Mainstream database management system (DBMS) technology faces a challenge from new approaches that reject the relational model. The battleground is set to be the market for business intelligence based on very large databases.
Some main players in DBMS software are already jockeying for position with revamped database products aimed at recapturing ground lost to newer products. Recently Microsoft unveiled Kilimanjaro, the next massively scalable version of its SQL Server with a strong BI flavor, while database market number-one Oracle joined forces with Hewlett-Packard to launch its Exadata storage grid.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/11/14/large_databases/