Understanding How to Choose a Database Platform for Siemens PLM Software s Teamcenter White Paper Published: April 2009 For the latest information, see http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/2008.
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Contents Executive Summary... 3 Introduction... 5 Teamcenter Overview... 6 Database Decision Criteria... 7 Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)... 8 Licensing... 12 Platform... 13 Security... 15 Manageability... 15 Conclusion... 16 Appendix A Company Interview Information... 17 Understanding How to Choose a Database Platform for Siemens PLM Software s Teamcenter 2
Executive Summary Siemens PLM Software s Teamcenter suite provides mission critical product lifecycle management (PLM) solutions for companies around the globe. Given its importance, the underlying database that supports a Teamcenter implementation must satisfy enterprise performance, manageability, and security requirements in a cost effective manner. Wipro interviewed Teamcenter customers to learn about their database decision criteria and gain insight on how Microsoft SQL Server 2008 and Oracle Database 11g compare in a Teamcenter environment. Seventy three percent of those interviewed said that if they were making the Oracle vs. Microsoft database decision today, they would deploy Teamcenter on Microsoft SQL Server 2008. This preference is based, in part, on SQL Server s total cost of ownership, performance, and security track record. Wipro also asked current Teamcenter customers and Wipro PLM experts to identify the most important decision criteria for choosing a Teamcenter database. Additionally, customers provided cost and deployment data to illuminate the differences between SQL Server 2008 and Oracle Database 11g. In summary, the study supports the following findings: Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) Data from independent studies and Wipro interviews found that Microsoft SQL Server 2008 has a lower TCO when compared to Oracle Database 11g, resulting in recognizable costs savings in each of three main TCO categories (as shown in Figure 1). TCO Category IT Labor Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Benefit over Oracle Database 11g 24 percent lower IT labor costs Software 44 percent lower software costs 1 Hardware Up to 38 percent lower cost 2 Figure 1: Microsoft SQL Server 2008 TCO compared to Oracle Database 11g Licensing Customers said that Microsoft s licensing model is easier to understand than Oracle s and provides more cost effective deployment strategies, making planning and acquisition easier and long term costs lower. Platform Respondents noted that SQL Server 2008 performs as well as or better than Oracle Database 11g in the platform categories of Scalability and Performance, and Ease of Use. 1 Includes initial and ongoing costs for a three year period. 2 The 38% savings is when comparing SQL Server running on Windows Server and Oracle running on Unix. When comparing SQL and Oracle both running on Windows Server, the hardware cost difference is negligible. Understanding How to Choose a Database Platform for Siemens PLM Software s Teamcenter 3
Security During the last 48 months, SQL Server had zero critical vulnerabilities, as recorded by the National Vulnerability Database; this compares with over 300 recorded Oracle vulnerabilities. Manageability SQL Server 2008 provides built-in manageability, and its tight integration with Windows Server 2008 gives IT a comprehensive platform for Teamcenter. For companies deploying Teamcenter, SQL Server 2008 delivers cost savings advantages, strong platform characteristics, and proven security. In addition, because it is integrated into the Microsoft platform, it provides a familiar and easy-to-use set of tools that make database management simpler than Oracle Database 11g. Understanding How to Choose a Database Platform for Siemens PLM Software s Teamcenter 4
Introduction Product lifecycle management (PLM) is the process of managing all phases of a product, from initial concept through end of life. Effective PLM combines information, methodology, and available resources to streamline each phase of the lifecycle, resulting in: Time to market advantages Increased revenues and profitability Cost savings in labor, materials, and waste Improved product quality Tighter integration among supply chain vendors Construction of a reusable store of knowledge More efficient and complete regulatory compliance Early implementations of PLM were used by the automotive industry to interconnect development processes used to design and manufacture cars. PLM systems have now been adopted by other industries as diverse as Aerospace, High Tech and Electronics, Consumer Packaged Goods, Life Sciences, and Apparel. These industries all use PLM to connect and integrate people and processes involved in the design and manufacture of their respective range of products. PLM systems and their related methodologies continue to mature, resulting in integrated processes that span the full product lifecycle as shown in Figure 2. Figure 2: Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) spans all product phases from the initial concept to the end of life of a product. PLM: Shortens the concept and design phases, reducing time to market Optimizes the realization phase to maximize profit Streamlines the maintenance phase to keep products yielding revenue as long as possible. The underlying core of a PLM system is the data collected throughout the product lifecycle; this data is maintained in an enterprise database such as SQL Server 2008 or Oracle Database 11g. Due to PLM being at the heart of a manufacturing business and because its data is so critical, the choice of underlying database is extremely important to ensure that the PLM solution keeps a company s business running. This paper provides an overview of the most important decision points that companies use when choosing a database platform for their PLM solution. The information provided in this paper comes from in-depth interviews with current PLM customers and from within Wipro s PLM organization of over 350 subject matter experts. Understanding How to Choose a Database Platform for Siemens PLM Software s Teamcenter 5
