CTO of TmaxSoft

The number of functions that a DBMS must offer will only continue to increase. In the age of cloud and IoT (Internet of Things), a DBMS has to offer an environment for easy application development.

The biggest change to DBMS architecture is the multi-thread structure called 'Hyper Thread Architecture'. While the single-thread architecture consumes a large amount of resources, a multi-thread architecture can offer higher performance with greater resource efficiency. The effectiveness of the multi-thread architectures has already been verified in WAS.

With our goals to improve security and to shorten recovery time in mind, we chose parallel processing.

Tibero 6 is also an engine that supports big data. We have a product called ZetaData, which is an appliance server that combines Tibero with storage server technology and a high-speed network. It can process OLTP (OnLine Transaction Processing) and OLAP (OnLine Analytical Processing) simultaneously. Already, we have had discussions concerning creating an appliance with many American server vendors.

In addition to the functions already mentioned, Tibero’s compatibility with other DBMS will also be enhanced. While our compatibility with Oracle is already known, we also want to improve our compatibility with SQLServer and DB2 to begin migrating those DBMS to Tibero. In Tibero 7, we plan on offering this compatibility.

In Tibero 7, we will implement in-memory technology and sensor data technology, which will be needed in the age of IoT. While many in-memory DBMS products are read-only, Tibero will be both read and write. Although most of the functions have already been developed, they will be implemented in Tibero 7 because the new architecture is focal point in Tibero 6. Tibero 7 is set to for release in the second half of 2015.

In the future, we plan on differentiating ourselves from Oracle by developing these technologies. I would just like to say, we're not trying to criticize competing products. In the future data-centric age, there will be a greater need for an environment that integrates and analyzes all data. The current technology, however, does not have the ability integrate all databases.

To use various DBMS types, each with different applications and security concepts, data virtualization technology will become important in the future.

──What is the future business plan for the Japanese market?

Japan is an important foothold for our overseas expansion plans. As TmaxSoft's first overseas subsidiary, TmaxSoft Japan is expanding the number of sales partners for direct customer support.

In the future, we plan on establishing an R&D center for Japanese-specific research and development. This center will be able to provide functions and code to meet the specific needs of Japanese clients. Establishing an overseas R&D center is in response to strong customer demand and to concerns about Korea's political stability. Placing source code in many regions will help allay customers concerns. Thanks to the high quality and standards of Japanese companies, research and development in Japan will lead to increased global competitiveness for TmaxSoft.