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ORACLE VS SQL:
DOES THE DATABASE
MATTER IN ERP?
CONTENT
INDUSTRY STANDARD, APPLICATION STANDARD .......................................................... 1
ADMINISTRATIVE, FINANCIAL COSTS ........................................................................... 2
SCALABILITY AND HIGH AVAILABILITY ......................................................................... 3
CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................. 5
ABOUT IFS ................................................................................................................. 6
1
ORACLE VS SQL: DOES THE DATABASE MATTER IN ERP?
ORACLE VS SQL:
DOES THE DATABASE
MATTER IN ERP?
BY RI CK VEAGUE
CHI EF TECHNOLOGY OFFI CER
I FS NORTH AMERI CA
An enterprise application like enterprise resources planning (ERP) or enterprise
asset management (EAM) is comprised of multiple technology layers, but during a
software selection process it is the database layer that can be the subject of some of
the most heated discussions, at least among people in information technology.
IT professionals, like everyone else, have preferences and biases about a number
of things, including databases. Those in line of business management or senior
management may not be concerned about the database, or any other technologies
running behind the application they select and use so long as the application meets
their functional and business needs.
In this whitepaper, well try to sidestep these biases and preferences to compare
how the two most popular databases, SQL Server and Oracle, compare when it
comes to their ability to support an enterprise application in small to medium-sized
business (SMB), middle market and enterprise-level situations. Is one database plat-
form really more complex to operate or expensive to run? How well does each plat-
form scale to support additional users and business growth? Should the database be
a consideration in the selection process at all, and if so, what role should it play?
INDUSTRY STANDARD, APPLICATION STANDARD
IFS Applications has always standardized on Oracle databases. This is in part
because from the standpoint of security, scalability, reliability, and the ability to
support mission critical business processes, Oracle databases are widely recognized
as being superior to other offerings on the market. IT analysts with The Edison
Group have completed studies comparing Oracle databases to SQL server, and have
found that they are more scalable, faster, more reliable and more affordable.
Specifically, Edison found that Oracle is 47 percent faster than any SQL server
install in a Windows environment and it costs 20% less. As even SMBs are operating
internationally and need to support 24-7 operation with a lean IT staff, these strengths
of the Oracle database platform become even more important.
2
ORACLE VS SQL: DOES THE DATABASE MATTER IN ERP?
There is a popular misconception that Oracle is more expensive or more difficult to
operate and support than SQL. A number of years ago, both of these may have been
fair criticisms, but since then, Oracle has added numerous features to expedite
installation and management of the database and to automate storage management
and memory management. Oracle has also developed diagnostic tools that can
provide real-time information on the health of the database and make intelligent
recommendations about how to avoid problems or even improve performance based
on the actual usage patterns of the database.
In reality, Oracle and SQL are similar from the standpoint of simplicity of the
database administration function. An intelligent approach to pricing as part of an
enterprise application, as we will discuss later in this document, can also address
concerns about cost.
Many enterprise software applications try to maximize their market appeal by
offering their products on either an Oracle or SQL database. This may be a good
marketing strategy for them, but may in the end hurt the end user of the software.
An enterprise application designed exclusively for a single database can take advantage
of everything the Oracle database has to offer, delivering more powerful querying
and enterprise application search functionality than applications that support multiple
databases. Enabling those powerful database features, if the application is not aware
of them, is a very complex task. You will also see an improvement in overall perfor-
mance if an application is designed specifically to run on a single database platform
because the application is carefully tailored for the way a particular database performs.
All of these things result in lower overall cost of ownership, higher reliability and a
more satisfied end user because you will have greater uptime, greater performance,
less maintenance overhead and system overhead by technicians.
ADMINISTRATIVE, FINANCIAL COSTS
Oftentimes, the database administrator (DBA) or IT staff of a company in a soft-
ware selection process will express misgivings about the Oracle database because the
company might lack a certified Oracle DBA. In reality, all databases require periodic
support requiring appropriate skills, but the high level of automation provided by
the Oracle database can minimize this effort.
If you are looking at packaged software that has been optimized for a specific
database, the amount of technical skill that you need is reduced, because the optimi-
zation work has already been done by the vendor. An application that is well-
mannered and makes good use of the database will present very few challenges
when it comes to daily management of the underlying database because the applica-
tion will automate many database administration processes. In cases where the
application, as is the case with IFS Applications, is designed specifically for a given
database, this degree of automation that can be achieved may be greater than an
application designed to be database agnostic.
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ORACLE VS SQL: DOES THE DATABASE MATTER IN ERP?
At this point, skills and tasks required of a DBA are similar with both products.
