Greenplum is a database

Database

A database is an organized collection of data for one or more purposes, usually in digital form. The data are typically organized to model relevant aspects of reality , in a way that supports processes requiring this information...

 software company in San Mateo

San Mateo, California

San Mateo is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area. With a population of approximately 100,000 , it is one of the larger suburbs on the San Francisco Peninsula, located between Burlingame to the north, Foster City to the east, Belmont to the south,...

, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, specializing in enterprise data

Enterprise software

Enterprise software, also known as enterprise application software , is software used in organizations, such as in a business or government, contrary to software chosen by individuals...

 cloud solutions for large-scale data warehousing

Data warehouse

In computing, a data warehouse is a database used for reporting and analysis. The data stored in the warehouse is uploaded from the operational systems. The data may pass through an operational data store for additional operations before it is used in the DW for reporting.A data warehouse...

 and analytics

Analytics

Analytics is the application of computer technology, operational research, and statistics to solve problems in business and industry. Analytics is carried out within an information system: while, in the past, statistics and mathematics could be studied without computers and software, analytics has...

. The Greenplum Database is built from modified PostgreSQL

PostgreSQL

PostgreSQL, often simply Postgres, is an object-relational database management system available for many platforms including Linux, FreeBSD, Solaris, MS Windows and Mac OS X. It is released under the PostgreSQL License, which is an MIT-style license, and is thus free and open source software...

 in a massively parallel processing (MPP) database.

Developments include the addition of an analytic extension based on MapReduce

MapReduce

MapReduce is a software framework introduced by Google in 2004 to support distributed computing on large data sets on clusters of computers. Parts of the framework are patented in some countries....

, as well as a Column-Oriented Table feature as part of the Polymorphic Data Storage technology. In October 2009, Greenplum released the Single-Node Edition, which offers data analysts access to a free version of the Greenplum Database.

Greenplum also announced its Enterprise Data Cloud platform initiative in 2009, partnering with vendors like the data integration company Informatica

Informatica

Informatica Corporation is a NASDAQ listed company with ticker INFA. Founded in 1993, its headquarters is in Redwood City, California. Founded by Diaz Nesamoney and Gaurav Dhillon...

 and the business intelligence software company MicroStrategy

MicroStrategy

MicroStrategy, Inc. , is a business intelligence software vendor. MicroStrategy's software enables leading organizations worldwide to analyze the vast amounts of data stored across their enterprises to make more strategic business decisions...

 to support cloud computing

Cloud computing

Cloud computing is the delivery of computing as a service rather than a product, whereby shared resources, software, and information are provided to computers and other devices as a utility over a network ....

 capabilities for clients. In April 2010, Greenplum announced the release of its latest technology, Database 4.0, and launched its newest product, Chorus - the world's first Enterprise Data Cloud platform.

On July 6, 2010, EMC Corporation

EMC Corporation

EMC Corporation , a Financial Times Global 500, Fortune 500 and S&P 500 company, develops, delivers and supports information infrastructure and virtual infrastructure hardware, software, and services. EMC is headquartered in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, USA.Former Intel executive Richard Egan and his...

 announced plans to acquire Greenplum for an all-cash deal. EMC completed the acquisition of Greenplum and continues to develop the technology marketed under the Greenplum name.

History

Greenplum was founded in 2003 by Scott Yara, former VP for Sandpiper Networks, and Luke Lonergan, former CEO and founder at Didera.

Technology

The Greenplum Database is based on the open source

Open source

The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...

 database PostgreSQL

PostgreSQL

PostgreSQL, often simply Postgres, is an object-relational database management system available for many platforms including Linux, FreeBSD, Solaris, MS Windows and Mac OS X. It is released under the PostgreSQL License, which is an MIT-style license, and is thus free and open source software...

. It utilizes a shared-nothing MPP architecture that has been designed from the ground up for BI and analytical processing using commodity hardware. In this architecture, data is partitioned across multiple segment servers, and each segment owns and manages a distinct portion of the overall data. All communication is via a network interconnect; there is no disk-level sharing or contention to be concerned with.

Platform support

Greenplum Database supported for production use on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server is a Linux distribution supplied by SUSE and targeted at the business market. It is targeted for servers, mainframes, and workstations but can be installed on desktop computers for testing as well. New major versions are released at an interval of 3-4 years, while...

 10.2 (64-bit), Red Hat Enterprise Linux

Red Hat Enterprise Linux

Red Hat Enterprise Linux is a Linux-based operating system developed by Red Hat and targeted toward the commercial market. Red Hat Enterprise Linux is released in server versions for x86, x86-64, Itanium, PowerPC and IBM System z, and desktop versions for x86 and x86-64...

 5.x (64-bit), CentOS

CentOS

CentOS is a free operating system based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux . It exists to provide a free enterprise class computing platform and strives to maintain 100% binary compatibility with its upstream distribution...

 Linux 5.x (64-bit) and Sun Solaris 10U5+ (64-bit). Greenplum Database 3.3 is supported on server hardware from a range of vendors including HP, Dell, Sun and IBM.

