The survey results reveal that overall, Microsoft SQL Server required significantly less effort to install and maintain, than Oracle Database. Study participants reported that on average a Database Administrator (DBA) could manage over 30 Microsoft SQL Server databases, while Oracle Database implementations required one DBA per 10 databases. Factoring in slightly higher average salaries for Oracle DBAs, the corresponding annual cost for administration for these two databases comes out to $2,847 per year per database for Microsoft SQL Server and $10,206 per year per database for Oracle Database; over a 350% difference in annual costs per database…

STUDY METHODOLOGY AND GOALS This study was conducted by directly surveying one hundred (100) Directors of Database Administration and Senior Database Administrators (DBAs) from a wide variety of organizations representing fourteen different industries, and ranging from smaller companies with fewer than 300 employees to some of the world’s largest companies with over 100,000 employees. The participants were asked a series of questions regarding their database infrastructures and use, including the number of database servers installed, the average size of each database, and the number of users supported per database. Participants were also asked many detailed questions regarding the overall level of effort required by database administrators to support the Microsoft SQL Server and Oracle Database servers, as well as the average time allocations for several key operational functions. Participant Profile: Participants from a wide variety of industries were represented in the study. Overall, fourteen distinct industry groups were included in the study, with the largest representation coming from Banking and Financial Services and Manufacturing, each contributing 14 survey entries. Healthcare, Insurance and Government were also primary contributors with 11 participants from each of these industries. Represented industries include: • Aerospace and Defense • Insurance • Banking and Financial Services • Manufacturing • Construction and Engineering • Media and Entertainment • Education • Retail • Government • Service Provider / Professional Services • Healthcare • Telecommunications • High Technology (Hardware & Software • Transportation Participation was also spread evenly amongst small, medium, large and very large organizations, with an average company size of 34,400 employees. Study Participation Company Size (Employees) Medium 500 > 1500 19% Small <500 16% Very Large 20,000+ 26% Large 1500 > 20,000 39% Database Profiles: The majority of participants selected for the study, as a desired criteria, supported both Microsoft SQL Server and Oracle Databases within their enterprises, and were knowledgeable regarding both database environments and the work effort required to implement and manage both database platforms. Alinean surveyed installed bases of both solutions including current and prior versions: for Microsoft, this included SQL Server 2000 and 2005, for Oracle this included Oracle Database 9i and 10g. The analysis focused on the latest versions, but legacy version information was collected for analysis and trending …

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