Several people have asked me to explain the name of this blog. Why “Invisible Database”? Good question. I chose this name for several different reasons that I will try to explain here.
1. When our OEM partners embed our SQL Anywhere product inside their own software product, the end-user does not usually realize there is even a database included. The user simply uses the application provided by our partner. Hence, the database software is for the most part “invisible”. This blog will discuss some of the engineering and business aspects about embedding 3rd party software with your own, drawing on experiences with the SQL Anywhere OEM partners.
2. When SQL Anywhere is used by corporations for their mobile applications, the user is usually not aware of the complex database and data synchronization system that enables their application to “just work”. The entire system is just “invisible”. In these blog posts I will comment on some of the factors that increase the probability of success when implementing these type of systems.
3. The success we have had with our customers and OEM partners is often not reflected with broad market awareness. In fact, at times we have been accused of using a “stealth” or “invisible” marketing strategy. This blog will provide an engineering viewpoint on the promotion and sales of development and infrastructure software, again, drawing on the experiences with our customers and partners.
4. The SQL Anywhere engineering team is, in my opinion, one of the most talented set of individuals ever put together. Many customers and partners I have worked with in the past have commented to me that they would like to understand more about our team, and how it works. To date, this aspect has been mostly “invisible”. Through this blog I will share some personal observations and comments about the SQL Anywhere team.
I welcome your comments and observations on any of these thoughts
2 responses so far ↓
1 Breck Carter // Apr 19, 2008 at 5:07 am
That’s got to include me, when you say “at times we have been accused of using a “stealth” or “invisible” marketing strategy”… in fact, I resent the “at times” part, as far as I know my accusations have been continuous, unrelenting, and, I’m sure, over the years quite wearisome
…
Seriously, invisibility does have some unintended consequences, like almost no one who doesn’t already use SQL Anywhere knowing much about its capabilities. This blog center is a great idea, well executed, and it *forces* me to repeat the tired old exhortation: Keep up the good work!
2 Embedded and Invisible Technology // Mar 30, 2009 at 5:56 am
[...] the author of a blog with the title “Invisible Database”, I couldn’t ignore this statement. We believe that SQL Anywhere is the best embedded database [...]
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