©2013 Blue Hill Research. All Rights Reserved. ©2013 Blue Hill Research. All Rights Reserved.

Why AWS’s Redshift is a Game Changer

James Haight, Research Analyst, Blue Hill Research

©2013 Blue Hill Research. All Rights Reserved.

So What is Redshift?

• Redshift is Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud data warehouse solution

• Companies can buy as much or as little data storage as they need on a flat pricing plan

• Scaling storage capacity no longer entails deploying more infrastructure on premise

Announced in November 2012, Redshift was made

available on a wide scale in February 2013.

©2013 Blue Hill Research. All Rights Reserved.

The Cost Difference

Pricing NuancesThe cost of Redshift depends on the location which

the data is stored and the length of the contract.Compared to market rates Redshift is approximately 10% of the cost of

traditional solutions

AWS goes to market on the dramatic per-terabyte price savings Redshift offers over on-premise options

©2013 Blue Hill Research. All Rights Reserved.

But it’s Not About the Price. . .

o Firms interviewed by Blue Hill stressed that cost was not the primary factor motivating their transition to Redshift

o Rather, the top driver was a removal of constraints resulting from: AWS’s partnership network Outsourcing non-critical business functions “Limitless” scalability

©2013 Blue Hill Research. All Rights Reserved.

The Business Drivers of Transitions

o AWS’s Partnership Network Almost all major BI vendors can be run in the cloud with Redshift Partners can also help organizations create deployments best aligned to

their needs

o Outsourcing non-critical business functions Capital is allocated to its most efficient use Companies can focus on core needs, rather than maintaining a database

o “Limitless” Scalability Organizations can pay for as much or as little capacity as they need This is well-suited for rapidly expanding data sets, such as live social media

data or machine sensors

©2013 Blue Hill Research. All Rights Reserved.

The Takeaway

o Redshift lets organizations prepare for emerging data use cases

o Companies will avoid capacity bottlenecks that result from rapidly increasing the amount of data to be processed

o Redshift’s upside lies within the flexibility it provides to organizations

o AWS’s robust partnership network means that companies can choose options that are best suited to their needs

©2013 Blue Hill Research. All Rights Reserved.

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