Versant corporation
Encyclopedia
Versant Corporation is a publicly-traded company and a vendor of database management software. Versant products are deployed in a wide variety of industries including: Telecommunications, Defense, Life Sciences, Transportation, Finance, Online Gaming and more. Versant was founded in Fremont, California
(USA) in 1988. It is currently headquartered in Redwood City, California
where all activities related to finances and customer service take place. The development team is located in the branch offices in Hamburg (Germany) and Pune (India).
Versant offers object database
technologies, namely, "Versant Object Database
", "Versant FastObjects" and the open source database "db4o".
, recognized that languages were changing, becoming OO
and leveraged work done at the University of Wisconsin (known as the WISC storage system) to create a commercial object database to complement OO
languages.
In early 1990 the company was renamed to Versant Object Technology and in 1993 David Banks took over as CEO and then in late 1997 Nick Ordon. Since 1996 Versant has been traded on NASDAQ
under the stock symbol "VSNT" and the ISIN
US9252843092/ WKN AOF69L. In 1999 the company was renamed again to Versant Corporation.
The core market for Versant's technology were builders of high performance database solutions for high end UNIX
systems.
In March 2004, Versant acquired Poet Software GmbH a similar company with a European focus and primarily Windows product target market. In 2005, Jochen Witte, President of Poet Software, took over as CEO of Versant Corporation.
The original implementation of Versant was targeted at C
, C++
and Smalltalk
users. In 1995 Versant introduced support for the Java
language and then in 2009 for C# and the .NET
platform.
Versant's last acquisition was in December 2008, when it acquired db4objects Inc., the developer and provider of the open source database technology "db4o".
s (OODBMS), "Versant Object Database
" and "Versant FastObjects". In addition, Versant offers the open source database "db4o" which they have acquired in 2008.
Usually the "best kind of application" to use a Versant database are those applications requiring an application specific database of an OLTP nature. In other words, a non-traditional I.T. type of transactional application. That being said, there are certain characteristics, which when exhibited in an application, indicate a stronger value add by Versant.
Those characteristics are: complex models, large amount of data, large number of concurrent users. Any one of those three characteristics starts down a path of Versant value and at the extreme end, where you have all of those characteristics, Versant provides clear distinguishing value. The whole reason Versant still exists is that it provides better performance and scalability for applications with the above characteristics over traditional relational technology. To that end, Versant is found in applications within many different vertical industries where those characteristics come into play.
Fremont, California
Fremont is a city in Alameda County, California. It was incorporated on January 23, 1956, from the merger of five smaller communities: Centerville, Niles, Irvington, Mission San Jose, and Warm Springs...
(USA) in 1988. It is currently headquartered in Redwood City, California
Redwood City, California
Redwood City is a California charter city located on the San Francisco Peninsula in Northern California, approximately 27 miles south of San Francisco, and 24 miles north of San Jose. Redwood City's history spans from its earliest inhabitation by the Ohlone people, to its tradition as a port for...
where all activities related to finances and customer service take place. The development team is located in the branch offices in Hamburg (Germany) and Pune (India).
Versant offers object database
Object database
An object database is a database management system in which information is represented in the form of objects as used in object-oriented programming...
technologies, namely, "Versant Object Database
Versant Object Database
Versant Object Database is an enterprise grade object database supporting massive concurrency and large data sets provided by Versant Corporation...
", "Versant FastObjects" and the open source database "db4o".
History
The company was founded and created by Dr. Kee Ong in 1988 as "Object Sciences Corporation" in Fremont, California (USA). Among the first employees were CEO Michael Seashols and kernel engineers Dr. Hong-Tai Chou, Stephen Au-Yeung, Dr. CP Chou and others. Dr. Ong, who came from IngresIngres
Ingres Database is a commercially supported, open-source SQL relational database management system intended to support large commercial and government applications...
, recognized that languages were changing, becoming OO
Oo
OO or oo may refer to:* Oo , a digraph in orthography* Oô, a commune in France* OO gauge, a 1:76.2 modelling scale in model railroading* ‘Ō‘ō, an extinct bird of the genus Moho...
and leveraged work done at the University of Wisconsin (known as the WISC storage system) to create a commercial object database to complement OO
Oo
OO or oo may refer to:* Oo , a digraph in orthography* Oô, a commune in France* OO gauge, a 1:76.2 modelling scale in model railroading* ‘Ō‘ō, an extinct bird of the genus Moho...
languages.
In early 1990 the company was renamed to Versant Object Technology and in 1993 David Banks took over as CEO and then in late 1997 Nick Ordon. Since 1996 Versant has been traded on 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...
under the stock symbol "VSNT" and the ISIN
ISIN
An International Securities Identification Number uniquely identifies a security. Its structure is defined in ISO 6166. Securities for which ISINs are issued include bonds, commercial paper, equities and warrants...
US9252843092/ WKN AOF69L. In 1999 the company was renamed again to Versant Corporation.
The core market for Versant's technology were builders of high performance database solutions for high end UNIX
Unix
Unix is a multitasking, multi-user computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs, including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, Brian Kernighan, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna...
systems.
In March 2004, Versant acquired Poet Software GmbH a similar company with a European focus and primarily Windows product target market. In 2005, Jochen Witte, President of Poet Software, took over as CEO of Versant Corporation.
The original implementation of Versant was targeted at C
C (programming language)
C is a general-purpose computer programming language developed between 1969 and 1973 by Dennis Ritchie at the Bell Telephone Laboratories for use with the Unix operating system....