Wipro interviewed 19 customers throughout the world, spanning multiple industries, locations, and implementation sizes. Interview participants either had deployed Teamcenter in their environments or were in the process of deploying a Teamcenter solution. For more information on interview demographics, see Appendix A. The goal of this paper is to illuminate the most important issues that drive database decisions for PLM while highlighting the advantages of using SQL Server 2008 as a foundation for Teamcenter. Teamcenter Overview Teamcenter is one of the most widely used PLM systems in the world. It supports enterprise level companies and is offered as Teamcenter Express for small and mid-sized companies. Teamcenter is not just a single product; it is a suite of digital lifecycle management solutions targeting different business initiatives. Critical business initiatives targeted by Teamcenter New product development and introduction Improve innovation by facilitating real-time global collaboration among all lifecycle participants and processes Value chain synchronization Excel globally by optimizing the exchange of ideas and information between all value chain participants Enterprise data management Improve competitiveness by providing secure access to an enterprise s product and process knowledge Commonization and re-use Re-use proven parts, equipment and processes to create cost efficiency and foster best practices Knowledge/intellectual property management Capture the knowledge and expertise of lifecycle participants to continuously improve innovation Regulatory compliance Achieve market compliance by integrating safety, environmental and government requirements early in design stage Production efficiency Integrate product and process design with manufacturing best practices to increase production quality and performance Systems engineering and mechatronics Improve your customers value experience by integrating mechanical, electrical and software subsystems, relationships and components Teamcenter specifically targets critical business initiatives with end-to-end solutions: Systems engineering and requirements management Portfolio program and project management Engineering process management Bill-of-materials management Compliance management Supplier relationship management Mechatronics process management Manufacturing process management Simulation process management Maintenance repair and overhaul Lifecycle visualization Reporting and analytics Community collaboration Enterprise knowledge management During the interviews with Teamcenter customers, Wipro asked participants why they chose their current database platform for Teamcenter and what they would choose if deploying today. Companies deploying prior to 2006, chose an Oracle database simply because Microsoft SQL was not supported at the time. But since Understanding How to Choose a Database Platform for Siemens PLM Software s Teamcenter 6
the 2006 announcement of a partnership for support of Teamcenter on Microsoft SQL Server, customers have begun to adopt SQL Server at an increasing rate for their Teamcenter solutions. In fact, 73 percent of the interviewed companies stated that they would choose SQL Server if they were deploying today. Additionally, over 60 percent of interviewed companies that are currently using an Oracle database for their Teamcenter implementation will consider migrating to SQL Server with their next Teamcenter upgrade. Another factor in the growing momentum is customer adoption of Teamcenter Express, which runs exclusively on SQL Server. Teamcenter Express is a small to mid-market focused product but is commonly deployed by enterprise level customers as a starting point for Teamcenter. Based on these customer preferences for SQL Server in both new installation and platform migrations, the Teamcenter market is shifting towards a wider adoption of SQL Server. What is driving these customers to SQL Server? Database Decision Criteria When choosing a database platform for their PLM solution, customers consider multiple factors for evaluation. These generally fall into five main categories: Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) Licensing Platform Security Manageability Interview participants rated each of these five criteria in terms of level of importance in their overall database decision. Figure 3 provides a summary of the responses: Decision Criteria High Moderate Low Not a Importance Importance Importance Factor Total Cost Initial Cost 21% 58% 16% 5% of Ownership Ongoing Cost 53% 26% 21% 0% Licensing Licensing Model 16% 26% 47% 11% Performance & Platform Scalability 63% 37% 0% 0% Ease of Use 32% 53% 16% 0% Security Security 74% 21% 5% 0% Management Manageability 37% 37% 26% 0% The three criteria that surface as the most important in the database decision process are: Total Cost of Ownership Performance and Scalability Security Understanding How to Choose a Database Platform for Siemens PLM Software s Teamcenter 7
