Zalando optimises its data warehouse with EXASolution.

Zalando optimises its data warehouse with EXASolution.

High-performance, in-memory database from EXASOL supplies target group-specific analyses in real time

Nuremberg, 15 February 2012 – Zalando, Germany's largest online provider of shoes, fashion, beauty and sports equipment, relies on EXASolution, the relational, high-performance database from EXASOL. With the use of the database management solution, Zalando can accelerate its reporting, process complex requests more quickly and carry out analyses more precisely. EXASolution allows the company to react to consumer behaviour in real time, to recognise sales potential early on, to optimise its range according to the target group and thus ensure competitive advantages.

Zalando is growing and is continuously expanding its comprehensive product portfolio. This is reflected in a rapidly increasing amount of data – since mid 2010 the company’s data warehouse has grown five-fold. To evaluate this data Zalando requires a high-performance database that can analyse and evaluate very large volumes of date within a short space of time. The data warehouse management solution that was used previously was no longer able to keep up and provide the data and the reporting that was necessary.

Those responsible for Business Intelligence (BI) at Zalando started looking for a database that could grow with the data and be integrated easily into the existing IT infrastructure. They chose EXASolution. Above all, the infinite scalability of the system and the option to carry out raw data analyses in real time (even during load peaks) were decisive factors in choosing the in-memory solution from EXASOL. Additional reasons for choosing the high-performance database included its great value for money and its low administrative maintenance. The company doesn’t just benefit from the dramatic shortening of query response times but also in that the pressure on the Controlling and BI departments is significantly reduced allowing them to dedicate themselves to strategic topics.

EXASolution 4.0 has been used productively at Zalando since 27 December 2011. The very short migration phase underlines the intuitive operating concept and the simple integration into the existing environment. The high-performance database runs on HP hardware and supports SAP BusinessObjects amongst other things.
“EXASolution has contributed to clear improvement in performance. Analyses that previously took 10 minutes are now finished in 10 seconds”, says Eric von Czapiewski, Business Intelligence Manager at Zalando. “In addition to the performance of the system, we were also sold on its high level of scalability. Trial versions working with data volumes that we expect to reach in around two years showed that EXASolution will easily grow with the data. Moreover it was important that the new solution could be implemented very quickly. In this respect too, EXASOL ideally fulfilled our expectations.”

“As a large provider that has to react quickly and flexibly to the consumer behaviour of its online customers, Zalando required particularly capable analysis tools. EXASolution was specially developed for these sorts of complex, time-critical requests and is therefore the perfect basis for the company’s evaluation tools”, says Steffen Weissbarth, CEO of EXASOL AG. “Our database solution supports Zalando in expanding its portfolio and significantly reducing the total cost of ownership and the administrative effort.”

EXASOL AG, based in Nuremberg, develops and markets the high-performance database EXASolution, based on in-memory technology, which was designed specifically for enterprise warehouse applications and business intelligence solutions. This allows very large volumes of data to be analysed and evaluated in the shortest space of time. Thanks to the high performance and low administrative costs it offers, EXASolution supports businesses not just with valuable decision-making fundamentals from their data, but also by reducing the total cost of ownership. EXASOL AG was named by Gartner as a “Cool Vendor” in the category of Data Management and Integration for 2011. EXASolution 4.0 was used to carry out the TPC benchmark test series for the report published in April 2011.

About Zalando
Zalando (www.zalando.de) is Germany’s largest online supplier of shoes and fashion. The extensive range for women, men and kids incorporates well known brands and top designer labels – in total Zalando works with over 1,000 brands. In addition to shoes and clothing, the range also includes accessories, beauty products and sports equipment. The comprehensive selection is completed by the Zalando Lounge where registered members can purchase additional fashion and lifestyle items at discounted prices. The company also provides a combination of unique services such as free postage and packaging and free returns, a free service hotline and a 100 day return policy. This makes online shopping safer and more relaxed. With its own fashion blog, Facebook and Twitter accounts and the quarterly Zalando magazine, the online shop keeps its customers up-to-date with the latest fashion news. The company was founded in 2008 by Robert Gentz and David Schneider and is based in Berlin.
After Zalando experienced great success in Germany, they went on to expand their business into other neighbouring EU markets in 2009. Austria came first in 2009 and was followed by the Netherlands and France in 2010. In 2011 the company branched out into Italy, the United Kingdom and Switzerland.

About EXASOL AG
EXASOL AG, based in Nuremberg in Germany, develops a data management system that enables the rapid analysis and evaluation of data. By implementing the solution from EXASOL, business processes are optimised and secure foundations for decision-making are generated, which give companies a sustainable competitive edge.
EXASolution is a relational high-performance database that was specifically developed for enterprise warehouse applications and business intelligence solutions. The database is utilised by companies of all industry sectors for time-critical analyses, comprehensive data research, planning or reporting. The integration of geodata introduces an additional analysis dimension that allows for even more efficient analyses. The database can be integrated easily into existing IT infrastructures and requires a minimal amount of administrative maintenance, while ensuring low investment and operation costs (TCO). EXASolution is available under the name EXACloud as well as data warehousing as a service. This highly efficient data management solution allows EXASOL customers to benefit from complete data access at any time and a transparent price model. Companies such as XING, Sony Music Entertainment, Olympus, IMS Health, Semikron, intelliAd, Ratepay, Webtrekk and xplosion rely on EXASOL's "made in Germany" technology. For further information, visitwww.EXASOL.com, follow us on twitter or join us on facebook.

EXASOL AG
Neumeyerstraße 48
90411 Nuremberg
Monika Götzmann
Head of Marketing
press@exasol.com
+49 911 23 9910

This release was published on openPR.