Greenplum Database is supported for non-production (development and evaluation) use on Mac OSX 10.5, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.2 or higher (32-bit) and CentOS Linux 5.2 or higher (32-bit).

Customers

Greenplum has over 100 customers in vertical

Vertical market

A vertical market is a group of similar businesses and customers that engage in trade based on specific and specialized needs. Often, participants in a vertical market are very limited to a subset of a larger industry...

s ranging from financial services and telco to Internet, retail, transportation and pharmaceuticals. Greenplum customers include Fox

Fox Interactive Media

News Corporation's Digital Media Group , also known as News Corp. Digital Media and formerly Fox Interactive Media, oversees the Internet business operations of media giant News Corporation, and was formed to oversee News Corporation's new media acquisitions, including IGN Entertainment, MySpace...

, NASDAQ

NASDAQ

The NASDAQ Stock Market, also known as the NASDAQ, is an American stock exchange. "NASDAQ" originally stood for "National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations". It is the second-largest stock exchange by market capitalization in the world, after the New York Stock Exchange. As of...

, Zions Bancorporation

Zions Bancorporation

Zions Bancorporation is a member of the S&P 500, a bank holding company headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. Among its subsidiaries are Amegy Bank of Texas, California Bank & Trust, National Bank of Arizona, Nevada State Bank, the Commerce Bank of Oregon, the Commerce Bank of Washington,...

, Reliance Communications

Reliance Communications

Reliance Communications Ltd. is an Indian broadband and telecommunications company headquartered in Navi Mumbai, India. RCOM is the world's 16th largest mobile phone operator with over 144 million subscribers. Established on 2004, a subsidiary of the Reliance Group...

, NYSE Euronext, Bakrie Telecom, T-Mobile

T-Mobile

T-Mobile International AG is a German-based holding company for Deutsche Telekom AG's various mobile communications subsidiaries outside Germany. Based in Bonn, Germany, its subsidiaries operate GSM and UMTS-based cellular networks in Europe, the United States, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands...

, Sears, Orbitz

Orbitz

Orbitz Worldwide, Inc. is an Internet travel company headquartered in the Citigroup Center in Near West Side, Chicago, Illinois. Through its primary web site Orbitz.com, Orbitz Worldwide enables travelers to research, plan and book a broad range of travel products, facilitating 1.5 million flight...

, Sony

Sony

, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....

 and Skype

Skype

Skype is a software application that allows users to make voice and video calls and chat over the Internet. Calls to other users within the Skype service are free, while calls to both traditional landline telephones and mobile phones can be made for a fee using a debit-based user account system...

.

Partnerships

Greenplum has partners in the industries of hardware

Hardware

Hardware is a general term for equipment such as keys, locks, hinges, latches, handles, wire, chains, plumbing supplies, tools, utensils, cutlery and machine parts. Household hardware is typically sold in hardware stores....

, business intelligence

Business intelligence

Business intelligence mainly refers to computer-based techniques used in identifying, extracting, and analyzing business data, such as sales revenue by products and/or departments, or by associated costs and incomes....

, ETL

Extract, transform, load

Extract, transform and load is a process in database usage and especially in data warehousing that involves:* Extracting data from outside sources* Transforming it to fit operational needs...

 and ELT. They include Arista Networks

Arista Networks

Arista Networks is a computer networking company headquartered in Santa Clara, California, USA. The company designs and sells network switches for datacenter, high-performance computing and high-frequency trading environments...

, HighPoint Solutions, MicroStrategy

MicroStrategy

MicroStrategy, Inc. , is a business intelligence software vendor. MicroStrategy's software enables leading organizations worldwide to analyze the vast amounts of data stored across their enterprises to make more strategic business decisions...

, and Xtract. The company has consulting and reseller partners as well.

Competition

Greenplum's main competitors are solutions from vendors such as IBM

IBM

International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...

, Oracle

Oracle database

The Oracle Database is an object-relational database management system produced and marketed by Oracle Corporation....

, Teradata

Teradata

Teradata Corporation is a vendor specializing in data warehousing and analytic applications. Its products are commonly used by companies to manage data warehouses for analytics and business intelligence purposes. Teradata was formerly a division of NCR Corporation, with the spinoff from NCR on...

, Netezza

Netezza

Netezza designs and markets high-performance data warehouse appliances and advanced analytics applications for uses including enterprise data warehousing, business intelligence, predictive analytics and business continuity planning....

, Sybase

Sybase

Sybase, an SAP company, is an enterprise software and services company offering software to manage, analyze, and mobilize information, using relational databases, analytics and data warehousing solutions and mobile applications development platforms....

, and Vertica

Vertica

Vertica Systems is an analytic database management software company. Vertica was founded in 2005 by database researcher Michael Stonebraker, and Andrew Palmer; its President and CEO is Christopher P. Lynch. HP announced it would acquire the company in February 2011. On March 22, 2011, HP completed...

.