The following sections provide a deeper look at how SQL Server fares in all of the decision criteria with an emphasis on these three most important issues. Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) To build a TCO comparison of SQL Server 2008 and Oracle Database 11g, the study used a model with the assumptions shown in Figure 4: Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Oracle Database 11g Total users 700 700 Maximum concurrent users 350 350 Teamcenter locations 2 2 DBA Burdened Salary 3 $89,289 $98,402 Database licenses purchased individually for Teamcenter TCO cost calculated over a 3 year period Figure 4: Key TCO Model Assumptions The study included initial and ongoing costs over a three year period. It took into account three cost sources to understand the TCO for the two database platforms, including IT Labor cost of the effort required by IT personnel to plan, deploy, operate, and manage the database. Software cost of licensing the database and software products associated with operating and managing it. This also includes the cost of the annual maintenance and support fees associated with purchasing the software. Hardware cost of the hardware needed to deploy the solution. IT Labor IT labor costs are the largest expense category in a database environment. Companies can save 24 percent on IT labor by using SQL Server 2008 instead of Oracle Database 11g in Teamcenter environments. This savings comes from four main categories: Lower salary costs Less complex administration Reduction in overall IT maintenance Lower training costs 24 percent savings in IT labor costs with Microsoft SQL Server 2008 3 Payscale.com 2007 Survey Understanding How to Choose a Database Platform for Siemens PLM Software s Teamcenter 8
Lower salary costs Based on industry data from December 2007 and averaged for all locations in the U.S., the burdened cost per database administrator (DBA) managing a SQL Server database is 14 percent lower than an equivalent Oracle administrator. This trend appears true for all levels of experience. SQL Server support positions also generally draw a lower salary. 44 percent savings in software costs with Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Less complex administration Earlier studies conducted by Wipro in 2008 and 2004 4 have shown that SQL Server has a lower cost of administration than Oracle, especially in the areas of capacity management, performance tuning, and monitoring. Additional advantages stem from the more integrated features of SQL Server that can be found under one hood vs. requiring command line interfaces, CRON jobs, shell-scripting, or add-on products. Also, the ability to be granular with administrative permissions in a SQL Server environment allows more routine tasks to be delegated to less senior staff. In Oracle environments, senior administrators often need to spend an inordinate amount time doing day-to-day tasks that are more suited for more junior and less expensive personnel. Reduction in overall IT maintenance Interview participants estimated a 15 20 percent reduction in overall maintenance activities when comparing SQL Server to Oracle in Teamcenter environments. They cited the tight integration of SQL Server into the overall software platform, as well as the familiarity with and ease of use of the SQL Server interface. Another source of reduction for IT maintenance for SQL Server is the Microsoft Infrastructure Optimization (IO) initiative, which is a series of models based on best practices that reduce cost or improve business performance. 5 By adopting some of the best practices of the IO model, overall IT maintenance can be further reduced, both in cost and frequency of management activities. Lower training costs Previous Wipro studies 6 estimate that training costs for SQL Server administrators are 23 percent less expensive than comparable costs for Oracle administrators. This is attributed to less required training, lower salary cost for the person being trained, and SQL Server courses generally being more available and less expensive than Oracle courses. Software When evaluating software cost, the study considered three components of the software platform: operating system (OS), database, and support utilities. Though SQL Server is supported on other platforms, it is generally offered on Microsoft Windows Server and thus can take advantage of the full Microsoft Application Platform and Microsoft s full portfolio of management tools. Oracle Database 11g is generally deployed on an Unix OS and is usually managed by a group of add-on programs, which increase the overall software price. From customer interviews, the most used add-on programs to manage Oracle Database 11g include: 4 TCO Benefits of SQL Server, Wipro PSA Practice, 2004 5 To learn more about Infrastructure Optimization see www.microsoft.com/io 6 Microsoft SQL Server Migration Pays Big Dividends for SAP/ERP Customers, Wipro PSA Practice, 2008 Understanding How to Choose a Database Platform for Siemens PLM Software s Teamcenter 9
Scheduling tools such as CRON Developer tools such as TOAD (Tool for Oracle Application Developers) Visual reporting tools Performance management tools Each of these add-on tools carries both initial and ongoing costs that are not factors for SQL Server 2008 running on Windows environment. Many Teamcenter on SQL Server instances are deployed on SQL Server Standard Edition, which has a lower cost than Oracle Database 11g Enterprise edition. But for the purpose of an equal comparison, the study uses the enterprise versions of both SQL Server and Oracle database. When focusing on just the database system, the costs are lower in a SQL Server 2008 environment ($25,000 vs. $40,000 per processor for Enterprise Edition) than in an Oracle Database 11g environment. Additionally, Oracle can add even more cost with multipliers contained throughout its licensing model. 