Fred Sobotka of FRS Consulting joined theCube to talk with Jeff Kelly about maximizing database performance, and finding insights from data without investing in expensive new systems. The buzz is on Big Data, but smaller customers still need and seek solutions and insights that might not call for a Big Data approach. The main focus for customers of FRS Consulting has been on increasing the performance of their existing databases. They want to gain more value by getting data through the enterprise quicker, with better queries.

The top priority to address these foci, according to Sobotka, is monitoring the performance of what a customer currently has set up. He says that knowing what ‘normal’ (performance-wise) looks like for a system is important. Once you establish what your database is doing with your current workload you can then “find spots where you can extend the use of the database without stressing any of the existing workload.” In addition to finding space for more work, it is important to make sure you are not over configured as well.

Sobotka feels that IBM still has great technology and solutions for companies not taking a Big Data approach. The DB2 from IBM still has a place in companies and has many capabilities that customers may not be aware of. When asked about the DB2 Blue technology, he explains that it addressed a gap that existed. The technology reduces the cost of types of queries that were expensive to run in prime transactional databases at one point in time.

The main advice Sobotka had for CIOs was to master your current database technology. If their staff is not up to date with the latest and greatest in their existing system, then they are not gaining full value out of what they are already paying for. It’s important to get trained on all features currently available and see the opportunities available without shifting to a new more costly system. See the full interview below.