In layman's terms, an in-memory database is simply a repository of data that does not rely on disk storage. Instead, the data is stored in the main memory, closer to where the actual processing takes place.
This is not a new technology. However, where an in-memory database may have been an optional consideration in the past, it’s now considered essential for enterprises that manage a lot of data and rely on complex analytics. But smaller companies and nonprofits now have access to a lot of data as well, and if they want to remain agile, they need to be able to analyze that data in real-time.
Without an in-memory database, analyzing all that data relies on “data warehouses,” where data from the production database is cleansed, transformed, catalogued and made available for analytics and reporting tools. That significantly diminishes the value of business intelligence because it not only slows the delivery of the data, but as soon as the data is moved into the data warehouse, it’s no longer current.
In-memory databases solve this problem by allowing analytics and business intelligence tools to access the live production database. With speed comes scale. And with scale comes access to the most immediate, urgent, and actionable insights.
Intacct has long been a leader in both ERP and in bringing cutting-edge capabilities to midmarket organizations. The company is currently working on a prototype that incorporates an in-memory database. The product is in limited release right now, but the subset of customers who currently have access is discovering that it elevates the ERP experience in phenomenal ways.
The key component is calculation speeds accelerated to a lightning-fast level. Tests have shown that these in-memory databases can age 1 million invoices in just four seconds. Even more impressively, they can analyze 20 million sales orders in 45 seconds.
The scale of those figures might exceed what some smaller organizations require, but that performance will open the door to new analytics capabilities. Users will be able to leverage new metrics and discover new insights in the blink of an eye. Global enterprises are already benefiting from in-memory databases, but Intacct is making them affordable and accessible to all.
If your business hopes to remain relevant and seize every competitive advantage possible, relying on old technology won't get you there. To learn more about what is available now and what is coming soon, reach out to an Intacct expert from AcctTwo.