7 See the Licensing section on page 13 for more details. Next, the study considered the software maintenance or ongoing support costs, which typically run between 15 25 percent of the initial software purchase cost. This cost is charged annually for the life of the software and is usually much higher in an Oracle instance than a Microsoft instance. The yearly maintenance cost is amplified in Oracle installations due to the higher initial licensing costs from add-ons and multipliers in Oracle s licensing model. $100,000 Software Cost $80,000 $60,000 $40,000 Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Oracle Database 11g $20,000 $- Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Figure 5: Software cost comparison for the model company 7 http://www.oracle.com/corporate/pricing/technology-price-list.pdf Understanding How to Choose a Database Platform for Siemens PLM Software s Teamcenter 10
Figure 5, above, shows a comparison over three years between SQL Server and Oracle Database for software costs for the model company, described in Figure 4. Year one includes acquisition costs, and years two and three represent maintenance costs. The total software cost is up to 44 percent lower for Teamcenter deployments using SQL Server rather than Oracle Database 11g. These savings result from the lower cost of running the underlying operating system and support utilities, including the yearly software maintenance fees. Hardware SQL Server 2008 can be deployed across a wide spectrum of server hardware from multiple manufacturers. Additionally, most companies find that they can deploy SQL Server 2008 on modest hardware and still achieve the performance necessary to support mission critical applications such as Teamcenter. Oracle Database 11g, while able to be deployed on many hardware platforms, is most often is seen running on an expensive Unixbased platforms. When comparing new hardware platforms to support 700 concurrent users, companies can save 38 percent on hardware costs by choosing a SQL Server-based platform over a typical Oracle/Unix configuration; but when considering Oracle Database 11g running on Windows Server, there is little difference between the hardware costs of SQL Server and Oracle. When it comes to hardware, companies deploying Teamcenter on Microsoft Windows and SQL Server 2008 can take advantage of a wide choice of hardware platforms at a less expensive price point without sacrificing performance. In fact, Microsoft enjoys a significant advantage over Oracle in terms of number of server units shipped and average server value (total cost per server). Figure 6, below, depicts IDC data on the number of server units shipped in 2007. 8 According to IDC, 63 percent more servers were shipped in 2007 with SQL Server as the underlying database than with the Oracle database. 700,000 600,000 500,000 400,000 300,000 200,000 100,000 0 Server Units Shipped 2007 Microsoft SQL Server Oracle Database 38 percent savings in hardware costs with Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Figure 6: Server units shipped in 2007 (Source: IDC 2008) 8 Server Workloads Forecast and Analysis Study, 2007 2012, IDC #213829, September 2008 Understanding How to Choose a Database Platform for Siemens PLM Software s Teamcenter 11
Figure 7, from IDC data, shows that the average server value for SQL Server is much lower than for Oracle Database. 9 These two data points mean that there are far more server units with SQL Server around the globe and that the hardware cost of those SQL Server units is lower than with those with Oracle database. 20,000 Average Server Value ($) 2007 15,000 10,000 5,000 0 Microsoft SQL Server Oracle Database Figure 7: Average Server Value (Source: IDC 2008) Licensing Interview respondents consistently commented that a complex licensing model from vendors is a source of frustration and decreases their likelihood of choosing the vendor. The customers noted that Microsoft s licensing model is easy to understand, 10 making SQL Server 2008 a more attractive option when choosing the database for their Teamcenter implementation. 9 IBID 10 http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/2008/en/us/pricing.aspx Understanding How to Choose a Database Platform for Siemens PLM Software s Teamcenter 12
Platform Because Teamcenter is a mission critical application, the underlying database must perform, scale, and be easy to work with in order to ensure Teamcenter is running smoothly. Both Oracle Database 11g and SQL Server 2008 have a very solid record of delivering in Teamcenter environments. The interview respondents provided insightful commentary on the two criteria within the platform category: Performance and Scalability Ease of use Performance and Scalability Respondents noted that performance is a highly important decision criterion when it comes to choosing the database for their Teamcenter solution. Figure 8 below shows their views on the level of importance of performance. Understanding How to Choose a Database Platform for Siemens PLM Software s Teamcenter 13
