According to TDWI Research’s 2011 Big Data Analytics Survey, 33% of surveyed organizations are contemplating a replacement of their analytic databases, data warehouses, and similar platforms to keep pace with new and intensifying requirements for advanced analytics in a “big data” world.

As user organizations make such platform replacements—or add additional platforms to their expanding data warehouse architectures—they are turning more and more to specialized analytic database management systems (DBMSs). For example, a 2012 TDWI Technology Survey reveals that roughly half of organizations surveyed have already deployed one or more standalone analytic databases, and an additional third plan to deploy their first within three years.

A number of trends are driving the adoption of purpose-built analytic databases:

• Organizations want more business value from big data.
• User organizations want more analytics, in general.
• Advanced analytic methods and big data volumes demand a purpose-built analytic database.

This TDWI Checklist Report presents requirements for analytic DBMSs with a focus on their use with big data. Along the way, the report also defines the many techniques and tool types involved. The requirements checklist and definitions can assist users who are currently evaluating analytic databases and/or developing strategies for big data analytics.