While the threat from hackers is low for individuals, a more serious threat to personal privacy comes from unscrupulous premastering companies that operate websites for quick quids. Many premastering sites require you to register before you can use its services. Often you must provide personal information, such as your name, street address, and e-mail address. Then as you browse the site, data is collected as to which pages you visited, how long you remained on each page, the links you clicked, what terms you searched, and so on. After a number of visits to the site, a personal profile emerges. The question is, what do premastering site operators do with this information?
Most claim that they use it to personalize your experience on the site. For instance, if a premastering site learns that you are interested in premastering, the next time you visit the site, you might be presented with an article or advertisements for that and related products. But some premastering websites sell this information to marketers, which means that you may find yourself receiving unwanted catalogs from garden suppliers. Our preferred retailer does not do this.
Reduce TCO: The Java Database Way
by: Parveen Aggarwal
TCO (Total Cost Ownership) is the buzzword in today's business world. This metric helps enterprise managers assess direct and indirect costs and benefits derived from their investment on IT components and services. A vital component of overall TCO is database management. All information-centric applications need databases for data storage. Also, the storage demands of small and mid-sized companies are growing rapidly, as more emphasis is given on data backup and long-term archival of data disaster recovery.
Embedded databases have arrived in this scenario as a major cost-cutting tool. They help organizations in managing the growing storage requirements by providing a cost-effective and reliable solution for data backup, file storage and archiving, thereby assuring a lower cost of ownership for small to medium sized business organizations.
The remainder of this article will focus on the database server that I am most familiar with (Daffodil DB) and how it helps in the reduction of TCO. Though the example has some nuances specific to Daffodil DB, I am sure that readers will be able to extrapolate the theme to better understand the role of a database in TCO reduction.
Let's begin with Development and Deployment Costs. Gone are the days when applications had to be tested extensively for all underlying platforms. Now, one can shrink the cost and time required to develop and setup solutions on multiple platforms by using a Java database. A separate deployment for different platform implementations of a large application is a major expense that an enterprise can do without.
Administration Costs are a major concern for many-a-company. Logically, database administration costs are a significant component of TCO. When embedded with an application, a compact Java database can be made practically invisible to the user, since it (the database) requires no administration and runs on the same Java virtual machine (JVM) as does the application. Its simple performance tuning process helps in optimizing database performance and vastly reduces database administration costs.
Now let's move on to Compatibility Cost. Java databases, being platform independent, are compatible with all operating systems and application servers. This feature helps developers in choosing their own range of effective and economical solutions. For example, with Daffodil DB the developer can use Open Source tools like JBOSS application server for reducing overall TCO.
Last, but certainly not the least, let's get to Licensing Costs. Pardon me if I seem to evangelize Daffodil DB, but that's one area where I can 'preach' with confidence. As Daffodil DB can be used / embedded with a wide array of applications, flexible licensing policies have been developed to accommodate the diverse needs of the development community without restricting the same to just one standard license. Each application development organization may pick the right combination of licenses that best meets its needs. The organizations may also acquire additional licenses or upgrade their licenses. Do I hear someone shout 'What about Open Source?'
About The Author
This article has been contributed by (Mr.) Parveen Aggarwal, Technical Consultant to DSL India (http://www.daffodildb.com). With more than 6 years of industry experience in Java and allied technologies, he has an in-depth understanding of J2EE, J2ME and database management systems. Parveen is currently working on the concept of data-archiving in embedded databases. He can be contacted at parveenaggarwal@hotmail.com
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