How Important is Performance? 37% High Importance 63% Moderate Importance Figure 8: The majority of respondents consider performance highly important to their decision process. (n=19) Both Oracle Database 11g and SQL Server provide exceptional performance under heavy Teamcenter workloads. The recent release of SQL Server 2008 continues the trend of Microsoft setting record performance benchmark numbers. Recent tests 11 benchmarking performance of SQL Server 2008 with Teamcenter 2007 certified that SQL Server 2008 easily scaled to 5,000 concurrent users under heavy simulated use. Based on input from the Wipro s PLM practice, this concurrency benchmark will support a 50,000 seat overall deployment, because in normal conditions less than 10 percent of total users are concurrently using the system. SQL Server 2008 meets necessary performance requirements for Teamcenter implementations. Both benchmark tests and existing customer deployments prove the strong performance of SQL Server 2008. The majority of Teamcenter environments service between 700 and 1000 users with an average concurrent user load of approximately 350 employees. However, these numbers can quickly change with a new project or product or due to an acquisition or merger. Teamcenter administrators can be faced with the immediate need to expand system capabilities. When asked to rate the scalability of SQL Server 2008 and Oracle Database 11g for Teamcenter environments, 84 percent of interview participants rated SQL as good as Oracle; 68 percent of those respondents rated SQL Server higher than Oracle. Participants specifically cited SQL Server s ability to quickly scale both horizontally and vertically with much less time, effort, and expense than in an Oracle environment. Ease of Use As mentioned previously in the TCO section of this paper, interview respondents frequently noted that SQL Server is easier to use than the Oracle database. This is a result of the interface for SQL Server. Customers mentioned it is familiar and intuitive, thus improving their productivity. Also, because SQL Server works well with the rest of the Microsoft technology platform, DBAs noted that the environment felt seamless and cohesive, as opposed to the Oracle environment that had multiple interfaces and less tightly integrated capabilities across multiple third party tools. For example, DBAs can take advantage of SQL Server s reporting 11 http://www.microsoft.com/casestudies/casestudy.aspx?casestudyid=4000001487 Understanding How to Choose a Database Platform for Siemens PLM Software s Teamcenter 14
services, publishing analytical reports as Microsoft Office documents. Because Teamcenter is integrated with Microsoft Office, organizations gain the benefit of a fully integrated environment from database to PLM application to desktop productivity application. Security The interview respondents considered security to be another highly important decision criterion in database selection for their Teamcenter solution, as shown in Figure 9. How Important is Security? 5% 21% 74% High Importance Moderate Importance Low Importance Figure 9: Security is of high importance when choosing a database for the Teamcenter solution. (n=19) Secure databases have few critical vulnerabilities. In comparing the number of critical vulnerabilities from 2004 2008, SQL Server has a superior track record. In fact, the National Vulnerability Database (NIST) lists over 330 critical security vulnerabilities in Oracle databases in the 4 years leading to mid-2008. During this same period, there were zero critical vulnerabilities listed for SQL Server. Additionally, when security patches are needed, the interview participants indicated that Microsoft s organized and streamlined patching methods make it much easier for patches to be applied than with Oracle. Manageability Interview respondents frequently stated that a benefit of choosing SQL Server 2008 is the fact that it comes with more integrated manageability features than Oracle, which results in an environment that requires fewer add-on efforts or products. Microsoft s manageability environment spans server, client, and infrastructure, which results in fewer duplicated efforts for manageability. Customers noted particular strengths for SQL Server 2008, including task scheduling, performance monitoring, and visual reporting tools. The net result is that because SQL Server 2008 is part of an integrated platform designed to work well together, it makes DBAs highly productive and management much easier than with Oracle. Understanding How to Choose a Database Platform for Siemens PLM Software s Teamcenter 15
Conclusion The database decision for a Teamcenter solution is an important one. Organizations point to three key database selection criteria: total cost of ownership, performance and scalability, and the security of the database. Comparing databases with these key criteria can yield a smart choice for IT and for the success of Teamcenter. Based on data from customer interviews and Wipro PLM subject-matter experts, SQL Server 2008 not only rates as highly as Oracle Database 11g for these critical decision criteria, but it also rates higher on two of the three TCO and Security. In terms of TCO, SQL Server 2008 when compared to Oracle Database 11g, yields: 24 percent lower IT labor cost 44 percent lower hardware cost Next, companies find the Microsoft licensing much easier to understand. Additionally, SQL Server 2008 performs as well as Oracle Database 11g, meets the 5,000 concurrent-user benchmark, and is cited as more scalable. During the last 48 months, SQL Server has had zero critical vulnerabilities vs. Oracle s 330, as recorded by the National Vulnerability Institute. The integrated management features of SQL Server 2008 improve IT productivity. Perhaps most compelling is the fact that of the companies interviewed for this paper, 73 percent stated that they would choose SQL Server 2008 over Oracle Database 11g if they were making the choice again, based on the criteria described in this paper: TCO, Licensing, Platform, Security, and Manageability. Understanding How to Choose a Database Platform for Siemens PLM Software s Teamcenter 16
Appendix A Company Interview Information Number of companies n=19 10 8 6 4 2 0 0-499 500-1K 1K - 2K 2001+ Number of total Teamcenter users company-wide Understanding How to Choose a Database Platform for Siemens PLM Software s Teamcenter 17