Database Management System Types and their Characteristics

Database management has become important part of every company that has got data to be managed and handled. Server databases and desktop databases are two types of database management systems. The desktop one is concerned with single-user applications and is connected with standard personal computers.

Whereas the server database is mainly connected with multi-user applications and have greater reliability and data consistency. It is costlier than desktop database and operates on high performance servers.

Any website should not blindly dive into the conclusion of database design selection, proper pre-analysis and research is necessary. Sometimes it happens that you decide to buy expensive server database but when calculating your business requirements, desktop database seems to be proper. Also many times requirements for server based database also arises.

In order to analyze the needs of the company about which database would be best, certain points have to clear. Like in how much time will your company data need to be changed and who would make these changes. The concerned authority who would be in-charge of using database and the work they would perform should be known. Also the person responsible for maintenance for data and the source that would be providing IT support should be having knowledge. See to it that which hardware is available and the budget for purchasing the hardware.

After clearing these important issues you can start the procedure of specific database management system evaluation. In order to fulfill database's complex needs, you may require sophisticated server platform that is multi-user based as in Oracle and SQL server. For simpler needs desktop database is the right choice like Microsoft Access. It is inexpensive and offers simple data storage and manipulation facilities. As the name suggests it operates on personal computers and is best for them. Apart from Microsoft Access, Lotus, FileMaker Pro, FoxPro and Paradox are some popular desktop database software.

Oracle, Microsoft SQL server and IBM DB-2 are some popular server databases. They provide enough expertise to manage large amount of data effectively and users can access to these data whenever required. The companies that can afford this particular type of database, they can get the benefit of detailed data management design and solution.

Thus a well structured and planned database design provides a strong base for future company success. Henceforth you can plan accordingly for better performance and futuristic growth.