The specific controls used to undertake those tasks may differ from one product to
the other, but the knowledge that the DBA applies is essentially the same. If someone
has SQL Server experience, they can generally apply that knowledge to an Oracle
database administration setting. If anything, the switch to an enterprise application
based on an Oracle database ought to be perceived as an opportunity for a DBA
rather than a threat.
After all an IT professional who knows how to back up a database can perform
this task just as easilyif not more easilyin Oracle as they can in SQL. The same
is true of other database maintenance activities that might be required of a DBA.
In the area of financial cost, the Oracle database has advantages over other data-
base products on the market, but has been perhaps mischaracterized as carrying a
premium price. When it comes to acquisition cost, the Oracle database is priced in
different tiers, including tiers for midrange computers where the pricing is very
aggressive. Oracle prices database licenses to market using SQL Server as a bench-
mark, and in many cases, the Oracle database can come in below SQL for a compa-
rable license. But the Oracle solution, while being competitive in price with SQL,
comes bundled with the ability to use advanced features like real application clusters.
So what you get is a robust, affordable database in a scalable configuration that SQL
Server cannot offer.
SCALABILITY AND HIGH AVAILABILITY
Scalability, the ability of the database to expand and support additional users and
transaction volumes over time, and high availability, the ability to continue transac-
tion processing in event of a component failure, are traditional strengths that Oracle
provides. As more and more small and medium sized enterprises require support for
multi-site, global operations, scalability and high availability become even more
important.
There are two key elements that contribute to the scalability and availability of
the database:
The size of the database must grow over time with limited DBA involvement,
and without requiring changes to the application layer. Oracle provides many
automated tools and features such as Automatic Storage Management (ASM) to
dynamically adjust database size and resource allocations. These adjustments are
made based on the operational characteristics of how the database is actually used,
which of course varies from customer to customer. This substantially reduces the
need to accurately forecast ahead of time exactly how the database will be used
as well as the need for manual adjustments. If not configured correctly, a data-
base can fail resulting in downtime. Oracle automated management features can
help prevent this from happening.
4
ORACLE VS SQL: DOES THE DATABASE MATTER IN ERP?
Redundancy, the ability of the database to continue operation in the event of a
hardware failure, is critical to uninterrupted application operation. Oracle supports
grid computing to meet this challenge. Grid computing is a database architecture
that enhances scalability and load balancing. Oracle Real Application Clusters
(RAC) allows a single copy of a database to be accessed by multiple nodes (servers)
in a computing cluster. This means that multiple applications, multiple users, can
access the database simultaneously in real time while controlling synchronization
and concurrency internally by the cluster itself. In the event one of the servers in
the cluster fails, processing is automatically resumed on a surviving node in the
cluster. Other databases support clustering, but in a less active manner. In some
cases, a backup server is running in a stand by mode, meaning the application
must be restarted in the event of a failure. Other approaches, including data
federation, require the database to be split over multiple servers. This can help
with scalability concerns but not high availability concerns.
Scalability can also be seen as a licensing issue. Oracle provides four different
editions of its database product:
XEa free developer version
Standard Edition
Standard Edition One
Enterprise Edition
The advantage of this tiered license is that an SMB can license SE One and move up
to other versions as the business grows. However, each tiered edition interacts with
an enterprise application in exactly the same way, so there are no changes needed to
the configuration or coding of the application layer of the solution as the edition of
the database changes.
5
ORACLE VS SQL: DOES THE DATABASE MATTER IN ERP?
CONCLUSION
The database is an important aspect of an overall enterprise application solution, but
it is only part of the solution. From a packaged application perspective, looking at
any one part of the solution makes less sense than looking at the overall solution and
how it addresses business needs. In the end, the specific database technology used to
support an enterprise application should be of secondary interest in an application
selection process as long as the database technology:
Is open, supportable and has a clear future to prevent technology lock in;
Does not come with any penalties or drawbacks in terms of cost, ease of use,
scalability or deployability;
Is fully supported by the application, and the application layer takes full
advantage of the databases feature set;
Is scalable and supports cost effective high availability needs consistent with
the business requirements.
Rick Veague is Chief Technology Officer with IF S North America, and is based in the Itasca, Ill.
headquarters. In this role, Veague provides direction for IF S use of Service- Oriented
Architecture (SOA ) and works with IF S leading customers to leverage SOA to provide
state-of-the-art ERP.
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ABOUT IFS
IFS is a public company (OMX STO: IFS) founded in 1983 that develops,
supplies, and implements IFS Applications

, a component-based
extended ERP suite built on SOA technology. IFS focuses on agile
businesses where any of four core processes are strategic: service
& asset management, manufacturing, supply chain and projects.
The company has more than 2,000 customers and is present in
50+ countries with 2,800 employees in total.
More details can be found at www.IFSWORLD.com.
For further information, e-mail to info@ifsworld.com
www.IFSWORLD.com
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