, C++
C++
C++ is a statically typed, free-form, multi-paradigm, compiled, general-purpose programming language. It is regarded as an intermediate-level language, as it comprises a combination of both high-level and low-level language features. It was developed by Bjarne Stroustrup starting in 1979 at Bell...
and Smalltalk
Smalltalk
Smalltalk is an object-oriented, dynamically typed, reflective programming language. Smalltalk was created as the language to underpin the "new world" of computing exemplified by "human–computer symbiosis." It was designed and created in part for educational use, more so for constructionist...
users. In 1995 Versant introduced support for the Java
Java (programming language)
Java is a programming language originally developed by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems and released in 1995 as a core component of Sun Microsystems' Java platform. The language derives much of its syntax from C and C++ but has a simpler object model and fewer low-level facilities...
language and then in 2009 for C# and the .NET
.NET Framework
The .NET Framework is a software framework that runs primarily on Microsoft Windows. It includes a large library and supports several programming languages which allows language interoperability...
platform.
Versant's last acquisition was in December 2008, when it acquired db4objects Inc., the developer and provider of the open source database technology "db4o".
Executive Team
- Bernhard Woebker - CEO
- Jerry Wong - CFO
- David Ingersoll - Sales
- Robert Greene - Technology
- Dirk Bartels - Marketing
Products
Versant currently markets two commercial object databaseObject database
An object database is a database management system in which information is represented in the form of objects as used in object-oriented programming...
s (OODBMS), "Versant Object Database
Versant Object Database
Versant Object Database is an enterprise grade object database supporting massive concurrency and large data sets provided by Versant Corporation...
" and "Versant FastObjects". In addition, Versant offers the open source database "db4o" which they have acquired in 2008.
- Versant Object DatabaseVersant Object DatabaseVersant Object Database is an enterprise grade object database supporting massive concurrency and large data sets provided by Versant Corporation...
for complex JavaJava (programming language)Java is a programming language originally developed by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems and released in 1995 as a core component of Sun Microsystems' Java platform. The language derives much of its syntax from C and C++ but has a simpler object model and fewer low-level facilities...
, .NET.NET FrameworkThe .NET Framework is a software framework that runs primarily on Microsoft Windows. It includes a large library and supports several programming languages which allows language interoperability...
and C++C++C++ is a statically typed, free-form, multi-paradigm, compiled, general-purpose programming language. It is regarded as an intermediate-level language, as it comprises a combination of both high-level and low-level language features. It was developed by Bjarne Stroustrup starting in 1979 at Bell...
applications, especially those with high concurrency and performance requirements and very large data sets. The "Versant Object DatabaseVersant Object DatabaseVersant Object Database is an enterprise grade object database supporting massive concurrency and large data sets provided by Versant Corporation...
" is available for use with the operating systems WindowsMicrosoft WindowsMicrosoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
, LinuxLinuxLinux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
, Solaris, HP-UXHP-UXHP-UX is Hewlett-Packard's proprietary implementation of the Unix operating system, based on UNIX System V and first released in 1984...
and AIX and can be integrated in JavaJava (programming language)Java is a programming language originally developed by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems and released in 1995 as a core component of Sun Microsystems' Java platform. The language derives much of its syntax from C and C++ but has a simpler object model and fewer low-level facilities...
, .NET.NET FrameworkThe .NET Framework is a software framework that runs primarily on Microsoft Windows. It includes a large library and supports several programming languages which allows language interoperability...
or C++C++C++ is a statically typed, free-form, multi-paradigm, compiled, general-purpose programming language. It is regarded as an intermediate-level language, as it comprises a combination of both high-level and low-level language features. It was developed by Bjarne Stroustrup starting in 1979 at Bell...
programs. Unlike in a relational database management systemRelational database management systemA relational database management system is a database management system that is based on the relational model as introduced by E. F. Codd. Most popular databases currently in use are based on the relational database model....
(RDBMSRelational database management systemA relational database management system is a database management system that is based on the relational model as introduced by E. F. Codd. Most popular databases currently in use are based on the relational database model....
, e.g., OracleOracle DatabaseThe Oracle Database is an object-relational database management system produced and marketed by Oracle Corporation....
), complex logical models can be directly stored, read and modeled with the "Versant Object DatabaseVersant Object DatabaseVersant Object Database is an enterprise grade object database supporting massive concurrency and large data sets provided by Versant Corporation...
" without having to model them first in relational tables. - "Versant FastObjects" for a developer-friendly, object-oriented alternative to a relational database for .NET persistence.
- "db4o" for a lightweight, open source, easy-to-use native embedded object database for Java and .NET
Application areas
Versant runs global trading platforms for the worlds largest stock exchanges, network management for the worlds largest telecommunications providers, intelligence analytics for defense agencies, reservation systems for the largest airline/hotel companies, risk management analytics for banking and transportation organizations, massive multi-player gaming systems, network security and fraud detection, local number portability, advanced simulations, social networking, etc., etc. as a representative set of industries and applications exhibiting those characteristics.Usually the "best kind of application" to use a Versant database are those applications requiring an application specific database of an OLTP nature. In other words, a non-traditional I.T. type of transactional application. That being said, there are certain characteristics, which when exhibited in an application, indicate a stronger value add by Versant.
Those characteristics are: complex models, large amount of data, large number of concurrent users. Any one of those three characteristics starts down a path of Versant value and at the extreme end, where you have all of those characteristics, Versant provides clear distinguishing value. The whole reason Versant still exists is that it provides better performance and scalability for applications with the above characteristics over traditional relational technology. To that end, Versant is found in applications within many different vertical industries where those characteristics come into play.